UNAIR NEWS – Human Rights Law Studies (HRLS) held a webinar on “Indigenous People and the Environment with Restriction of Job Creation Law ”on Saturday afternoon, November 21, 2020. To discuss the environmental side of Law Number 11/2020 concerning Job Creation Law (Ciptaker), Grita Anindarini as Deputy Director of Program and Head of Environmental Management and Climate Justice Division, Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) was invited as a speaker.
Ninda opened her presentation by saying that the perspective of the Ciptaker Law has missed lots of aspects on environmental protection and tends to underestimate the complexity of the Government’s obligations in guaranteeing rights of the environments. An example by Ninda was about environmental impact assessment (Amdal). In the Ciptaker Law, the aspect of community involvement in the preparation of Amdal is eliminated. When Ninda reviewed the academic paper, it only explained why this aspect of community involvement was eliminated because it was costly and took a long time, but this argument was not elaborated or supported by reliable data. We all should know that community participation in activities with impact on the environment is one of the human rights.
“The academic paper on the Ciptaker Law, in our opinion, is one of the worst academic papers because often the explanation it provides does not explain why an article should be changed. Public participation is a fundamental right. If this is ineffective, we should tighten the regulations so they can be effective, not eliminate it, “said the expert in Environmental and Energy Law.
The alumnus of the University of Aberdeen said that environmental deregulation in the Ciptaker Law resulted in various weaknesses. In the aspect of environmental protection, Ninda gave an example that the environmental permit in establishing a business was changed to an environmental agreement with a broad legal interpretation and it is not clear whether the agreement could be challenged due to lack of regulations. The public right to information is also limited as a legal environmental agreement can only be accessed by electronic media, where previously it had to be accessible through any media easier for public.
“Weakened spatial planning instrument is also from the spatial use which can still be carried out even though it has not been stated in the National Spatial Plan, as long as it is a national strategic policy. In an era where the environmental crisis is happening everywhere on earth, the government has even decided that this is the right time to carry out deregulation that eliminates fundamental things, “said the alumni of University of Indonesia.
Ninda reflected her explanation of the Job Creation Law by saying that Indonesia is a country bound by various international agreements, that in principles, development can never reduce the quality of environmental protection. However, this aspect is being ignored in the name of boosting economy and a red carpet for investment. The webinar also invited representatives from Indigenous People Alliance of Archipelago (AMAN) and UNAIR Human Rights Expert Herlambang P. Wiratraman.
Author: Pradnya Wicaksana
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
