Walhi and its concerns

Walhi and its concerns

From Republika

When I heard the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi)'s "research" on Jakarta's vulnerable clean water supply
on one of the private TV stations, I didn't feel proud of its
effort. Instead I felt it was using this merely as a camouflage
so as not to be labeled a non-governmental organization (NGO)
that seeks overseas funds. This organization has, up to now, only
been clamoring on environmental issues that concern big
companies.

To date, as we know, Walhi has always been sharply criticized
by the general public for not caring about environmental problems
in all areas. It only cares about environmental issues directly
related to big enterprises (eg. mining). Therefore, the public at
large is under the impression that Walhi is always using
environmental issues (in this case Jakarta's water supply) not
only to shed its negative image, but also to obtain offshore
funds.

There were no brilliant ideas from Walhi on how to address the
alarming problems as mentioned in the news report. In its
publication, Walhi only revealed the gravity of the problem and
the nonavailability of clean water due to industrial wastes and
ground water exploitation.

In my opinion, if Walhi wants to be an NGO that is really
concerned about the environment, it should take the steps below:

1. Be transparent about the funds it receives.

2. Do not only raise environmental issues, but also give
solutions.

AIDI JADRI

Jakarta