Introducing Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Minister Of Environment And Forestry, Development, Carbon Emissions, And Deforestation

JAKARTA - Through this article, we give a new position to Siti Nurbaya Bakar. From the beginning the Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK) became the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Development, Emissions, and Deforestation (LHKPED). Yes, according to the ideas he put forward.

"The massive development of President Jokowi's era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation," Siti Nurbaya tweeted on Wednesday night, November 4.

"Stopping development in the name of zero deforestation is the same as going against the mandate of the 1945 Constitution for values and goals establishment, building national goals for social and economic welfare of the people."

The tweet took the form of a thread, which explained at length the concept of forest management for the sake of the economy. There are good intentions there, said Siti. He raised a narrative about areas whose economy must be lifted through road access.

"If the concept is that there is no deforestation, it means that there should be no roads, then what about the people, do they have to be isolated? Meanwhile, the state must really be present among its people."

The massive development of President Jokowi's era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation.

The massive development of President Jokowi's era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation.

The massive development of President Jokowi's era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation.

— Siti Nurbaya Bakar (@SitiNurbayaLHK) November 3, 2021

The thread drew widespread criticism. Some firmly criticized Siti's statement. Others wrote messages of sarcasm, essentially condemning Siti and her ideas.

Siti's position as the Minister of the Environment who is most responsible for protecting forest conservation is questionable, of course.

"Permission to revise his tweet: The massive development of the Jokowi era is not worth the potential for a massive ecological crisis that could wipe out humanity in less than a century. Stopping deforestation and cutting emissions is the only way for humanity to survive," wrote @Afutami .

"It's great, minister, living up to her last name," @Padma_naba.

"When the Minister of Environment sees carbon emission & deforestation merely as obstacles to development, you know what's prioritized," wrote the account @margianta.

"Hey Everyone, this is our minister!" @itsRiant.

"No hope," @aparatmati.

"HOLY SPIRIT ACTIVATE," wrote @crawlitt.

"Gentlemen, we introduce the Minister of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia," @GreenpeaceID.

"The Minister's statement to us, yes, surprised but not surprising," said the Campaign Manager for Food, Water and Essential Ecosystems of Walhi Wahyu Perdana, contacted by VOI, Thursday, November 4.

Unfortunately, there is nothing wrong with Siti Nurbaya Bakar's statement. Yes, it is not wrong because the statement does describe the direction of government policy for a long time, which is getting worse today. And this is done consciously. This means that Siti's statement is not a mere social media blunder.

"We see that this is not only a problem in the LHK Ministry. In fact, we think this is the current government's choice. The environment is secondary. The people, unfortunately," said Wahyu.

Look at the omnibus law of the Job Creation Act, for example. Omnibuslaw specifically eliminates the minimum 30 percent forest area limit which was previously regulated by the Spatial Planning and Forestry Law. A very worrying fact of course in the context of deforestation.

And the new omnibus law provision will be bad news for forest protection efforts that have long been crushed by palm oil ambitions. The Audit Results Report with Specific Purposes released by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in February 2019 showed a significant increase.

In 2000, the area of oil palm plantations was recorded at 4,158,077 hectares. Meanwhile, in 2018, oil palm plantations continued to expand to 14,309,256 hectares. In a period of 18 years, the area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia increased by 244.13 percent.

Worse yet, BPK found that many uses of forest areas for various activities were carried out illegally. Based on observations of satellite imagery by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, there is an illegal use of forest areas for oil palm plantations in several areas.

These areas include Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Gunung Leuser National Park, Tesso Nilo National Park, Berbak Sembilang National Park, and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. What is the impact? Processed Indonesian palm oil has been blacklisted.

The European Union Parliament's report document entitled On Palm Oil and Deforestation of Rainforests establishes trade barriers for processed Indonesian palm oil products. One of the reasons is the way Indonesia is clearing plantation land which is driving deforestation, causing forest fires and reducing biodiversity.

Even if the goal of all this clearing is economic, this is not the way to go. "The illegal use of forest areas for oil palm plantations is one of the reasons why international issues have become barriers to trade in oil palm production in Europe," the report said.

No need to guess about the direction of Siti's environmental policy. Since the beginning of her second term in office, Siti has clearly emphasized that the direction of KLHK's policy for the next five years is economic. The forestry sector is promised to play an important role in economic development.

There are at least two things that become the focus: the use of forest areas and forest utilization. These two things are related to local government support. So what Siti puts forward is simplification of permits, such as borrow-to-use permits for roads, electricity, geothermal, and reservoirs. The process is certainly short if all conditions are met.

"I have tested it and if the requirements of the permit applicant are complete, then in fact, within 11 days the Borrow-to-Use Forest Area Permit (IPPKH) was completed. So we have tried to improve a lot of things," said Siti Nurbaya in a panel discussion with the theme of Economic Transformation II, as reported by the official website of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

This is in line with Siti's explanation in her viral thread. He does not want the policy of zero deforestation 2030 to be imposed on Indonesia. "Clearly inappropriate and unfair. Because every country has its own key issues and is covered by the Constitution to protect its people."

"If the concept is that there is no deforestation, it means that there should be no roads, then what about the people, do they have to be isolated? Meanwhile, the state must really be present among its people," wrote Siti.

Sounds soothing, of course, this pro-people narrative. But what about the reality? Referring to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry's own data, which was released by the Directorate General of Watershed Management and Forest Rehabilitation (Ditjen PDASRH), it appears that the number of Borrow-to-Use Forest Area Permits (IPPKH) and Forest Area Release for non-mining purposes is very small compared to mining interests.

The data above, said the Campaign Manager for Food, Water, and Essential Ecosystems of Walhi Wahyu Perdana shows that Siti's statement does not match the facts on the ground because the non-mining interests referred to above include the opening of road access, as said by Siti in her Twitter tweet.

Siti's attitude against zero deforestation 2030 is also questionable. Stopping deforestation is very important in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Notes from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that the biggest factor that has an impact on climate change is in a sector called AFOLU, an acronym for agriculture, forestry, and other land use.

"It means keeping the land in good condition, returning it to its ecological function, it has a significant impact on climate change," Wahyu told VOI, Thursday, November 4.

"It's as if the public sees that they need roads, all kinds of things. Even though it's only a percentage. Half of it doesn't arrive," Wahyu added.

Basically, all these dismal economic-environmental policies are caused by the wrong mindset about economic achievements. "In the end, however, if the approach is growth, consumption is what counts. We will put an exploitative approach in calculating the welfare economy."

"In fact, for people who live in a good environment on the coast, if they get fish there is no need to buy. In my village, for example on Bawean Island. People can fish for groupers or they can just stand on the edge of the reef."

"For people who live in the forest, half of their needs can be met. For people who live in the middle of a good water ecosystem, they may not need PDAM. In the end, in the context of the approach to calculating GDP as an economic growth rate, it is considered not to be calculated in the end."

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