MNCs poor environmental track record

MNCs poor environmental track record

Nur Hidayati, Jakarta

Many people do not believe that a multinational corporation
with a global reputation would victimize an already marginalized
community and damage the environment for profit.

In reality, however, that often happens. But actually, many of
these big companies, spread all over the globe, have a
notoriously poor track record. But with their super capital power
and huge political backing, they can cover things up, hide behind
politically well-connected figures and academic institutions
(scientific and social), as well as promote themselves through
massive advertising campaigns.

In the case of Buyat Bay in Sulawesi, Newmont gold mining firm
-- with its home office in Denver, Colorado -- also hides behind
controversy with an assist from government officials, although a
lot of evidence shows that its operation polluted the environment
and ecosystem in and around Buyat Bay.

There is also a tendency to simplify environmental problems by
calling them non-political problems. Environmental affairs
resides in the public affairs sphere since it directly relates to
the air people breathe, the water people drink and the places
people live. It relates to sources of livelihood and quality of
life for individuals and communities. Public affairs are always
political affairs, hence environmental affairs are political
affairs.

Apart from the legal process by the police against Newmont's
executives for corporate crimes, one basic question remains: Is
pollution in Buyat only an example of environmental mismanagement
or is it a violation of basic rights of individuals and
communities?

The Indonesian Constitution's Second Amendment, chapter XA on
Human Rights, article 28H, explicitly states that "Everybody has
the right to live a prosperous life physically and spiritually,
to have a proper place to live, and to have a good, healthy
environment and health services."

When pollution affects the people in Buyat Pante, most of whom
are small scale fisherfolk, they have lost their right to live a
prosperous life physically and spiritually and lost the right to
live in a healthy environment. Furthermore, they have lost their
source of livelihood that is essential to living in dignity.

Unfortunately, most of the time, the government also has not
been able to fulfill its constitutional obligations, for a number
of reasons; particularly, political pressure from multinational
corporations' home governments. The "awkwardness" felt by the
Indonesian government and the House of Representatives when
encountering such a problem, generally leads the state to make a
decision in favor of the multinational corporations.

The rampant practices of corruption, collusion and nepotism
(KKN) are another major obstacle for the government in carrying
out its obligations to protect the rights of the citizens.

The business sector has also contributed to sustaining
corruption. Instead of admitting that this massive graft at all
levels of society has caused a high-cost economy -- hence costing
them profits -- the business sector points their finger at
stringent environmental regulations, the labor movements and
local peoples' demands for sound business practices as the
reasons for the declining investment in the country.

In the concept of sustainable development -- which is defined
by the United Nations as development that meets the need of
current generation without compromising the future generation to
meet their need -- the environment is no longer seen as a
contradiction to economics (not merely economic growth). Taking
the debate into that arena is a thing of the past. Over a decade
ago, the world finally became aware, on a large-scale, when this
concept was loudly promoted by the world's leaders in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992. It is quite unfortunate that this government is
just now beginning to show some political will when it comes to
considering environmental aspects as crucial -- 12 years after
the Rio Declaration.

The Buyat case is a test case of how the new government will
handle environmental cases, especially the ones involving the
operation of multinational corporations. Furthermore, the action
taken by the new government in the Buyat case will become the
cornerstone of the law enforcement and legal certainty in
Indonesia in the future. The case will also be the benchmark and
signal of the new "rules of engagement" for doing business in
Indonesia.

If the new government is really serious and has genuine
political will to make changes, it will not maintain the practice
of business as usual as practiced in the past. If the new
government is really serious about eliminating corruption, now is
the time to prove it. The business sector must be given a sign
that now they must deal with a very different kind of government.
The business sector must be given a sign that the old rules no
longer apply in Indonesia.

By default, the business sector will have to adjust to these
new rules as it has always adjusted with previous governments
(for example, when corruption was the order of the day it also
adjusted to the corruption "culture"). We hope that the new
government will prove to the people that it is different from the
previous ones.

The writer is a Campaign Coordinator for WALHI (The Indonesian
Forum for the Environment).