NATIONAL SEMINAR ON INDONESIAN POLICIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PREPARATION FOR THE RIO + 10 SUMMIT DURING THE ERA OF TRANSITION IN INDONESIA

Bali, 6 February 2001

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/199, which laid down the terms of reference for the preparatory process for the Summit, especially the decision to review the implementation of Agenda 21 at the local and national levels, Indonesia has held  a  seminar on policies of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development at the local and national levels. The seminar was organized by the Indonesian Government in close collaboration with the University of Udayana in Bali on  6 February 2001.

The seminar was attended by all the relevant parties of local government, legislative, and stakeholders, including ngo, private sector, academic group  and mass media. The seminar was mainly focused at assessing the implementation of National Agenda 21, challenges and opportunities after the implementation of Regional Autonomy Act in January 2001.

The seminar discussed the issues and concluded that:

1. It was necessary to establish a new approach for the Indonesian policies of environmental protection and sustainable development in facing challenges at the  national and global levels through the following:
   
   * making every effort to utilize opportunities/potential of cooperation in accordance with relevant international conventions on environment and existing national legislations to reach the objectives of sustainable development.
   
   * establishing a national council on sustainable development under the auspices of Vice President.
   
   * promoting synergistic implementation between the respective jurisdictions of the  local  and  national governments as well as among  all stakeholders in conceiving sustainable development policies with an emphasis on the three pillars concept  of sustainable development.
   

   * empowering civil society to deal with the problems of sustainable development at the local, national and global levels.
   

2. Indonesia, as an developing country with a large endowment of natural resources, attaches great concern to the full  implementation of the Agenda 21 agreed in the Rio Earth Summit, 1992. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a working  group that would involve all  stakeholders both at the local and national levels and to identify the potential and problems in the field of sustainable development. This could be a good reference for the government  in formulating national policies of environmental protection and sustainable development in Indonesia.