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)