The Bulletin of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law
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INTRODUCING
Greeting! This bulletin comes you from Jakarta, bringing you
updates about ICEL's work: environmental prosecutions, crafting
new and better green laws and legislation, collecting comprehen-
sive info on sustainable development in Indonesia, and keeping an
eye on all things green.
We are eager to have your input. Please ask questions, tell us
your reactions and contribute brief articles to:
GREEN NEWS INDONESIA
The editors are to be found on: icel@nusa.or.id and
icel@igc.apc.org.
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ADVOCACY
Current court and advocacy cases
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC FIELDS RADIATE ACROSS INDONESIA
The residents of a housing development at Ciledug Indah in West
Java hear a deafening noise like amplified crickets day and
night.It is not the sound of insects, however, but of 500.000
volts of electricity directly overhead. Many of the residents
experience itches, nausea and dizziness which they attribute to
the blasts of high-voltage electricity which they live amongst.
A decade ago a developer obtained a permit from the local govern-
ment to build this housing development at Ciledug Indah. Eight
years later, the Public Works Department in the Central Govern-
ment in Jakarta - who, contrary to the local government's deci-
sion to zone the area for housing, had already classified the
area as a green belt to remain free of housing development -
decided to grant a permit to a separate company to build several
kilometres of high-voltage electricity cables over the roofs of
the housing development.
The residents, uneasy about the development from the beginning,
eventually formed a committee to challenge the permit to build
the cables, which were intended to provide domestic electricity.
As victims of two conflicting government decisions, they demanded
to be relocated from the site and to be given compensation for
the move. The Public Works Department made a commitment in to a
representative of the Ciledug community in November 1994 to
rectify the conflict. This was the first time in Indonesia that a
government agency has actually recognized there may be problems
combining living areas with high-voltage powerlines.
This is not due to a lack of protest from community groups. In
fact, the residents of Ciledug Indah are one of seven groups -
altogether representing possibly a million people - taking
action across Indonesia because they are forced to live in areas
of high electro-magnetic fields. The first health impact most of
these people note is not the electricity itself but the intrusion
of the electricity hardware, the towers, cables, and isolators,
which frequently explode, causing cuts and burns.
The other health impacts of electro-magnetic radiation are more
controversial - whether these be from television sets, hair-
dryers, or high-voltage powerlines. Residents such as those at
Ciledug can argue their day-to-day experience of the stench and
the screech of the cables. They are aware of the high incidence
of rashes, headaches and nausea. A doctor in the Ciledug area,
Moch Taufik, says he has proscribed numerous residents headache
medicine usually given for treatment of extreme stress.
But around the world studies into the effects of electro-magnetic
radiation have difficulty proving a direct clinical connection
between the radiation and health problems. A study in Sweden
conducted on the health over a 25 year period of 500,000 peoples
living within 300 yards of high-voltage powerlines - like the one
at Ciledug. The study found that amongst the sample group there
were 142 cases of child cancer, way above average for Switzer-
land. Additionally, it found that the risk of child leukemia
increased in direct proportion to the strength of the electro-
magentic fields, making it difficult to argue that any other
factors were the cause of the high child-cancer outcome. (Feycht-
ing & Ahlholm, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm). The second
Swedish study focussed on 1,632 workmen experiencing on-the-job
exposure to electro-magnetic fields, 511 of whom had contracted
leukemia or brain tumours. Taking into account other environmen-
tal factors which may have caused this high cancer rate, the
researchers still concluded that more of the leukemia patients
had occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields.
ICEL is using studies such as this, and similar studies around
the world, to argue for the precautionary principle to be ac-
knowledged in decisions to build new high-voltage electrical
facilities. ICEL has initiated a Powerlines Impact Consortium,
involving many groups throughout Indonesia, in order to thorough-
ly research, campaign and advocate to the Asian Development Bank,
the World Bank and the Indonesian Human Rights Commission. To-
gether with LBH (the Legal Aid Foundation) ICEL has compiled a
report containing Indonesian case-studies and international
research. This has been presented to the Indonesian Human Rights
Commission with firm recommendations for action and to all the
stakeholders (particularly the effected communities) in three
conflicts over the impact of electro-magnetic powerlines.
The recommendations include a) compulsory environmental impact
studies, b) comprehensive national research on the impact of
powerlines, c) moving and compensating effected populations d)
and clear zoning laws so that the predicament of Ciledug is not
repeated.
ICEL 12th April 1996
BY THE RULES
Explaining new environmental laws and regulations
GOVERNMENT REGULATION 44 / DECEMBER 1995, REGARDING SEEDS AND
GENETIC RESOURCES
This regulation aims to regulate seed production, and to define
the intellectual property rights with regard to genetic resources
in Indonesian seeds. The preamble names one of the legislative
objectives as to sustain and improve the production quality and
quantity of crops. Another objective is the preservation and
conservation of the genetic resources within plant populations.
To this end, Chapter 2, Article 3 of the legislation gives the
national government of Indonesia the authority to use and manage
genetic resources. The legislation covers all seeds indigenous to
Indonesia. Gene-stock is regarded here as a natural resource,
making it the clear responsibility of the national government to
identify, collect and conserve it. If an Indonesian citizen or
legal entity withes to identify, collect, or conserve genetic
resources they must first obtain a permit from the Minister for
Agriculture.
In a later Article the government commits itself to establishing
a comprehensive gene bank for Indonesian seeds.
Article 8 allows the government to carry out genetic doubling in
cases where the species is endangered. The legislation requires
that this occurs in areas with similar agro climates. It further
requires that the doubling is carried simultaneously in many
regions at once to anticipate the possibility of some failures.
Art 14 states details the circumstances under which indigenous
Indonesian gene-stock may be exported. Export is only allowed for
research purposes and the Minister must screen all proposed
exports.
ICEL 12th April 1996
HOT SPOTS
WHY JAKARTA BECOMES A FLOODPLAIN
"Planning" in the Bopuncur Region
As the wet season to a close and residents of Jakarta reflect on
the disastrous and expensive floods of December and January, a
vast area to the South and West of Jakarta city has become the
subject of close attention. The region known as Bopuncur - Bogor,
Puncak and Cianjur - once absorbed and purified the wet season's
heavy rains. As the catchment area for Jakarta, it once served to
absorb and purify much of the water which these days heads
straight into the roads and rooms of Jakarta.
People are asking why Bopuncur now fails to fulfill this import-
ant ecological function. On March 13th 1996 the Minister for
Planning - acknowledging that houses, roads, and tourist develop-
ments had been springing up rapidly in the region without clear
planning - instigated a team to investigate the special planning
and uses of the area.
WHO RULES THE HILLS ?
Presently the planning rules for the elevated catchment around
Jakarta are covered by twelve different institutions. These
include national government Departments and Local Governors and
institutions. As a result, the central government has issued
three decrees to try and co-ordinate the planning of the area.
Three central government decrees (Presidential Decrees, No. 48 of
1983 and No. 79 of 1985, and Home Affairs Ministerial Decision
No. 22 of 1989) attempt to rope in all of the different authori-
ties. Unfortunately these decrees contain no prohibitions, no
control mechanisms, and no sanctions. Thus these central govern-
ment decrees merely add new confusion to the mish-mash of author-
ities responsible.
For example the Decree of 1985 on Global Planning on the Puncak
Spatial area gives overall authority to the National Planning and
Development Board. Meanwhile the combined local governments in
the region promulgated the Puncak Spatial Planning in Local
Government Regulation.
In actuality, local governments make most of the planning deci-
sions for Bopuncur. While sustainable planning principles are
included in national planning regulations, they are not included
in local government regulations, due to a lack of knowledge or to
a lack of courage. Thus local development licenses fail to in-
clude requirements about land and water conservation of any type.
The regulations are not provide transparent and do not include
processes for public participation.
In ICEL's view the laws, regulations, and institutions covering
the region need to be simplified, clarified and made enforceable.
There should be one or two national Department responsible for
licensing development of the area. The new team established to
review planning in the region must take into account sustainable
development and incorporate detailed processes for public partic-
ipation. Otherwise the chaotic development in the Bopuncur region
will continue to threaten the quality of life for - and indeed
threaten the lives of - the eight million residents of Jakarta.
ICEL 12th April 1996
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I C E L
INDONESIAN CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
(LEMBAGA PENGEMBANGAN HUKUM LINGKUNGAN INDONESIA)
Jl. Kerinci IX/24 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta 12120 INDONESIA
Phone: (62-21) 7394432 Fax: (62-21) 7269331
E-Mail: icel@nusa.or.id and icel@igc.apc.org
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