Hasan dan Hutan

Harian Kompas, 29 Oktober 2009

Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu jilid II telah dilantik. Sebagian besar pengamat menyayangkan dominannya politisi di kabinet ini. Janji presiden untuk menempatkan lebih banyak profesional tak terwujud.

Presiden memercayakan Menteri Kehutanan kepada politikus. Agaknya Presiden percaya, departemen ini tak memerlukan pemimpin cakap teknis, cukup cakap politis. Ini menggambarkan, pembuat kebijakan negeri yakin, sektor kehutanan tak menghadapi soal teknis. Kalangan rimbawan(ti) Indonesia berkeluh kesah dengan kondisi ini. Tak layakkah rimbawan(ti) menduduki posisi Manggala Wanabakti (MWB) 1?

We must prove our resilience in the face of disaster

The Jakarta Post, September 10, 2009 

The disasters just keep coming and coming. Dozens of people died and hundreds more were injured last week when a powerful earthquake hit West Java. This seismic activity was even shook the nation’s capital. These sorts of terrifying tremors undeniably haunt the life of people in Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke.

The movement of the tectonic plates along the Ring of Fire, which engulfs the country, puts Indonesia in a precarious position. Unpredictable seismic activity, together with the risk of tsunami, cause great uncertainty. But this is not the end of the story. This year, there is also concern about the possibility of a prolonged dry season and perhaps even a drought because of the El Nino phenomenon and, all the while we still face the threat of the spread of the swine and bird flu.

The mining curse: A lesson from Sawahlunto

The Jakarta Post, July 18, 2009

Mining activities again claimed casualties. Tens of people were killed after a mining blast in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra, in June. The explosion of this private small-scale coal mine was initiated by the methane level in the mine. This tragedy added to the list of small-scale mining tragedies in the country.

However, it is not only small-scale mining; we have already seen destructive effects of large-scale mines. Lapindo Brantas mudflow disaster has not yet been resolved. Hundreds of families lost their homes due to this tragedy. The mud has also continued to spread. The accumulation of Mercury at the Buyat Bay, caused by gold mining of Newmont several years ago, is another example. The accumulation of this poisonous mineral still haunts the lives of people around that bay, where they depend on the bay as a source of water and fishing. This is not the end of the story. Coal mining in Kalimantan, for instance, has resulted thousands hectares of tropical forests being transformed into desert. Are we cursed by our abundance of natural resources?

Kutukan tambang

Indonesian version of the post “The mining curse”

Tambang kembali meminta korban. Puluhan orang meninggal akibat ledakan yang dipicu kandungan gas metana di tambang batu bara milik rakyat di Sawahlunto pada Juni lalu. Tragedi ini menambah panjang daftar kecelakaan tambang skala rakyat.

Namun tak hanya skala kecil, kita pun telah disajikan dampak buruk pertambangan skala besar. Meluapnya lumpur Lapindo menyebabkan ratusan kepala keluarga kehilangan tempat tinggal. Sampai saat ini, persoalan ini belum tuntas. Area tutupan lumpur bahkan semakin meluas. Kasus pencemaran Teluk Buyat oleh Newmont pun masih lekat di ingatan. Para korban yang akhirnya kalah di persidangan hanya mampu merenungi nasib. Akumulasi logam berat di teluk ini tetap menjadi ancaman sampai masa mendatang. Menengok kasus lain, pertambangan batu bara menyebabkan ribuan hektar hutan tropis di Kalimantan berubah menjadi padang tandus. Apakah kita dikutuk oleh kekayaan sumberdaya alam yang dimiliki bangsa ini?

Our ecologically illiterate presidential candidates

The Jakarta Post, June 26, 2009

Concerns have been expressed regarding the presidential candidates’ lack of consideration of environmental topics. An editorial in the June 22, The Jakarta Post lamented that in the first presidential debate, the candidates’ responses to environmental problems, in this case the Lapindo mudflow tragedy, were disappointing. Economic issues have dominated the campaign season. This is understandable, as economic matters play a very substantial role in people’s lives. However, without paying attention to ecological sustainability, the hope for long-term economic prosperity can only be a dream.

But is this only their fault? I would argue not. As professional politicians, the candidates are fully aware of political market behaviour. They understand their dependency on voters. Voters are their consumers, as well as “the king”, even though this special position is only recognized during the election time. Because those leaders fully realize what their constituents want, environmental issues are not a major concern. They know that we citizens and voters are ecologically illiterate. Environmental subjects are not “sexy” or marketable. As a result, the importance of the sustainability as a foundation for natural resource-based economics is not a significant issue.

Visi lingkungan dan peran pendidikan

Indonesian version of the post “Our ecologically illiterate presidential candidates”

Ada kerisauan yang besar tentang tak mencuatnya visi dan komitmen yang kuat para kandidat capres/cawapres saat ini terhadap isu lingkungan. Kerisauan ini perlu dijadikan bahan pemikiran. Selama masa kampanye, ekonomi tetap menjadi primadona. Tidak ada yang salah memang.  Ekonomi adalah tema pokok kehidupan berbangsa. Namun, tanpa visi kelestarian lingkungan, cita-cita kesejahteraan ekonomi hanyalah mimpi semu.

Namun, apakah ini sepenuhnya salah mereka? Sebagai pelaku politik profesional, para kandidat tersebut sangatlah menyadari sifat dasar pasar politik. Mereka pun sangat melek dengan posisi voters sebagai konsumer dan ‘raja’, walaupun dalam pasar politik Indonesia, keistimewaan ini hanya terjadi pada saat pemilu. Karena mereka menyadari keinginan para pemilih inilah, isu lingkungan tidak mengemuka. Para pemimpin tersebut tahu, rakyat negeri ini masih buta ekologis. Isu ini tak layak jual. Alhasil, tema keberlanjutan sistem lingkungan sebagai fondasi dasar keberlanjutan sistem ekonomi sumberdaya tak mencuat. Kalaupun ada, ia hanya menempati pinggiran lembaran-lembaran manifesto, poin tak penting kontrak politik atau catatan tambahan kampanye.