Indonesia - Massive Bills Would Strip Environmental, Forestry, Mining Authority From States
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On Feb. 12, the government submitted one of the two omnibus bills, focused on job creation, to parliament, officially kicking off the deliberation process; on Feb. 15, it published an official draft for the first time. The draft, running more than 1,000 pages, has caught observers by surprise, as it contains numerous provisions that have far more dire environmental implications than previously feared. Chief among these is a concentration of power with the central government to issue the permits required for exploitation of natural resources.
Under the bill, regional administrations would have their power to manage forests and the environment revoked, making the central government the only authority on spatial planning and land and forest management. This would effectively reverse the decentralization wave that started in 1999 to devolve power to local authorities from the pre-1998 dictatorship known as the New Order.
Raynaldo Sembiring, the executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), said he had no idea that this power grab by the central government would be included in the bill. “We’re surprised that the authority over environmental and natural resources issues is being centralized,” he told Mongabay. “I thought this only applied to the approval of environmental permits, but apparently it will also apply to plantation, mining and electricity generation permits. They will all come under the authority of the central government.”
The change, if it passes, will be significant. At present, provincial and district governments have the authority to allow mining, logging, agriculture and other projects in their jurisdictions with a potential impact on the environment. The rationale behind decentralization, which is enshrined in law, is that local officials understand the needs and challenges of their respective areas better than the bureaucrats in the capital; and also to dismantle the decades of crony corruption that had allowed the governing class in Jakarta to farm out contracts for lucrative projects to family members and associates.
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https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/indonesia-omnibus-law-deregulation-environment-economy/
