Public seeks wider access to environmental information
Public seeks wider access to environmental information
JAKARTA (JP): Legal and environmental experts called on the
government yesterday to grant the public wider access to
information on environmental management.
"The people's right to know is a basic element to involve them
in the development process," Indro Sugianto, director of the
Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, told a seminar.
According to Indro, the main obstacle to public participation
in development could be traced back to the existing development
paradigm that permits the state to exploit all human and natural
resources for the sake of capital investment by marginalizing the
public on the environmental issues.
"It naturally follows that environmental laws and regulations
are often unclear. For example, respect of the right to
participate is not followed by the right to access clear
information," he added.
The one-day seminar, sponsored by the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute, was titled Reinforcing the Public's Rights to
Information on Environmental Management.
Dadang Trisasongko, secretary of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation, told The Jakarta Post that the seminar intended to
formulate a working agenda between the press, various non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and the government to increase
public participation in development.
According to Dadang, the items on the agenda included greater
public participation in formulating environmental public policies
and strengthening the public's bargaining power in access to
information.
"This seminar, however, is just a first step toward greater
coordination between the press, NGOs and the government to
provide more accurate and comprehensive information to the
public," Dadang said.
Many experts have expressed concern over the mass media's
inaccurate and often misleading environmental coverage.
Daniel Dhakidae, a senior staff of the Kompas daily research
and development department, said that the complexities of
environmental issues are often exacerbated by the environmental
paradox.
"In their capacity as public policies, environmental issues
are often elitist due to technicalities involved in their
formulation. But the impact and degradation are obviously not at
all inclusive to the elites," he said.
Daniel also urged the public to be vigilant in digesting
information provided by the media, because not all magazines or
newspapers have sufficient skills in environmental issues.
Nabiel Makarim, deputy chairman of the Pollution Control of
the Environmental Impact Management Agency agreed that there are
obstacles preventing the public from accessing information.
In his paper, Nabiel referred to the unclear rights and
obligations of those who have access to information, the public's
capacity to digest the information and its distrust of
information provided as being some of the obstacles.
Unable to attend the seminar himself, Nabiel hoped that it
would find some solutions to the problems aforementioned. (14)