RI should develop new environmental partnership with NGOs

By Arian Ardie

JAKARTA (JP): As Indonesia intensifies its efforts to develop and protect its environment it is presented with a unique opportunity to develop a new environmental partnership between government, industry and non-government-organizations (NGOs). It is only through such partnership that the country will be able to realize its goal of protecting the environment while achieving sustainable development.

Indonesia can learn from both the successes and mistakes that have been made by the developed countries in their efforts to protect their environment. By doing so, Indonesia has the chance to leap frog steps that the developed world had to labor through.

In most of the developed world a command and control approach has been taken toward environmental regulation and development. Under this approach the government not only places sharp restrictions on what may be disposed of but also is very specific about the methods by which they must be disposed. For the command and control system to work effectively there must be strong enforcement mechanisms, technological as well as civil.

It requires a well developed environmental industry, well trained environmental auditors and a strong judicial system with a well defined commercial code.

At this point in time Indonesia is deficient in these areas. The command and control approach, however, has other drawbacks as well. It can stifle the introduction of new, often less expensive technologies by leaning on existing methodologies. Setting minimum compliance standards for industry, as command and control does often encourages companies to do the minimum, rather than to adopt technology that will allow them to surpass or anticipate standards. Worst of all, however, it sets up government, industry and NGOs as adversaries rather than partners in environmental development.

Because Indonesia is still in the early stages of developing a comprehensive national environmental program, the opportunity to create a cooperative rather than adversarial relationship exists. The country has all the necessary ingredients to cook up this new partnership, what remains to be seen is whether or not the stakeholders in the environment will be willing to work together.

The three main elements necessary for environmental development already exist in Indonesia. The government has targeted environmental protection as a major objective. Bapedal, the agency of environmental assessment and protection, has been created and is up and running. The NGOs are also well developed and vocal due in part to a relatively liberal attitude by the government towards environmental NGOs. Indonesia's industry is rapidly developing a good level of diversification. A small but fast growing environmental industry also exists. The question becomes how these groups need to interact to protect the environment while still achieving sustainable development.

There are some existing paradigms outside of the environmental area that provide a basis for the new partnership. Article 21 of the constitution dictates that the natural resources of Indonesia should be exploited for the greater good of the people. Presumably, this includes the environment. Pancasila provides the concept of gotong royong, a program of mutual self-help resulting in greater general welfare. The concept of musyawarah-mufakat provides a forum and formula for consensus decision making. Finally Indonesia as the chair of NAM is the standard bearer for developing an alternative to the programs of the developed countries.

If gotong royong and musyawarah-mufakat are to be effectively employed in the development of the environment each of the participants has duties and obligations that must be met. As the ultimate representative of the people, government must also act as the leader in developing consensus. It is also the responsibility of the government to make sure that the rewards of adopting an environmental policy are equitably distributed.

This means that policy and regulations must further the development goals of fostering small and medium scale enterprise, promoting domestic content and developing all regions in Indonesia. Bapedal, as the main enforcement and development agency, must strive to become an agency for environmental development rather than an agency of environmental enforcement.

Industry has the most to gain by creating this new partnership. Therefore it also shoulders the greatest responsibility for its success. Industry must be willing to adopt clean methods of production, minimize its waste, dispose of hazardous materials properly and practice self-monitoring and assessment. It must also take these steps proactively, it cannot wait for government to dictate what must be done.

The advantages for industry are clear. Practicing these measures will result in increased international competitiveness, safeguard the resources it relies on, improve community and worker relations and in many cases result in greater production efficiency. Although there will be initial investment costs associated with adopting environmental technology, these are minimal when compared with the huge medium and long term costs of not making the investment. Those costs and liabilities could include higher cost of production inputs, clean up costs of polluted rivers and soils, civil liability for damage to the environment and the high cost of retrofitting production systems if the government starts to mandate solutions.

The environmental industry, those companies that provide environmental products and services, must not only abide by the same practices as general industry, but must also find cost effective environmental solutions at all levels of industry that are consistent with Indonesia's current stage of development. They must provide the best applicable technology. They must promote local content and transfer of technology, they must actively provide solutions that will enable companies to cost effectively achieve sustainable development.

If Indonesia's environmental companies can accomplish these goals they will also spawn an environmental industry that creates new jobs, technologies and opportunities.

NGOs have a special role in the new environmental partnership. They are the eyes and ears of the environmental movement. They are also its heart and soul and it is their job to act as the moral conscience of the environmental movement and industry. They must ensure that government and industry fulfill their responsibilities. They must act as the voice of the consumer, relating the concerns of the people about their environment. They must also increase the awareness of the people as to how to safeguard their environment. They must base their program on proven scientific evidence not rhetoric or dogma. They must also be vigilant against succumbing to political pressure from groups or parties that wish to exploit the environmental movement for other purposes. In this process they must find ways to actively develop the support of industry and government.

The best way to see how this partnership can work is to look at an example. Recently, Presidential decree No. 19/1994 was signed stating that all hazardous B3 waste must be treated at an approved facility or properly treated at sight. This decree is a good example of how government, industry and NGOs can make the process work. Although there is currently only one approved waste treatment facility, others will soon follow. There have been some who have suggested that this creates a monopoly situation for the company. In fact it probably does the opposite. The effect of the decree is to quantify the costs of waste disposal. It provides the basis for sound cost comparisons. If the costs are deemed high by industry, that should provide incentives to search for alternative methods of production, using clean technology or process chemicals. The government has acted responsibility in this case mandating that the waste must be properly treated, but not dictating the method by which it must be treated.

Government and industry have formed a partnership for the first treatment site with Bapedal holding a stake in the private company. The rest of the environmental industry must now start promoting alternative methods of production that are environmentally friendly. They must provide technology that also enable small and medium size businesses to comply with the decree. NGOs, for their part must not only support these efforts they must also assist in the education process, promoting alternative methods of production.

Working together for the reduction and proper treatment of hazardous waste will have many benefits. The most obvious benefit is a cleaner environment. This results in several multiplier effects. A cleaner environment will help to safeguard the tourist and fisheries industries. It will enable Indonesian products to be more competitive on the international market, especially in those countries that have echo-labeling or minimum environmental standards, resulting in more jobs, new technologies and greater tax revenue for the government.

Developing a new environmental partnership in Indonesia will require close cooperation among industry, government and NGOs. It will require rethinking how these groups relate to each other. It will require creative thinking and flexibility. Although some new investment will be necessary, the advantages for the economy will justify that investment many times over. Indonesia must take advantage of this unique opportunity to develop a new environmental partnership. By doing so it will take a giant step towards achieving the goal of sustainable development.

Arian Ardie is vice chairman of HIDUP Indonesia which groups companies dedicated to the promotion of environmental technology and is also vice president of PT Indokor Indonesia.

Window: Indonesia must take advantage of the opportunity to develop a new environmental partnership to enable the country to take a giant step towards achieving the sustainable development.