Minister calls for alternatif energy

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister for Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday Indonesia should never stop seeking alternative sources of energy to ensure sustainable development.

Indonesia should reduce its dependency on fossil fuel, Sarwono said at the opening session of a three-day seminar titled Observing Indonesia's Sustainable Development Facing the 21st Century.

Within three to four years, Sarwono predicted, the world would have no other choice but start thinking about alternative energy sources because fossil fuel was running out.

"Sources of alternative energy abound, including solar, wind, and possibly even nuclear," Sarwono said. He did not say nuclear energy was a high priority.

The controversial bill on nuclear energy is currently under deliberation at the House of Representatives. Critics say that if passed, the bill would endorse the building of Indonesia's first nuclear power plant in Central Java.

A persisting problem linked to environmental degradation was the public's lack of awareness about environmental issues, Sarwono said.

"Including environment in the school curriculum and improving law enforcement will better this," he said.

Emil Salim, former State Minister for Environment, seconded Sarwono's opinion saying sustainable development should no longer be considered an empty slogan.

"Sustainable development specifically focuses on environmental concerns because it relates to trade and businesses that can no longer viewed as isolated sectors," Emil said.

To cope with the inevitable global environmental challenges, Indonesia must have a vision of sustainable development because the country was predicted to have 220 million people by the year 2014, he said.

"This means economics and ecology can no longer be viewed as separate entities," said Emil, also a lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Economics.

A holistic ideological, political, economic, social and cultural approach was necessary to implement the vision, he argued.

Other speaker on the first day were Surna Djajadiningrat from the office of the State Ministry for the Environment, academics Riga Adiwoso and Darmanto Yatman, P.M. Laksono, Tini Hadad from the Indonesian Consumers Protection Foundation.

The conference was held by the State Ministry for the Environment and the National Consortium for Forest and Nature Conservation in Indonesia. (06)