Keeping our rivers clean

Keeping our rivers clean

The Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) last week
published a list of industrial companies which have been
polluting our rivers. This is a good step but the follow-up
measures that have to be taken are of equal importance. For
example, what sanctions should be taken against the industries
that have been guilty of polluting our rivers? Who will take the
initiative in taking those industries to court? Are the people
who have been affected by the pollution aware that they have the
right to demand compensation?

Human beings, including businessmen, live on a small planet.
The life of this planet depends on the manner in which man treats
it, including whether or not measures are taken to prevent
pollution and to surmount the impact of pollution. Businessmen
are not absolved from this responsibility. Making the biggest
possible profit is no longer the sole aim of business. Processing
waste products properly and taking care not to dump them into
rivers is part of that responsibility.

The Minamata case in Japan, which is probably the best known
case of environmental pollution, should forever be a reminder to
us all. Although the case took place a long time ago, the lessons
that are to be learned from it remain relevant even today.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta