By: Abdul Aziz *
Natural Resources (SDA) and the environment are vital for a country. Not only the existence of natural resources and the environment, but also how the management of natural resources is used for the benefit of the country and the people in it. Talking about natural resource management and the environment, the use and management of Indonesia’s natural resources in the era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Jusuf Kalla (JK) experienced many changes and progress. In the past, SDA was only considered a commodity. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ignasius Jonan said the use and management of natural resources is now the capital for nation building. Domestic needs are now preferred over for export. So that the community gets benefits from the natural resources they have.
The Jokowi government through the ESDM Ministry made SDA a motor of development for the region through downstreaming. So that it will increase the selling value of mining products. In Law Number 4 of 2009 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining, Indonesia applies downstream so that processing can be carried out domestically. The law also requires that mineral management not only be carried out by exporting raw materials. But it must be processed domestically so that it can provide economic added value for the country and environmental management and welfare of the local community. Mineral downstreaming will bring the Indonesian nation into an industrial country that will make natural resources as development capital and will also transform Indonesia from a consumptive country into a productive country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the House of Representatives Commission VI Dito Ganinduto said that the management of the SDA Energy and Mining in the era of Jokowi’s and JK’s government further strengthened the National Role. The government provides management of the giant gas field of the Mahakam Block, to BUMN PT Pertamina (Persero) starting 2018 replacing foreign contractors, Total Indonesie and Inpex Corporation. Pertamina’s gas and oil production increases after the transfer of the Mahakam Block. Besides Mahakam, the government also provides a number of other strategic oil and gas blocks to Pertamina.
In addition, the use of natural gas in the country is now increasing and conversely the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is declining further to be prioritized in the country. LNG production from Bontang, East Kalimantan and Tangguh Refineries, Papua which were previously exported, is now prioritized domestically. In the mining sector, the Jokowi government was able to force the US mining giant PT Freeport to provide a larger share to the State.
The government is working hard to enforce the Minerba Act that was made by the previous government. The 35,000 MW power plant project initiated by President Jokowi himself, besides being useful in producing electricity to drive domestic industries, will also increase the use of domestic coal and of course while reducing exports. While the agreement between PT Bukit Asam Tbk and Pertamina, PT Pupuk Indonesia, and PT Chandra Asri to develop the coal-based petrochemical industry will significantly increase domestic use of coal.
In the field of environment, the achievement of access to Social Forestry accelerated rapidly under the leadership of Jokowi. The existence of a Social Forestry Program that allows 35 years for farmers to manage their land calmly. According to Ministry of Environment and Forestry data, over a period of seven years (2007-2014), only 0.46 million ha of land was managed by the community. This number increased 450 percent within 4 years (2015-2018). More than 267,000 families have benefited from this program. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Green Institute, Chalid Muhammad said this data clearly shows the success of the concept of the Social Forestry Program initiated by the Jokowi government.
On the other hand, Chairman of the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Union (KNTI), Riza Damanik praised the Jokowi government for its concern to maximize the natural wealth of the sea and was very concerned about the fate of the fishermen. “The foundation of the past four years is strong enough for Indonesia to become a major player in world fisheries and to continue to fulfill domestic consumption due to a lasting source of sea food,” said Riza.
This row of facts and data on the progress of natural resource and environmental management, is evidence that in the era of Jokowi’s administration there has been an increase in the portion of domestic energy management, increased management independence by national business entities, and increased value-added management of domestic energy and mining industries. Overall the progress of natural resource management & the environment of the era of President Jokowi experienced a significant increase.
*) The author is a Political Student at one of the Prov Provinces of Jakarta
