Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 08/12/2009 1:08 PM
The government plans to impose new licensing rules for business activities with adverse environmental impacts, in a bid to force companies across the country to adopt more eco-friendly measures.
A much-debated draft bill on environmental protection and management obliges businesses to secure an environment license as a requirement for the issuance of a business permit.
The House of Representatives was slated to pass the bill into law in September to replace the 1997 environmental law that requires businesses to have an environmental impact analysis (Amdal) conducted as a prerequisite for doing business.
The draft will allow the new environmental license to be issued by mayors, regents, governors or the environment minister, depending on the size and scope of the business activity.
The Office of the State Minister for the Environment, which drafted the bill, insists an environment permit is necessary for companies that generate air and water pollution, hazardous waste, greenhouse gas emissions and tailings.
To get an environmental license under the bill, companies must first have an Amdal document to determine whether a given business activity is environmentally feasible for a particular area.
"With this proposed bill, we want all companies to fulfill their duties to protect the environment," Ilyas Asaad, the ministry's deputy for environmental compliance, said Tuesday.
He added many companies were at present operating without an Amdal.
Experts and green activists have long complained about the ministry's poor law enforcement on companies that fail to secure an Amdal.
Since the regional autonomy law was enforced in 2001, local administrations have been authorized to issue an Amdal, despite the sheer incompetence and brazen corruption involved in the bureaucracy at this level.
The environment ministry said previously there were 115 Amdal councils in municipalities and regencies across the country, but only half had made environmental feasibility reports for their respective regions.
The government is only responsible for analyzing environmental impact assessments for business activities that can potentially impact on the public, or for projects related to defense and security in border areas.
However, some regional administrations have rejected environmental assessments done by the government.
The Jakarta administration, for instance, has pushed ahead with a controversial plan for land reclamation along the city's northern coast, despite warnings from the government.
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Berry Furgon welcomed the call for mandatory environmental licenses.
"That was one of our inputs for the draft bill to ensure better environmental protection," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He added many companies were exploiting the country's natural resources without paying heed to preserving the resources, thereby setting the stage for natural disasters across the country.
"The licensing system will be effective if the environment minister is granted the power to revoke business permits once a company damages the environment," Berry said.
