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.