The omnibus bill on job creation aims to spur economic growth. However, a number of articles on the environment require special attention.
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Ahmad Arif/ Ichwan Susanto/Dian Dewi Purnamasari/Angger Putranto
·4 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – According to the assessment of researchers from the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), a number of potential environmental problems are contined in the omnibus bill on job creation, which the government submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) on 12 Feb. 2020. The draft bill could also cause problems related to spatial planning, mineral and coal mining, plantations, forestry, maritime affairs, coastal and small island management, electricity and biodiversity.
ICEL director Raynaldo Sembiring said in Jakarta on Wednesday (19/2/2020) that the omnibus bill on job creation placed environmental protection and management under the authority of the central government. This was evident, for example, in Article 23 point 24, which rescinded the duties and authority of provincial and district / municipal governments in environmental protection and management, whereas the central government had limited capability and capacity in accessing the regions. In addition, each region had a different environmental condition.
"One form of marginalizing environmental issues is the eased requirements for the environmental impact analysis (Amdal)," Raynaldo said.
The mandatory Amdal requirement, which is currently regulated by nine points in Article 23 of Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, has been replaced by one criterion with abstract indicators. This could reduce the quality of environmental management.
The omnibus bill on job creation has eliminated the environmental permit requirement and replaced it with a business license. The environmental permit requirement is stipulated in Article 23 point 4 on the amendment to Article 24 Paragraph (5) of Law No. 32/2009.
"Civil access to taking legal action on decisions that could cause potential environmental impacts is becoming more limited," said Raynaldo.
Supervision and administrative sanctions related to environmental violations could also be problematic due to the removal of articles 72, 73, 74 and 75, and the amendment to Article 76 of Law No. 32/2009. As a result, the bill lacks firmness on the agency responsible for environmental oversight, second-level supervision by the central government, the powers of the supervising agency and types of administrative sanctions.
As regards spatial planning, a number of items in the omnibus bill on job creation also need attention. One example was Article 15 Paragraph (5), which states that businesses can carry out their business activities directly after they receive confirmation on the absence of overlap in spatial use. The article did not mandate requirements on public participation, environmental feasibility tests and final business licensure before business activities could commence.
Weakening the public
According to IPB University forestry professor Hariadi Kartono, the omnibus bill on job creation had the potential to reduce public participation, for example in the preparatory stage of the environmental impact analysis. The bill also did not provide easy public access to information on the environmental feasibility decision as regulated in Law No. 32/2009.
The job creation omnibus bill contained three items that could weaken the environmental law. First, the changes to the articles could cause multiple interpretations because it did not provide contextual explanations for the amended article. Second, it had eliminated operational standards and directives. Third, the sweeping authority given to central government and the broad scope of the environment did not consider whether the government had the capacity to fulfill its vast environmental responsibilities.
Environment and Forestry Ministry Bambang Hendroyono had not responded by Tuesday evening regarding the items in the job creation omnibus bill that could negatively impact environmental and forestry issues.
There is nothing to worry about because the Amdal is a moral message that businesses must pay attention to environmental principles.
However, Bambang said in mid-January that environmental issues remained an important factor in business. The environmental permits were based on Amdal, while environmental management and supervision remained intact and vital to business activities that posed high or heavy risks to the environment
High-risk activities are those that cause pollution, damage and noise. Low-impact activities need only be registered. "There is nothing to worry about because the Amdal is a moral message that businesses must pay attention to environmental principles," Bambang said at the time.