Nabiel rapped over comments on water bill

A number of non-governmental organizations criticized on Monday State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim over his seeming endorsement of the controversial bill on water resources.

Nabiel said early last week that his office would thoroughly review the bill on natural resources and that the deliberation of the controversial water resource bill should be continued.

According to Nabiel, the bill on natural resources, which had been submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation, gave too much authority to tribal communities, some of which had proven to be unable to manage their natural resources properly.

"Nabiel should retract his statement," Nur Hidayat of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said in a press conference jointly organized with the Nusantara Tribal Communities Association (AMAN), the Civil Society Coalition for Participatory Policy, the People's Coalition for Rights over Water and the Coalition for Farmer's Rights.

Nur said the bill on natural resources, which was drafted by Nabiel's office and had been discussed by a variety of public groups in more than 150 meetings over the last year and a half, should be pursued.

Activist Poltak Ike Wibowo of the farmer's coalition said Nabiel's statement could be understood as endorsing the controversial bills on water resources.

"The statement is dangerous as it can be used by proponents of the water resource bill," Poltak said.

He said the endorsement of the water bill would only benefit private companies, but cause losses to the public, especially farmers.

Activists claimed that the motives for the deliberation of the water resource bill was linked to the disbursement of a US$300 million World Bank loan under the Water Resources Sector Adjustment Loan (WATSAL).

Under the WATSAL, the World Bank disburses loans in three tranches -- the first $50 million was handed over in June 1999, then $100 million at the end of 2001, and the remaining $150 million will be disbursed once Indonesia completed its water reform initiative, including privatizing the water sector.--JP