Group questions basis of clean city award
JAKARTA (JP): Activists criticized the government yesterday for neglecting environmental aspects when awarding the prestigious Adipura Awards to the cleanest cities in the country.
"They base the judgment on aesthetical aspects only," Mas Achmad Santosa, executive director of the Indonesian Center of Environmental Law, told a seminar organized by the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi).
The view was shared by M.S. Zulkarnaen, program director of the forum.
The government has presented the annual Adipura Awards since 1986. They are aimed at motivating local administrators as well as people to pay more attention to the environment, especially cleanliness.
"There are city mayors who are crazy for beautiful parks, but they neglect rivers, wells and other natural resources -- which are depleting," Santosa said.
"They should consider the carrying capacities of the eco- systems," he stressed.
He suggested that the environment be included not only in the presentation of the Adipura Awards, but also in how the prizes are awarded. This would encourage implementation of sustainable development principles, he believes.
The government presents yearly awards like the Kalpataru Awards for individual contributions toward maintaining the environment, the Upakarti Awards for both individuals and companies for their dedication to small-scale business, and the Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha Awards, which are given to provinces and major cities for successful development.
Both Santosa and Zulkarnaen urged the government to encourage people to preserve the environment through incentives. At the same time, the government should also work harder to enforce the law.
The government is planning to rate environment-friendly companies and publicly announce the winners as an incentive for others to work harder.
The rating system, originally expected to be launched last June, has been delayed due to unspecified technical matters.
Audit
Santosa said that the voluntary environmental audit policy, which was introduced late last year, has not really worked because of the absence of incentives and law enforcement.
"None of the industrial plants in Indonesia has volunteered for the environmental audit. Not even the multi-national industries which have undergone such audits in their original countries," Santosa explained.
Even though the audit is voluntary, the government has the authority to order a polluting company to undergo an audit.
The Environmental Impact Agency has ordered three firms: PT Inti Indo Rayon, a pulp and paper company, PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia and PT Freeport Indonesia, giant foreign mining companies, to be audited due to serious environmental problems.
Only PT Inti Indo Rayon has carried out the order, according to Arimbi H.P., an executive of Walhi.
"PT Freeport, which has operated here for about 30 years, is still working on the environmental impact analysis," Arimbi said.
She lashed out at the American company for making huge profits but doing little for the environment.
Santosa said the information about the environmental audits should be made public so that people can actively take part in preserving the environment.
"Unfortunately, access is difficult because we don't have a freedom of information law," he said.(sim)