Managing the environment
In spite of the criticism it has drawn from environmentalists, the proposed bill on environmental management now being deliberated by the House of Representatives is a step in the right direction. At the very least, the proposed law, which is to replace a 1982 law, manifests an awareness on the part of the government of the growing importance of proper environmental management as this country prepares to enter the new century.
It is unfortunate indeed that, despite the rapid encroachment of industrial and urban development projects, many people still regard any talk about the environment as little more than grandiloquent rhetoric that has little real impact on their daily lives. Nevertheless, to those who are concerned about this development it has in the past decade become clear that the existing law offers insufficient guarantee that industrial and urban development -- which are obviously unavoidable -- will not leave us with living space unmarked by thoughtless industrial and urban expansion.
The current law on the environment seeks to avert such devastation by providing a judicial framework to ensure what planners call sustainable development, which is, in essence, development that does not deplete the resources that feed it. Its great merit is that it is the first legal product dealing with overall environmental management in Indonesia. On its foundation a string of secondary laws were generated that have proven useful in protecting the environment.
The 1982 law, however, is not perfect. A major objection expressed by environmentalists is that it is difficult to enforce because of the too-general nature of the phrasing in some of its articles. In the view of some environmentalists it also leads courts of justice to pronounce over-lenient verdicts. The proposed new law seeks to remedy this by providing more specific guidelines. Furthermore, it can make environmental auditing compulsory for companies instead of leaving it to their discretion, as is allowed under the present legislation.
Another amendment to the existing law is a stipulation which makes it possible for environmental organizations to sue companies for environmental offenses, although not for compensation. This latter claim can be made only by those affected by the offenses. Various articles of the present law have been worked out in greater detail and more aspects of environmental protection will be subject to regulation.
Indonesia is poised to enter the 21st century with the resolve to maintain its competitive standing and join the family of newly industrialized countries. Obviously, if the government is to take the concept of sustainable development seriously, it will need a "tool to clobber entrepreneurs who refuse to comply", as State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja explained in the House of Representatives on Monday.
In the meantime, one objection to the proposed law deserves to be noted. According to the Indonesian Forum for Environment, the proposed law represents a step backward from the 1982 legislation. The draft, it said, seeks to "castrate" people's participation in the management and supervision of the environment. Although it recognizes a role for the public, the draft law restricts such participation by making it subject to prevailing laws. Given the growing importance of environmental protection and management in the years and decades that are to come, the environmental forum's call for the House of Representatives to consider public input and opinion before it endorses the bill should get the attention it deserves.