RI should develop new environmental partnership with NGOs
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.