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)