Depok, May 24, 2018 – The Institute for Sustainable Science, Earth, and Resources (I-SER) is an interdisciplinary think tank under the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), University of Indonesia. In its activities, on Thursday, May 24, 2018, I-SER held a public discussion “Encouraging the Discussion Process of the Law on Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Ecosystemsnya” at the UI Campus, Depok.
Present as speakers at this event were Prof. Dr. Jatna Supriatna (Chair of I-SER), Dr. Sunaryo (Expert Staff of I-SER), Wiratno (Directorate General of Natural Resources Conservation and Ecosystem Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Forestry), and Viva Yoga Mauladi (Deputy Chairperson of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives).
The public discussion, attended by more than 50 participants, was motivated by the widespread news coverage of orangutan deaths in Kalimantan, human-elephant conflicts in Aceh, and cases of illegal wildlife trade, with significant transaction values. According to the Financial Transaction Tracking and Analysis Center (PPATK), the trade in wildlife trade reaches over IDR 13 trillion per year, a figure that continues to increase year after year. Illegal wildlife trade is the third-highest crime after drugs and human trafficking.
According to Dr. Jatna Supriatna, Chair of I-SER, “there are many real threats to conservation efforts, such as encroachment on conservation areas, poaching of high-value wildlife, killing/poisoning of wildlife deemed detrimental to human life, forest and land fires that occur almost every year, and forest conversion for various purposes such as cultivation, settlements, and national development.” “These various threats and pressures on biodiversity sustainability are fundamentally caused by weaknesses in the governance of the conservation of biological natural resources and their ecosystems, one of which is Law No. 5/1990 concerning the Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems and its implementing regulations,” he explained.
According to a review by experts at I-SER, Conservation Law No. 5/1990 is deemed inadequate to promote the preservation of biodiversity and its ecosystems due to weaknesses such as low sanctions for criminal violations, low fines for crimes against biological natural resources and their ecosystems, weak management institutions, and low management input.
I-SER believes that currently Indonesia has ratified several international agreements in the field of Biodiversity Conservation, such as UN Convention on Biodiveristy , the Cartagena Protocol, and the Nagoya Protocol, which regulate biosafety, access to utilization, and benefit sharing from the utilization of biodiversity. This ratification can maximize the benefits of the existence of the biodiversity we have. This is in accordance with the mandate of Article 33 of the Indonesian Constitution, which states, “The land and water and the natural resources contained therein are controlled by the state and used for the greatest prosperity of the people.”
Efforts to conserve natural resources and their ecosystems in Indonesia have begun since the Dutch East Indies Government by issuing four laws, namely the Hunting Law of 1931, the Protection of Wild Animals of 1931, the Javanese Madurese Hunting Law of 1941, and the Protection of Nature of 1941. These laws were used by the Indonesian Government until the enactment of Law No. 5/90 concerning the Conservation of Natural Resources and their Ecosystems. The material of this law was influenced by the existence of a world conservation strategy in 1980 where the conservation of natural resources had the main objective of protecting life support systems, to preserve the diversity of wild plant and animal species and their ecosystems, and to preserve the use of wild plant and animal species and their ecosystems.
Dr. Jatna Supriatna said, “Of course, the law’s content must be relevant to current conditions. There are at least four paradigms or approaches to natural resource conservation efforts worldwide, namely: Critical Social, Traditional, Market Biocentrism, and the New Paradigm of Conservation. The parties promoting the New Paradigm of Conservation convey that conservation efforts are aimed at the interests of community welfare which can be achieved through collaboration with the economic sector to achieve community welfare. “The new paradigm is a new approach to achieving the goal of conserving natural resources and ecosystems by using economic work tools,” he explained later.
On the same occasion, Dr. Sunaryo, an expert at I-SER, emphasized that “the discussion of Law No. 5/90 must be conducted carefully and involve all parties, especially the public, because it concerns not only the preservation of biodiversity but also the Indonesian people, who are highly dependent on a healthy environment. Therefore, improvements to the material in this law must be directed towards preserving Indonesia’s natural resources, benefiting all Indonesians, and accommodating the interests of other nations around the world in the conservation of biological natural resources and ecosystems.”
Dr. Sunaryo also stated that “law enforcement under Law No. 5/90 is a crucial aspect that needs to be strengthened to provide a deterrent effect with minimum penalties and relevant fines. This is especially true by providing clear authority to Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) to reduce pressure and threats to conservation efforts for biological natural resources and their ecosystems.” “Furthermore, synergy in the implementation of conservation of natural resources and their ecosystems across sectors and between governments will reduce pressure and threats to the sustainability of biodiversity and its ecosystems,” he continued.
Improvements to Law No. 5/90 are included in the new priority list for 2018 (the 2018 National Legislation Program). On December 5, 2017, the House of Representatives’ Legislative Body completed the draft revisions to the law. The draft law was then submitted to the government on March 20, 2018. The President responded by letter dated March 9, 2018. The House of Representatives deliberated on it in a plenary session on March 20, 2018, which mandated Commission 4 to begin deliberations. As the next step, the House of Representatives and the Indonesian government will sit together to review the input provided. It is hoped that the legislative process for discussing this law will take place during this session and can be completed by the end of 2018.
