Govt's environmental awareness is decreasing

Govt's environmental awareness is decreasing

JAKARTA (JP): Despite official rhetoric, most government
officials do not have sufficient knowledge or awareness of how to
protect and preserve the environment, an environmental legal
expert says.

This poor environmental awareness is reflected in the sporadic
issuing of regulations and decisions which are not conducive to
"sustainable development" concepts, said Mas Achmad Santosa.

The executive director of the Indonesian Center for
Environmental Law said many of the lingering environmental
problems in Indonesia can be attributed directly to the poor
environmental consciousness of the officials, who misunderstood
the sustainable development concepts.

A survey by the Office of the State Minister of Population and
Environment and the Environmental Management Development in
Indonesia in 1991 found that many key decision makers believed
that applying the sustainable development pattern would obstruct
the economic growth, Santosa told The Jakarta Post.

Things have hardly changed in the three years since the survey
results were published, he said. Now, "it's even worse."

He pointed out that Bank Indonesia, the central bank, in 1989
and 1990 ordered commercial banks to take environmental aspects
into account when approving loan applications. This requirement
was waived in 1991.

Many of the government's recent economic policies also show
lack of concern for the environment.

He pointed out that decision to use some Rp 400 billion ($190
million) of reforestation funds for the development of the
national aircraft industry reflects poor understanding of
sustainable development.

Santosa also noted that misinterpretation of the sustainable
development concepts often result in conflicts of interest among
government officials.

He suggested restructuring government agencies that deal with
environmental protection, possibly giving them more authority to
ensure proper enforcement.

State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja last month
blamed the courts for being too lenient in dealing with the few
cases of environmental violation which the government brought
before the court.

Influence

Santosa said that the state minister's influence only goes as
far as issuing policies. Their implementation and supervision are
in the hands of local governments and sectoral institutions, such
as industry or mining offices, which often do not necessarily
give priority to environmental concerns.

He said these government agencies tend to tolerate polluting
companies and later make compromises in lieu of prosecution.

One conflict of interest was brought to public attention last
week when the ministry of agriculture disclosed that thousands of
hectares of shrimp ponds in Java have been heavily polluted by
industrial waste. The pollution also jeopardized the health of
the local people who use the water to wash and cook.

Under the 1982 Environmental Law, a polluter is subject to a
maximum 10 years in jail and Rp 100 million ($46,000).

Since the law was enacted, only eight environmental cases have
been filed.

Santosa commented that the enforcement of the environmental
laws is affected by economic policy, which still allows collusion
between the political and economic powers.

Many industrial companies in the country are owned either by
state enterprises or by those politically connected to them.

This, combined with the fact that the judicial authorities are
not independent, has resulted in poor enforcement of
environmental law, according to Santosa.(sim)