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These are Regulations and Bills Regarding Natural Resources and the Environment Affecting the Indonesian Climate Crisis

The last 3 years the Indonesian government issued regulations related to natural resources and the environment that can accelerate the climate crisis in Indonesia. Not only that, in the final days of the 2014-2018 period, the DPR also competed for 2 bills (RUU) that threatened the future of all Indonesian citizens. Yet according to the IPCC and the UN, we only have 11 years left before the biggest climate disaster occurs. What regulations and bills can accelerate the Indonesian climate crisis?

 

Government Regulation on National Spatial Planning (PP 13/2017 – RTRWN)

 

This regulation amended several articles on national spatial plans that have been previously arranged. The problem is that this regulation allows the construction of a National Strategic Project (PSN) which previously did not exist in the Provincial/District/City RTRW only with the minister’s recommendation. Whereas the space for the implementation of activities/projects should be determined in advance in the Provincial/District/City RTRW. Determination of Provincial/District/City RTRW also needs a Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS) to ensure integrated sustainable development and climate change adaptation and participatory consideration in a policy/plan/program.

Read moreThese are Regulations and Bills Regarding Natural Resources and the Environment Affecting the Indonesian Climate Crisis

Farmers’ Day: Still Awaiting Settlement of Agrarian Conflicts

Jakarta – (Tuesday, 24th of September 2019) Many agrarian conflicts that occur in Indonesia today remind us of agrarian conflicts in the past. As we know, agrarian conflicts that occurred in Indonesia have occurred from ancient times, the most obvious is during the new order era.

 

The dynamics of the current series of agrarian conflicts are rooted in the ideology of the new order which confirm that development is something that must be done to boost the people’s economy. Therefore, according to the government, land is perceived as belonging to the public interest for development. Many cases of land grabbing are carried out by the government against the people.

 

In 1965 the government intimidated to seize people’s land. People who did not want their land to be seized were labelled with Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) accomplices, where the statement as PKI at that time was a scary thing. So that inevitably, people had to surrender their land to the government with compensation, even some people did not get compensation at all.

 

Under the pretext of accelerating development, the government in the new order era invited investors to carry out the development program. The wave of rejection of land seizure occurred at that time, unfortunately the wave of rejection was ignored by the new order government. The government seemed to defend investors rather than the people whose land was seized.

Read moreFarmers’ Day: Still Awaiting Settlement of Agrarian Conflicts

WTE in the Middle of the Renewable Energy Vortex

Recently, discussions related to the construction of the Waste-to-Energy Power Plants (WTE) are often discussed following President Joko Widodo’s direction to continue accelerating the construction of the power plant. Basically, the construction of WTE is carried out as one of the programs to meet the strategy of implementing technology in handling household waste and household-like waste that is environmentally-friendly and efficient.[1] In general, this action is carried out as a form of performance improvement for waste handling.[2] In its development, in fact the construction of WTE is not only carried out for handling waste, but also to meet the sources of electricity in Indonesia, especially in terms of increasing the role of renewable energy, juxtaposed with other renewable energy sources in Indonesia such as water, wind, and solar.

 

WTE is a Renewable Energy Source?

In Indonesia, Waste-to-Energy Power Plants (WTE) is categorised as renewable energy. Historically, the existence of the definition of WTE as a renewable energy source in Indonesia is by the issuance of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 18 of 2016 concerning the Acceleration of Waste-to-Energy Power Plants Development in Province of DKI Jakarta, City of Tangerang, City of Bandung, City of Semarang, City of Surakarta, City of Surabaya and City of Makassar which in the “considering” section of the regulation explained that WTE in Indonesia needs to be built in order to convert waste as an energy source and improve environmental quality, as well as to enhance the role of electricity based on new renewable energy. Even in the WTE definition in the regulation has also been explained in article 1 number 3 related regulations, namely:

 

“Waste-to-Energy Power Plants, hereinafter abbreviated as WTE, is a power plant that uses new and renewable energy based on municipal solid waste that is converted into electricity through thermal process technology including gasification, incinerator, and pyrolysis”

 

Although in Presidential Decree No. 35 of 2018 concerning the Acceleration of the Construction of Waste Processing Installations into Electric Energy Based on Environment-Friendly Technology (regulation replacing PD No. 18 of 2016) the definition related to WTE as new and renewable energy is already gone, but in its implementation WTE is still categorised as renewable energy, especially when referring to regulations within the scope of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The example of the regulation is Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 53 of 2018 related to the Utilisation of Renewable Energy for Electricity Supply, which categorizes WTE as a renewable energy source. Currently WTE is defined as “Waste Management into environmentally-friendly technology-based electricity that meets quality standards in accordance with statutory provisions and can reduce the volume of waste significantly and is tested”.[3] Unfortunately, the understanding of environmentally-friendly technology is still ambiguous.

Read moreWTE in the Middle of the Renewable Energy Vortex

Jakarta Air Pollution Lawsuit Trial Is Continued, Representatives of President and Governors Are Expected to Present

The Central Jakarta District Court held a further trial on the air pollution lawsuit on Thursday (8/22/2019) today.

The lawsuit was filed by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Greenpeace Indonesia, and Friends of the Earth Indonesia (Walhi), as well as 31 people who joined the Clean Air Coalition (IBUKOTA).

Today’s trial agenda is scheduled for further document’s examination and mediation. “Completing previous trial’s (documents) and mediating,” said LBH Jakarta public attorney, Ayu Ezra, when confirmed, Thursday (8/22/2019).

This trial was scheduled for 10:00 WIB, but until now the trial has not yet begun.

Ayu hopes that the defendant and the defendant’s lawyer can attend the first trial.

Read moreJakarta Air Pollution Lawsuit Trial Is Continued, Representatives of President and Governors Are Expected to Present

The Substance of the Land Bill Has Not Answered the Agrarian Problem, Ratification Must Be Postponed!

The Land Bill which is currently being discussed by the Indonesian Parliament and the Government has the aim to target the three main issues listed in the “considering” section of the draft bill, namely to overcome imbalances in the structure of control, ownership, and use of land; overlapping laws and regulations; and land conflicts and disputes. However, it is very unfortunate, that the substance of the Land Bill in the draft per 22nd of June 2019 has not been able to answer the three main issues.

 

The current Land Bill hasn’t been able to answer the problem of structural imbalances in land tenure. This bill regulates restrictions on control of land, but also opens opportunities for deviations from these restrictions.[1] This bill in no way regulates the overhaul of land tenure and redistribution of excess land tenure. In fact, this bill has the potential to provide bleaching for violations of physical control over land that exceeds Land Cultivation Rights (HGU) or control over land that does not yet have an HGU.[2]

 

This bill also seems to revive the concept of domein verklaring, which was used by the Dutch to seize land from the community, by regulating that land which cannot be proven for its land rights will automatically become state land. This will certainly have a negative impact on indigenous peoples who are still struggling to gain recognition of their customary territories.

Read moreThe Substance of the Land Bill Has Not Answered the Agrarian Problem, Ratification Must Be Postponed!

Symposium “Initiating the Vision of Democracy and the Environment of Indonesia”

Jakarta – Senin (05/08/2019). Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI), Association for Community-Based and Ecological Law Reform (HuMa), Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), Publish What You Pay (PYWP), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), and the Code Initiative jointly held a Symposium on “Initiating the Vision of Democracy and the Environment of Indonesia”, at the Royal Kuningan Hotel, Jakarta.

 

In his remarks, Executive Director of ICEL Henri Subagiyo said that the speech delivered by the elected President Joko Widodo last month at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), was very focused on increasing investment and infrastructure for development. However, it is unfortunate that the vision did not touch the issue of protecting natural resources and the environment.

 

“This is one of the weaknesses of the Indonesian Vision in dealing with various national problems. Because, so far the condition of natural resources and the environment quite problematic and should get priority to be addressed. The government should be able to lay a stronger foundation for sustainable development onward,” said Henri Subagiyo.

Read moreSymposium “Initiating the Vision of Democracy and the Environment of Indonesia”

Air Pollution Lawsuit Trial Was Postponed Three Weeks

Air pollution lawsuit was postponed. (CNN Indonesia/Andry Novelino)

 

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia — The air pollution lawsuit trial filed by 31 residents calling themselves citizen law suits at the Central Jakarta District Court today (1/8) was postponed.

The first trial was adjourned because the formal conditions had not been completed by the plaintiff’s attorney.

“The defendants have agreed [for the trial] to be postponed due to lack of formalities that must be met in this trial. So we postponed,” said Chief Justice Saifudin Zuhri at Central Jakarta District Court.

The legal counsel of the Clean Air Coalition (IBUKOTA) Advocacy Team had not submitted the original version of power of attorney and only submitted a photocopy.

“We ask for the original version that has been registered. Then, attached with, for the recipients of the power of attorney, each official record of attorney’s oath, the original version and its photocopy, including the original version of ID card and the photocopy,” he said.

Read moreAir Pollution Lawsuit Trial Was Postponed Three Weeks

Jakarta Air Pollution Lawsuit First Trial Held Today

A view of huge flow of vehicles crossing the M.H Thamrin road in Central Jakarta, Monday (29/07/2019). Based on the data from provider site of daily online pollution maps of major cities in the world AirVisual, Jakarta is in the first place of the world’s most polluted city on Monday (29/7) morning with air quality reaching 183 or in the unhealthy category. (KOMPAS.com/GARRY LOTULUNG)

 

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The first trial of Jakarta Air Pollution Lawsuit with the defendants from the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta to the President of the Republic of Indonesia will be held on Thursday (1/8/2019) today.

The lawsuit was filed by the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Greenpeace Indonesia, and Friends of the Earth Indonesia (Walhi).

Today’s first trial is scheduled for lawsuit readings.

“Yes, lawsuit readings for today,” said LBH Jakarta public attorney Ayu Ezra when confirmed, Thursday morning.

Ayu hopes that the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s lawyers can attend the first trial.

Her party also invited the public to oversee the trial of this air pollution lawsuit for better air quality.

“Our effort is so that people get their rights to a good and healthy environment,” she said.

Previously, a number of these institutions sued the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta to the President because of Jakarta’s poor air quality.

They filed a citizen lawsuit (CLS) to a number of government institutions through the Central Jakarta District Court with case register number: 374/PDT.G/LH/2019/PN.JKT.PST.

“There are seven defendants. They are the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister of Environment and Forestry, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, as well as the co-defendants of the Governor of West Java, and the Governor of Banten,” Ayu said.

 

Source: https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2019/08/01/08345391/sidang-perdana-gugatan-polusi-udara-jakarta-digelar-hari-ini

Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology Expert States Incinerator Is A Bad “Idea” To Solve Waste Problems in Indonesia

Jakarta – Prof. Emeritus Paul Connett, an activist and expert on chemical environment and toxicology expresses that building incinerators in twelve (12) regencies in Indonesia to handle waste is a very bad idea. On Saturday (07/13/2019).

 

“Why is this a very bad idea?” Because wastes in Indonesia is mixed and so many. The fact is 60% of wastes in Indonesia is organic and it’s mixed with non-organic wastes. Therefore, we won’t get an efficient economic value from it, even with the idea that this generates electricity. The fact is the net energy production is small,” said Prof. Emeritus Paul Connett.

 

Prof. Paul Connett also explained that the plan to build incinerators is very costly and is a wrong solution to handle waste. Three fund sources for incinerators come from tipping fees, public tax which will eventually be used as expenses to burn every waste there is, starting from the capital cost, operating cost, and profit margin.

 

Government’s solution shouldn’t be high-temperature energy solution, but a low-temperature energy solution which is anaerobic digestion from organic waste management. Composing is a good way for an efficient upstream waste handling.

 

As an expert on chemical environment and toxicology, Prof. Paul explained blatantly why incinerators must be rejected. He detailed the risks of incinerators implementations which cause several negative impacts such as energy loss, health impacts, economic impacts, and etc. Especially for health impacts, his research, which has been referred by many parties, proves that a cow can inhale dioxin (incinerator’s byproduct) much more than humans. A one-day dioxin inhalation by a cow is equal to 14 years dioxin inhalation by humans.

 

He further explained, the next problem is human’s consumption of meat and milk from those cows. One litre cow milk contains dioxin equals to 8 months dioxin inhalation by humans. Dioxin attaches itself to fat tissue in the human body and then accumulates.

 

Prof. Paul’s research shows that women are able to release dioxin from its body by giving birth, however the dioxin will have been exposed to the baby, and in men, dioxin can never be released.

 

As an information, Prof. Paul came to Indonesia as part of his world tour titled Zero Waste Campaign Tour 2019. This was his second visit to Indonesia, the first one was in 2016 when he attended in-kind activities in multiple cities, starting from Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and Denpasar. (Dona).

Building Construction Permits Issuance and Anies Baswedan’s Sweet Political Campaign Promise

Jakarta – Building Construction Permits Issuance for 932 buildings in D Reclamation Island by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan received condemnation from environmental activists. The permits issuances are a bad precedent in decision making. Moreover, it seems that the promise to stop reclamation in the midst of political contestation a few years ago is only a sweet promise after all.

 

One of the reasons Jakarta Governor Anies Bawedan issued the permit is because of Governor Regulation No. 206 Year 2016 Regarding Guidance for Town Design of C, D, and E Reclamation island in Strategic Area of North Jakarta Beach. However, Jakarta WALHI perceives this reason is made up and inappropriate.

 

“Jakarta Governor can choose not to issued Building Construction Permits, but he chose to issue it instead due to the existence of Governor Regulation No. 206 Year 2016,” said Executive Director of Jakarta WALHI Tubagus Soleh Ahmadi in a conference pers in Jakarta, on Monday (06/17/2019).

 

“Governor Regulation No. 206 year 2016 refers to Government Regulation No. 36 Year 2005 as derivative regulation of Law No. 28 Year 2002 Regarding Buildings is inappropriate and seems to be made up because the core problem is reclamation. Those buildings are built in an area where there is no clear regulation. This means, Governor Regulation No. 206 Year 2016 was issued to ‘facilitate’ building constructions in reclamation islands,” said Tubagus.

Read moreBuilding Construction Permits Issuance and Anies Baswedan’s Sweet Political Campaign Promise