Not touching on damage to the peat ecosystem and forest and land fires, the vice-presidential debate is considered normative

MidLand, Jakarta – Vice presidential debate The second 2024 is considered only normative, because almost all parties supporting pairs of candidates in these presidential elections are supporters of Job Creation Act which has a negative impact on forestry and agricultural management.

The second vice presidential debate of 2024 was held in Senayan, Jakarta on Sunday, January 21, 2024 evening. The issues raised in this debate concern food, the environment and sustainable development.

Pantau Gambut’s campaign and advocacy manager Wahyu Perdana said the vice-presidential candidates’ ideas during last night’s debate tended to be normative. According to him, even the three vice presidential candidates did not mention the damage to the ecosystem peat and its impact on forest and land fires (karhutla).

Wahyu said that although the three cawapres touched on the issue of deforestation and provision of land to the population, most parties supporting the cawapres had a position supporting the Job Creation Law or the Omnibus Law which it had the potential to destroy forest areas. .

According to Wahyu, the job creation law has the opportunity to make it easier for palm oil plantation companies to operate illegally in forest areas. In fact, he added, the existence of illegal and arbitrary palm oil plantations in forest areas could worsen the protective function and cause damage, for example to peatland ecosystems.

Wahyu also believes that law enforcement in monitoring illegal palm oil plantations is not rigorous. Those who have been subject to sanctions but have had no transparency, for example in the case of 35 companies that were sealed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry over forest and land fires in 2023.

Furthermore, Wahyu pointed out that the job creation law has had a negative impact, especially on local farmers who may become victims because food supplies from abroad have flooded the domestic market. This phenomenon is also a consequence of the approval of the political parties that participated in the approval of the law.

Referring to various problems arising from political parties’ agreements that have an impact on environmental destruction, Wahyu said there are differences between the programs of candidate pairs and the attitude of supporting parties in their implementation. “The attitude of all pairs of candidates is ambiguous compared to the attitude of their supporting parties,” Wahyu said in his statement, Monday, January 22, 2024.

In addition to being ambiguous, Wahyu also stressed that the role of the parties supporting the three vice presidential candidates was responsible for the failure of the food estate project, proposed as a national food implementation program. Based on Pantau Gambut’s findings, cassava planted in Gunung Mas and Pulang Pisau regencies in Central Kalimantan failed miserably.

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“The planted cassava failed, because there were only two to five small cassava the size of a finger. This is very different from the general cassava which even resembles a human arm,” Wahyu said.

The role of political parties is very central

Wahyu explained that the role of political parties in the 2024 elections is very central, both in the context of determining presidential candidates and determining post-election strategic policies.

After elections, political parties as members of parliament become the main actors in formulating special policies in law. Considering this condition, Wahyu believes that presidential and vice presidential candidates are not the only actors in the decision-making process.

Wahyu fears that the programs promoted by the vice presidential candidates are not pro-environmental and will actually harm it. Beyond that, differences in attitude between the president-elect and supporting parties can cause the vision and mission of the programs brought forward during the campaign to disintegrate the government.

“The differences between the programs of the candidate pairs and the attitudes of the political parties that support them make it necessary to monitor and support the implementation of policies that are in line with the public interest, environmental protection and democratic principles.” Wahyu said.

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