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)