RI to cohost workshop on autonomy

RI to cohost workshop on autonomy

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Acknowledging the shortcomings resulting from the
decentralization process, especially as it pertains to the
forests, the government will co-host an international workshop.

It is hoped that Indonesian officials can learn from the
experiences of other countries whose autonomy system works
properly.

"Our decentralization system was formulated in such a hurry,
that both the central and local administrations were unprepared.
Besides, the distribution of power stated in Law No. 22/1999 (on
Regional Autonomy) is unclear," Secretary-General of the Ministry
of Forestry Wahjudi Wardojo said on Tuesday.

Wahjudi will lead the Indonesian team to the workshop, which
will be held in Switzerland from April 27 to April 30. The team
includes representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Development Planning
Board.

Wahjudi said dissimilar perceptions among local
administrations about sustainable forest management exacerbated
the situation, contributing to the critical forestry problems in
the form of over exploitation, deforestation and illegal logging.

Enacted in 2000, the law on regional autonomy provides local
administrations much broader authority in making decisions
concerning their areas.

They are competing to enrich their areas by exploiting the
natural resources there. Some environmental experts believe that
the various administrations are ill-equipped to make intelligent
decisions on environmental issues.

Wahjudi expects the workshop will help the government find
solutions to those problems since many countries with large
forests and experience in a decentralized systems will
participate.

Co-hosted by the Swiss government, the workshop will involve
dozens of countries, such as the United States, Russia, Bolivia,
Japan, China and Vietnam.

Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia Georges Martin conceded that a
decentralized system was not easy to manage.

"There could be a period at the beginning when
decentralization could badly affect several sectors, including
forestry. From our experiences, what's important is to bring
elements of good governance to local communities ... local
entities," he said.

Martin's view was shared by the director of the Center of
International Forestry Research (Cifor), David Kaimowitz.

"The Ministry of Forestry will have to develop a lot of work
in the area of orienting, training and guiding (regental) and
provincial governments. This requires institutional development
to build the capacity of local governments," said David.

He said the system in Brazil, where local governments were
given financial incentives for their efforts to preserve the
environment, was a good example.

The results of the workshop will be taken and used as
considerations in the fourth annual meeting of the United Nations
Forum on Forests from May 3 to May 14 in Geneva, also in
Switzerland.