Walhi campaigns for participative environmental law

Walhi campaigns for participative environmental law

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi)
pressed their demands yesterday for a future environmental law
which allows greater public participation in decision making
processes.

About 50 Walhi activists from across Indonesia, waving flags
and banners, marched to the House of Representatives where they
were met by Golkar legislators.

They unfurled banners condemning several government and
business projects that they alleged had degraded the environment.

Eduardo Sareng from Walhi's East Nusa Tenggara chapter said in
his speech in the demonstration: "We're not against development
projects unless they threaten people's lives."

The government-sponsored environment bill to revise the 1982
environment law was submitted to the House last April.

Each of the House's four factions has set up a team to help
pass the bill by the end of September.

Walhi Executive Director Emmy Hafild said in a discussion with
the legislators that the bill was a setback compared to law No.
4/1982 which it sought to amend.

"Articles guaranteeing public and NGO participation in
management of the environment have been scrapped," Emmy told the
Golkar team of legislators led by Didin S. Sastrapradja and
W.M.R. Sudjoko.

She said Article 19 of the 1982 law stated that non-
governmental organizations were guaranteed a role in
environmental issues. While in the new bill, "non-governmental
organizations" was swapped for more specific "environmental
organizations".

This implies that individuals and informal groups, such as
nature lovers, no longer have a say in managing the environment.

"It (the Article 19 of the 1982 Law) is the only one in this
country that guarantees NGO and public participation in managing
the environment," Emmy said.

Also present at the meeting was Tom Beanal, the famous leader
of the Amungme tribe in Irian Jaya who captured world attention
with his lawsuit against New Orleans-based giant mining company
Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc.

Beanal criticized the bill for not accommodating the interests
of indigenous people, who had often become victims of development
policies.

"If a law that guarantees indigenous people's rights existed
here, I would not have to take a lawsuit all the way to the
United States when I have another environmental dispute.

"Now, local people's complaints on environmental catastrophes
are never heard by the government, and people always lose to
those who have money in environmental cases," Beanal said.

Walhi's delegation also delivered a statement to Golkar
legislators which urged the House to reject the bill should it
negate people's right to participate in managing the environment.

It also urged the House to use its initiative to evaluate and
revise any regulation which denied people their right to
participate in development.

Legislator Didin said the Golkar faction had already made a
plan to make the bill "more progressive".

"Just wait and see. We've also talked about these issues with
other NGOs, and with Emil and Koesnadi," he said, referring to
the former state minister of environment, Emil Salim, and
environment law expert of Gadjah Mada University, Koesnadi
Hardjosoemantri. (aan)