Indonesia in tricky position at biodiversity talks

Indonesia in tricky position at biodiversity talks

JAKARTA (JP): Hosting the Convention on Biodiversity
conference will be difficult for Indonesia given the
controversial issues in which the country has a great stake, a
Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.

"Our position must be neutral and we want the conference to
succeed, we don't want a deadlock," said the Ministry's head of
environmental affairs, Made J. Sastrawan in a seminar on
biodiversity.

For Indonesia and other developing countries it is urgent that
the November conference come up with decisions to defend their
interests.

The event, called the Second Conference of Parties on the
Convention on Biodiversity, will be held here from Nov. 6 until
17.

Sastrawan, an Indonesian delegate since the 1992 Earth Summit
which issued the Convention in Rio de Janeiro, said immediate
action is needed. The implementation of any decision regarding
biodiversity will need years to even begin, given the complexity.

At July's international biosafety forum held in Madrid no
consensus was reached. Instead, he said the forum ended in
uncompromised opinions regarding safety procedures, biosafety
protocols and the use of biotechnology, particularly genetic
engineering.

"If the November conference decides on a legally binding
protocol it will take five years before it can be implemented,"
said Sastrawan. If the conference succumbs to the will of a
minority of participants for only voluntary biosafety protocols,
"it might take 10 to 15 years before it can be carried out," he
added.

Proposals

Indonesia and other developing countries will push for their
proposals one last time at a September meeting in Paris, where a
subsidiary body on scientific, technical and technological advice
is working on the convention.

"The Jakarta conference will only talk on recommendations from
this meeting," said Sastrawan at a discussion held by the
National Consortium for the Conservation of Indonesian Forests
and Nature, Konphalindo.

Other speakers pointed out that a delegation of inter-
disciplinary experts, including lawyers, is vital to
participation.

Environmental lawyer Chee Yoke Ling of the Malaysia-based
Third World Network, also stressed the urgent need for
cooperation at least among Southeast Asian countries.

International environment talks are often dominated by
delegates from advanced countries controlled by the interests of
private corporations, she said.

"Governments must strengthen research (in basic sciences) so
that scientists and research (interests) are not controlled by
the private sector like in the United States," Yoke Ling said.

At the end of the discussion Konphalindo launched a new book
on biotechnology and conservation by Konphalindo's executive
director, Hira Jhamtani, Hari Hartiko of Gadjah Mada University
and several others. (anr)