Indonesia launches SMS system for public to report environmental violations

Report environmental violations to 0811 932 932
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 26 Jan 10;

The government has launched an online system allowing the public to report environmental violations via short message service (SMS).

People can send reports of violations to 0811 932 932 or lodge them online via the State Environment Ministry website: penegakanhukum.menlh.go.id.

“We invite the public to monitor the progress of their complaints. We hope it will force the government or local administrations to do something to improve the environment,” State Environment Ministry compliance deputy Illyas Asaad said in Jakarta on Tuesday .

The ministry would, for example, receive reports on declining air quality, river pollution, or companies damaging the environment, Illyas said.

Illyas promised that his office would follow up on reports within two weeks from the time they were sent.

“We will send our auditors to the field to verify reports. Of course, we will also make it a priority to follow up on bigger cases,” he said.

The office will forward the reports it receives directly to related institutions across the country, and order them to act accordingly.

Green Whistle-Blowing: Now by Text
Jakarta Globe 26 Jan 10;

Did you catch someone in the act of dumping buckets full of trash or toxic material into a river near you? Do you have a burning desire to tell off the government for doing little to halt the destruction of forests? If you want these matters heard and addressed directly by the government, just pick up your mobile phone.

The State Ministry of the Environment on Tuesday invited members of the public to text their environment-related complaints to a new hotline – 0811-932-932. The launch of the number coincides with a new Ministry Web site, penegakanhukum.menlh.go.id, dedicated to news, views, and existing regulations on the environment.

“We received so many complaints, mostly through letters, fax or e-mail, but the methods were ineffective and took a long time. It is simpler for villagers or anybody else to text, rather than find access to the Internet and type out their complaints,” said Ilyas Asaad, deputy minister for environmental compliance. He added that on average the Ministry received 190 complaints a year.

“With the new system, the Ministry is hoping that we can also monitor environmental conditions in Papua. One of the difficulties for monitoring environmental conditions is the relationship between locals and the district or subdistrict administrations,” Ilyas said.

He said administrators across the nation were still finding it a challenge to incorporate environmental issues in their local regulations.

“Ideally, all complaints should be taken into account. But because we still lack resources and the necessary funding, we need to set priorities and will, for example, go after larger companies instead of smaller ones,” Ilyas said.

Berry Nahdian Furqon, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said the biggest challenge for the ministry was the steps the government would take once it received the complaints.

“The operational action counts. The relationship between the central government and regional administrations has been quite loose. The Ministry needs all the help they can receive from local administrations,” Berry said.

Furthermore, he said that green groups could use the system to address their complaints but they would still maintain their own independent methods to express their opinions.