Minister and NGOs to sue firms over floods, landslides on Java
Minister and NGOs to sue firms over floods, landslides on Java
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim said on Monday
that his ministry, a number of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and victims of landslides and floods in Java are set to
sue parties responsible for the recent natural calamities.
"We have talked with NGOs in Malang, Pekalongan, Garut,
Karanganyar, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and
the Legal Aid Institute Foundation (LBHI) about the plan to file
a lawsuit against the responsible authorities," he said at a
hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VIII
overseeing, among other things, the environment.
Nabiel said the lawsuit would demand compensation for victims,
rehabilitation of the ravaged environment, and demand that state
administrative policies be revoked.
He did not mention any names, but many believe that state
forestry company Perhutani should be held responsible for floods
and landslides on Java as it has failed to manage its forests
responsibly.
Perhutani is the only company that holds forest concessions on
Java.
A number of floods and landslides occurred in Java recently,
in Pacet, East Java, and Garut and Cirebon in West Java, which
claimed dozens of lives and caused massive material losses.
Governors of West Java and East Java have issued a regulation
to stop logging activity on Java, while governors of Central Java
and Bali have given a verbal agreement to impose a moratorium on
logging.
Governors of Banten, Jakarta and Yogyakarta are expected to
impose a logging moratorium immediately.
Nabiel expected that the lawsuit, whether it is filed in the
civil court or in the state administrative court, would be filed
in April.
Besides the lawsuit preparation, Nabiel also urged his
counterpart Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa to ban Perhutani from
conducting logging activities.
"Perhutani must limit its activities to planting, not logging
anymore," he said.
Meanwhile, Nabiel also rejected the plan to build a road
namely Ladia Galaska which would enter the Leuser National Park
in Aceh, saying the road would only pave the way for rampant
illegal logging.
"We have a severe lack of monitoring of our forests, just like
Brazil. Once we build the road into Leuser National Park, the
forest will be finished like those in Brazil," he said.
He also warned that if the plan continued, people living
around the Leuser National Park would suffer from more floods,
landslides, and drought.
A number of non-governmental organizations have also demanded
that the government stop its plan to build a road passing through
the park.