More public input clled for on environment bill
More public input clled for on environment bill
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives welcomes more
public input in its deliberation of the environment law amendment
bill, a Golkar legislator said yesterday.
Legislator Didin S. Sastrapradja said the dominant party,
Golkar, had already listed issues and concerns raised by non-
government organizations, government-sponsored research
institutes and environmental law experts.
But Golkar was looking forward to more public input on the
government-sponsored bill, he said.
"As long as submissions are clear and reasonable, the House
will work to incorporate them into the bill."
The bill was submitted on Jan. 29 to amend the 1982
Environment Law, which is considered too weak to deal with
growing pressure on environment.
"We're committed to making a better law," Didin, also a
biology professor at University of Indonesia, told The Jakarta
Post.
The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, a non-government
organization, supported yesterday's proposal to involve the
public more in deliberation of the bill.
Its spokesperson, Siti Megadianty Adam, said: "The bill should
have the authority to establish a stronger and wider corridor for
people's participation in environmental management,"
As the Agenda 21 discussion and Rio Declaration had concluded,
a strong civil society was the key to a country's sustainable
development, she said.
Agenda 21 is a document on the sustainable development action
plans submitted by 179 countries in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The document aims to encourage international cooperation
for a good environment and healthy economic development.
Megadianty cited the bill's articles on people's participation
and decentralized people's participation, which she said were
"unclear and unsettled" because they contained a "further
regulation by the government" clause.
"Just delete the clause," she said.
She said it was important that the bill explicitly reflect and
interpret the principles and action plans declared at the 1992
Rio Earth Summit.
The principles include inter-generational justice, justice
within a generation, biodiversity protection, environmental cost
internalization and incentives, consultation and public
participation in development.
"These are not yet reflected optimally in the environment
bill," Megadianty said.
She said the bill should specify clear cut and enduring
principles, so that the law would operate rather than be
dependent on too many operational regulations.
"The reference to operational regulations should only be for
technical things," she said.
"The new law should not leave loopholes for interpretation
which could confuse people," Megadianty said, again referring to
the people's participation article in the bill.
"It's too much to include the 'regulated by the government'
clause. Just delete it," she said. (aan)