Development Needs to Care for the Environment

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The pattern of national development that still prioritizes economic development overrides environmental conditions. This makes the quality of the environment lower because of lack of attention.

Chairman of Indonesia Experts Network on Climate Change and Forestry (APIKI Network)

Mahawan Karuniasa said the need to change the system thinking paradigm in encouraging the conservation of biodiversity and local wisdom from the educational perspective.

“This way of thinking is important for addressing complex issues such as biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development,” he said, who is also a Lecturer of Environmental Sciences at the University of Indonesia in the National Seminar and Bioexo 2018 at State University of Padang (UNP), Saturday (10 / 2).

He thinks the system means comprehensive or holistic, cross-sector, long-term, and dynamic. The continuing issue of sustainable recognition continues to grow, followed by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio Janeiro or UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which eventually emerged the SDGs agenda toward global sustainable development by 2030.

Mahawan Karuniasa who is also a representative of Indonesia and Asia Pacific at the United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCCC) continues, in addition to supporting the growing number of people, Indonesia still needs to catch up on the economic development of neighboring countries, and to develop into developed countries.

“Indonesia still lags behind Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia in terms of exports and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita,” he said.

Indonesia’s GDP is ranked fifth after Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Thailand. Therefore, according to him, to realize sustainable development in Indonesia takes three things principles.

First, a paradigm shift of static sectoral and momentary interest to a holistic and dynamic systems thinking paradigm, especially for stakeholders, especially government decision makers. That way the sectoral and short-term perspective is soon abandoned.

Secondly, it is necessary to build awareness and operational actions of stakeholders, including the government. Under Law No. 32 Year 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management is in the context of sustainable development to realize sustainable Indonesia.

So far, the policy of environmental protection and management as well as its derivative policies, is still regarded by various parties as an environmental instrument in a narrow sense.

“Still leaves a naive situation of economic and environmental adversity, which should be extinct,” he said.

Third, in the face of global issues, such as climate change and SDGs need to be constructed in accordance with economic, social and environmental conditions in Indonesia, not vice versa.

Greenhouse gas mitigation efforts in the energy sector for example, he continued, at the same time must be able to meet energy needs, such as increased electrification. Reducing emissions from the agricultural sector, at the same time, must also maintain or improve food security.

“Efforts to achieve conditions without poverty, at the same time also preserve the environment,” he said.

These three principles can be positively implicated in sustainable development efforts. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS), which is the main instrument for sustainable development, is not reduced to Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL) from the Spatial Plan (RTRW), the Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMD), as well as other policies, plans and programs.

“SEA is also not just for the protection and management of environmental aspects,” he said. But also to build a balanced economic, social and environmental system, which means realizing sustainable development.

Source: Republika Online