Strong environmental authority needed
Strong environmental authority needed
By Jim Scherer
JAKARTA (JP): Critics of government efforts at environmental protection in Indonesia need to look at the legal framework that makes enforcement actions difficult.
Recently, Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja announced the names of companies that were rated black under the "Proper" rating system for their failure to meet environmental standards.
The immediate and logical reaction is to ask why legal action isn't being taken against these black companies. The answer is that the environmental impact management agency (Bapedal) has little enforcement authority.
The request to investigate the companies and take corrective actions has been made to the police, the only authority able to do so.
A recent article in The Jakarta Post lamented the environmental damage being done to the Pulau Seribu group of islands off the coast of Jakarta.
It pointed out that many ministries and provincial agencies have differing regulatory responsibilities for these valuable ecologic resources, but that no agency does anything to stop the degradation taking place on a daily basis because it is not their primary responsibility.
On Jan. 15, in an article appearing in this newspaper, professor Otto Sumarwoto criticized the Amdal process which grants permits to new development and industry projects without proper environmental consideration.
Professor Otto correctly pointed out that putting environmental regulatory responsibility under ministries whose primary reason for being is development and use of natural resources will always mean the environmental considerations will be ignored or brushed over.
Minister Sarwono rightfully pointed out at the opening of a Bapedal regional office in Pekanbaru on Jan. 16 that environmental problems are mounting due to rapid economic development here.
How can the present environment be maintained in the face of such growth, polluters and a badly fragmented regulatory system? What is needed to force the use good environmental management? What is needed to stop the degradation of coral reefs, coastlines, riverbanks and the quality of life in general?
There must be one strong environmental authority. The United States learned in the late 1960s that having many federal agencies and differing state laws was ineffective in preventing environmental degradation.
In 1970 the personnel and authorities of fifteen separate agencies were combined in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is now the primary authority for investigating, prosecuting, fining, closing down and imprisoning those who damage the environment.
The EPA was given authority to be part of all major development planning to ensure that development projects were following environmental procedures.
In Indonesia there must be a strong environmental body with the regulatory authority to issue monetary fines, reject or cancel operating permits, bring criminal actions against willful violators, and give industry and developers a clear signal that they must operate in a correct and environmentally sound manner.
But when the ministries of industry, forestry, mining, and transportation have the same degree of authority as Bapedal, an agency without full ministerial authority, it is not surprising that we must depend on the voluntary compliance of industry.
We don't have to look far to see that everyone does not voluntarily do the right thing without the threat of punishment. Indonesia cannot rely solely on voluntary compliance to protect the environment over the next ten years of explosive economic growth.
We are currently assisting Bapedal in amendments to Law No. 4/1982 in order to empower the Ministry of Environment to take strong action while using other ministries and provincial governments as implementing agencies.
Will these changes be implemented? Only if the voice of the people is loud, clear and forceful. Shame, losing face, encouraging compliance, negotiation, and strong talk are the cultural tools of today and tomorrow but they need to be backed up by a strong enforceable authority when they don't work.
The writer is a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is currently team leader for the Bapedal Legal Mandate, Enforcement and Compliance Project.