Jakarta Globe 13 Jan 09;
Indonesia’s domestic policies on mining, agriculture, fisheries and forestry do not support its own international campaign for tackling climate change, an environmentalist said on Monday.
“It only took [the government] two months after the climate change convention in Bali to issue regulations that could lead to more exploitation of our forests,” Nur Hidayati, coordinator of the Indonesia Civil Society Forum for Climate Justice, or CSF, said during a discussion titled “Rocky Road to Climate Justice” in Central Jakarta on Monday.
In December 2007, Bali hosted the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which attracted about 10,000 participants from more than 180 countries, as an initial step toward drafting a new climate agreement before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
In February 2008, the government issued regulations that nongovernmental organizations said created loopholes that paved the way for further deforestation in previously protected forests.
Giorgio Budi Indarto of the Indonesian Center For Environmental Law said the regulations could cause further destruction because they opened the door for mining and other companies to acquire rights to operate in protected forests. The previous regulations had restricted such rights to 13 specific companies.
“We already have enough problems keeping our forests standing without these regulations,” Indarto said.
Meanwhile, Siti Maimunah, the national coordinator of the Network for Mining Advocacy, or Jatam, said the new mining law was a potential threat to the environment because of fears surrounding the granting of licenses by local governments.
The law, issued in December 2008, replaces the old system of mining contracts with a permit system and reduces the concession period from 30 years to 20 years.
“The law would attract more investors to open up coal industries here, which would be ironic because burning coal contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions,” Maimunah said.
Riza Damanik, the general secretary of the Fisheries Justice Coalition, said that a new ministerial decree allowing the use of trawlers and drag nets in the waters off East Kalimantan Province was not in accordance with the spirit of tackling climate change, which the government was trying to accommodate.
“The use of trawlers has been forbidden in Indonesia since 1980 because of the risks of damaging the environment and ruining the ocean ecosystems, especially coral reefs,” Damanik said. “The new decree is obviously not an attempt to protect the environment.”
Trawling is a method of fishing in which a ship drags a large, tunnel-shaped net behind it, a practice which can damage the sea floor and contribute to overfishing.
A regulation issued by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries allows trawling in waters off four districts in East Kalimantan: Nunukan, Tana Tidung, Bulungan and Kota Tarakan.
In 2008, a presidential decree established Indonesia’s National Council on Climate Change, which is responsible for tackling climate change issues, starting with technology transfers, adaptation and mitigation efforts, along with funding mechanisms.
Fabby Tumiwa, the director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, said that the council was not particularly effective because of the inability of the council’s sectors to work together effectively.
“The council is supposed to be a policy coordinator to support the government’s campaign,” he said.
“However, the council is still not effective because each of the sectors has its own ego and territory, which has resulted in communication problems.”
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acts as head of the council, which also includes the head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and 17 ministers, including those responsible for the environment, fisheries, forestry, finance, foreign affairs, home affairs and health.
