It turns out that there is a strong link between politics and land rehabilitation. At a media discussion activity, ESP tries to reveal the relationship further

Jakarta. What is the relationship between efforts to conserve land in Indonesia and politics? ESP tried to analyze this relationship in an event called “Media Discussion: Land Rehabilitation within Indonesia’s Political Sphere” in Jakarta on March 12, 2008.

This activity, designed to provide media access to reliable information sources in order to create a greater understanding and awareness of efforts to conserve land in Indonesia, featured four speakers: former environment minister Sonny Keraf; Murniati, a researcher from the Forest Development and Environmental Conservation Research center; Djoko Winarno, director of Forest and Land Rehabilitation, of the Department of Forestry and Wonosobo Regent Kholiq Arif.

Sonny Keraf, whose presence as a speaker was much awaited, said that political parties could actually power the land rehabilitation efforts in “Mass organizations within the political parties could set communities into motion in the efforts to save the environment. It is in this instance that politics and environmental protection activities can meet to create something harmonious,” Sonny said.

During the discussion, Murniati set forth that problems faced in the field centered on the rehabilitation of land. The problem doesn’t end with the planting of seedlings. “Those tree will grow and develop only if the timing of the planting is appropriate, and if they are consistently cultivated and nourished over a period of at least two years after initial planting. The survival of these seedlings determines the success of the rehabilitation program,” Murniati said.

What was clear was that by the end of the event, all four speakers had agreed that the level of success of any land rehabilitation program would be better if it were participative in nature. “What we don’t want is to repeat the mistakes of the past, including the poor enforcement of land rehabilitation policies and the lack of consistent involvement and long term commitment on the part of stakeholders,” said Ridwan Max Sijabat, a journalist from The Jakarta Post, who was acting as moderator that day.

Primatmojo Djanoe, ESP Jakarta