MidLand, Jakarta – Indonesian Environment Forum or Walhi Considers that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is not transparent in discussing the draft government regulation (RPP) related to ecosystem protection and management Mangroves. Since it was held in 2022, it is not to say that the discussions have never involved the interested public, especially coastal communities.
In addition to this, there is also a RPP project for the protection and management of mangrove ecosystems
not yet accessible to the wider community. “Failure to disclose this document is one of the obstacles for the public to provide opinions and input on policies for the protection and management of mangrove ecosystems,” said Parid Ridwanuddin, Walhi Coastal and Marine Campaign Manager, Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
Walhi, Parid said, has just received the academic study document for RPP mangrove ecosystem protection and management. Based on the nomeclature of the RPP academic study document, Walhi mentions the direction of mangrove protection and management
wants to translate Law Number 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management.
At that point, according to Parid, the basis for this RPP is very good because Law 32 of 2009 is considered the ideal legal umbrella for the maintenance and management of human resources.
coastal and marine power. However, studies by Walhi and academics have found a number of serious notes.
6 Notes in italics for the protection and management of the RPP mangrove ecosystem
The first note, Parid said, is that the RPP did not provide for community involvement in mangrove ecosystem management. In other words, the recognition of community-built local governance is not yet visible. “Management of the mangrove ecosystem contained in this RPP is still largely state-centric,” she said.
Secondly, he believes that the RPP does not have a clear position to protect mangrove ecosystems from various government policies geared towards extractive industries. It turned out that Articles 16 and 18 of the RPP even legalize the destruction of mangrove ecosystems in the name of their conversion into areas.
Third, RPP is also considered very late. Parid referred to law number 32 of 2009 on environmental protection and management, approved in 2009, i.e. 14 years later.
Fourth, the RPP for the protection and management of mangrove ecosystems is believed to have serious weaknesses in terms of sanctions against perpetrators of mangrove destruction. According to Parid, this RPP should use criminal sanctions if it refers to law number 32 of 2009. Unfortunately, instead, it uses administrative sanctions which are very light and benefit mangrove destroyers.
Announcement
“From here, it is very clear that this RPP does not refer to Law 32 of 2009, but to the Law on Job Creation which sees criminal sanctions as an obstacle to investment,” Parid said.
Fifth, the current RPP does not place mangroves in the context of disaster mitigation involving local communities. Even if they have knowledge and experience in the field because they are in daily contact with the mangrove ecosystem.
Sixth, the suspicion that in years of electoral politics like today, the RPP for the protection and management of mangrove ecosystems was not prepared to truly protect the existence of mangroves and coastal communities. “On the contrary, this RPP shows that the Indonesian government wants to pursue an international campaign, with the aim of obtaining climate finance.”
KLHK Statement
Previously, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had been unable to confirm the Mangrove RPP ratification plan. The director of Inland Water and Mangrove Restoration, Inge Retnowati, limited herself to explaining that the drafting phases of the government regulation are already underway.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Inge said, has also mapped potential mangrove areas. The mangrove map includes, among other things, information on habitats that were once good mangroves, but have now turned into ponds or are exposed to abrasion.
“But to ensure that this is a damaged area, there is a data collection process,” he said, adding: “That’s what we’ll put into the regulations.”
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