Jakarta's info law forbids sharing of maps

But exemptions are possible, says official
Zakir Hussain Indonesia Bureau Chief In Jakarta Straits Times 19 Jul 13;

INDONESIA'S reluctance to publicly share maps that could help pinpoint the culprits behind haze-causing forest fires can be partially traced to its Freedom of Information Law.

Clauses in the law specify that data which could reveal the country's wealth of natural resources, such as forests, cannot be made public.

Exemptions can be made, but there is a process that needs to be followed, the Communication and Information Ministry's chief spokesman, Mr Gatot Dewa Broto, told The Straits Times.

The issue of whether concession maps can be made public surfaced when environment ministers from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand met in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to discuss tackling cross-border haze. They agreed that these maps would be shared between governments on a "case-by-case basis", subject to Asean leaders' approval at a summit meeting in October.

"Our regulations regarding transparency and publicly available information bar us from releasing such information," Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said.

The 2008 law actually mandates that agencies make a range of official data publicly available, with several exceptions, including where national security and diplomatic ties need to be protected. But it also says that these are not permanent, and the government can issue a regulation for an exemption. It does not say how wide the exemption can be.

Several observers and NGOs have criticised the limited plan to share maps, saying continued secrecy will impede efforts to prevent illegal fires.

Singapore had earlier pressed for these maps to be made public, so they could be used with satellite data on hot spots to identify and take action against Singapore-linked firms with fires on their lands.

Mr Samadhi Nirarta of Indonesia's presidential work unit on monitoring development (UKP4) said that while information on natural deposits is classified, information on concession ownership and areas of concession, among others, should be public.

Like Indonesia, Malaysia was "strict" about sharing its maps, Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel said on Wednesday. He also said that land matters came under the jurisdiction of state governments, not the federal government.

"But a state government cannot reasonably refuse federal government access (to land information)," said Universiti Malaya law lecturer Azmi Shahrom. "Malaysia has ratified the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which requires that countries share information."

A more sensitive point, he noted, was the scrutiny that access to concession maps would bring.

"Who owns this land, who this person is related to, how big his area is - once everything is transparent, then any transaction or ownership which is dubious will be open to public scrutiny," he said.

Dr Nigel Sizer, director of the World Resources Institute's Global Forests Initiative, described the lack of commitment to public disclosure as "a serious obstacle to progress".

"Continued secrecy by South-east Asian governments about the location of land holdings by oil palm, pulp wood and other companies will seriously impede efforts to prevent illegal fires and the associated suffocating smog in the future."

Additional reporting by Teo Cheng Wee in Kuala Lumpur
Indonesia's House supports government’s move to ratify haze pact
Margareth Aritonang, The Jakarta Post 19 Jul 13;

The House of Representatives said on Thursday it welcomed the government’s second attempt to ratify the 2002 regional haze treaty in the wake of the massive forest fires in Sumatra, the smog from which choked local residents and people living in neighboring states.

Nur Yasin, a National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker at the House’s Commission VII on the environment, said the lawmakers were ready to discuss the planned ratification. “We have not yet discussed the treaty in Commission VII, but we are ready to deliberate the government’s proposal because I think the purpose is good,” he said.

The government has said that it will bring the treaty back for discussion at the House. On the sidelines of an ASEAN ministerial meeting to discuss ways to prevent forest fires in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told reporters that Jakarta hoped to be able to ratify the treaty early next year.

Indonesia, the largest country in the regional grouping, is the only ASEAN nation that has yet to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution that was brokered in 2002.

It has now come under pressure from its neighbors to immediately ratify the treaty following June’s forest fires that created severe haze that blanketed Singapore and Malaysia.

The incident forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to issue a formal apology to the two neighboring countries, which severely criticized Indonesia for its sluggish response to the haze problem.

The government first submitted a bill to ratify the pact in 2008. Lawmakers at that time refused to endorse the bill, saying it only benefited neighboring countries and undermined Indonesia’s interests.

At the time, the House argued that Indonesia should not ratify the treaty as ASEAN members did not take into consideration Indonesia’s demands to forge regional cooperation to combat transboundary illegal logging and illegal fishing. The House also expressed its objections to the fact that most clauses within the bill were obligatory.

It is unclear if the government has submitted a new bill. “I haven’t heard anything so far. This is why we haven’t started any discussions on the matter,” Firman Subagyo, a lawmaker from the House’s commission VII on forestry, said.

The Golkar politician added that his commission would strongly support the plan to ratify the treaty, especially if it could enable Indonesia to impose harsh sanctions on any foreign companies found to be responsible for the forest fires.

“The recent case in Riau is an incentive for us to review our policies regarding the environment and forestry,” he said.

ASEAN has also welcomed Indonesia’s commitment to address the haze problem.

The grouping’s secretary general, Le Luong Minh, said the move showed Indonesia was ready to mobilise available resources to put out fires and eradicate the haze problem. “This is a spirit of cooperation to be commended, and with such successes, we will be able to achieve our agreements,” he said as quoted by Bernama on Wednesday.

Critics have said that the main problem is the fact that the Indonesian government is failing to enforce the law to prevent illegal practices that cause forest fires.

Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, for instance, called on Indonesia to enforce its own laws to make a big difference.

In a first, the National Police said it was ready to press charges against a Malaysian firm that was alleged to be responsible for the forest fires in Riau. The police accused PT ADEI Plantation and Industry, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) of conducting irresponsible burning practices in its concession area in Riau.

Previously, the environment minister had suggested 14 companies were the source of the fires in Riau.

Eight of the companies are Malaysian-owned, namely PT Langgam Inti Hiberida, PT Bumi Rakksa Sejati, PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation (PTTMP), PT Udaya Loh Dinawi as well as PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa, PT Multi Gambut Industri, PT Mustika Agro Lestari and PT ADEI.

The police then narrowed down their investigation to five companies, including PT ADEI.