JATAM | Mining Advocacy Network

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 10/12/2009

 

A group of environmental activists urged the newly installed legislators Saturday to amend laws that are considered environmentally unfriendly.

"I hope the lawmakers can support reviews on various laws that cause environmental damage, such as laws on mining, fisheries and forestry," executive director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), Berry Nahdian Forqan, told a discussion Saturday.

"The government's paradigm so far seems to consider natural resources as a mere commodity that can be used to get short-term benefits *economically* without thinking of its sustainability and management."
He said that paradigm had caused Indonesia's natural resources to be fully exploited, therefore he expected the new lawmakers to take the initiative to draft environmentally friendly laws.

"It is the legislators that will determine the direction of environmental management policies in the future," he said.
He expected the lawmakers, most of whom are from the younger generation, to support the environmental restoration process as ordered by the 2009 Environmental Law.

Executive director of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) Siti Maemunah, on the other hand, focused her expectation on mining contracts given to foreign companies that she considered caused more negative impacts on the state.
"The lawmakers must review those contracts," she stressed.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the People's Coalition for Equal Fisheries (KIARA), Riza Damanik, announced there had been a significant regression in Indonesia's fishery and sea management.
"It has been liberalized and mainly handed over to private foreign companies whereas people who live in the coastal areas are not benefiting from it at all," he said.
He added that 60 percent of people in coastal areas still lived under the poverty line and the situation had not changed during the five years of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first administration.
He said the government had divided Indonesian seas into 11 different areas, concessions for which were given to the private sector, mostly foreign firms.

In the past five years domestic demand for fishery products had increased to more than 1 million tons while the capacity was only 600,000 tons. The deficit was met by imported products, he said.
"The government sees its fishery activities as a mere business, whereas, as a country with the largest sea territory, Indonesia is supposed to use its fishery sector as capital to increase its political bargaining position with foreign countries," he said.

Director of the Indonesian Civilized Circle (Lima) Ray Rangkuti, considered the problems were because lawmakers did not have a united vision or mission on the direction of the development of the country.
"Most grand development designs for this country that tend to be exploitative come from the government," he said. "That is why lawmakers are supposed to play a checks-and-balances role."
He added young politicians should be able to prove that politics was not a goal but a tool to serve the people.
"They should offer a new platform to develop the country from an environmental perspective," Ray said.