Weak law enforcement results in a poor forest and land governance and also wide-spreading of rule violations that interfere with environmental preservation. In 2008, the government established Public Information Law which mandates the government at national and local levels to ensure citizens’ right to access public information. It means provincial government is required to establish Commission of Information and create procedures to handle any complaints; while district government is required to responds information request and do the procedures to take over.
How SETAPAK helps?
- Provide technical assistance to governments, encouraging accountability, and build the capacity of society by advising the public on how to use the Law of Public Information in 2008 to obtain information about forest and land governance.
- Supervise law by assessing the effect of land-based activities and checking that laws and regulations that protect the environment and community obeyed to and enforced.
- Check legality and the governance of land use permits.
- Optimize surveillance of environment by encouraging participation and access to public.
- Encourage One-Roof Enforcement System in the environmental field with the appropriate government agencies.
- Strengthen the capacity of civilian society to investigate corruption, improve access to legal aid, and understand the mechanism of reporting.
- Establish a partnership with law enforcement agencies in preventing and handling forest and land fires, and supporting studies taken by the law enforcement about forest and land fires.
- Provide training of conflict mediation.
- Establish a partnership with national and provincial journalist and media, and investigate cases related to forest and land in various provinces with the journalist as part of strengthening the good and clean government by putting public and press right to access government’s information and criticizing the policies.
- Develop training programs for human rights defenders in advocacy in natural resources’ field.
- Establishing complaint center to increase public awareness of forest governance issue, track and investigate the violation of forest and land field.
- Solving agrarian conflicts in the various region.
- Promoting the benefits of access to public information and train community representative on how to send requests for information and registers a complaint to court if necessary.
- Advocate for more effective government supervision and prevent wrong decision and illegality of land use, including to issue permits in municipal level.
- Strengthen efforts to monitoring the national and provincial licensing and policies by working along with Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi/Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to oversee Gerakan Nasional Penyelamatan Sumber Daya Alam/National Movement for the Rescue of Natural Resource (GNPSDA) by coordinating and monitoring the mineral and coal mining, forestry, and plantation (palm tree oil).
- Strengthen demand for enforcement by society through initiatives monitoring the implementation of land use permits and deforestation issues. SETAPAK along with partners on the national level to assess Indeks Tata Kelola Hutan dan Lahan/Governance Index for Forest and Land (IKHL) in SETAPAK’s working area to see the improvement of forest and land governance by local governments.
