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