Industrial activities in Indonesia can often have a negative impact on communities living along rivers. Regional governments have difficulties monitoring and acting upon industrial water pollution cases, as clear strategies, guidelines and mechanisms to hold those responsible accountable are often absent. Pollution victims are frequently forced to deal with the issue themselves, and tend to settle for low financial compensations, leaving wider environmental challenges unresolved.
The MERW project is implemented by a consortium of organizations under the lead of the Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI) of Leiden University, in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), as well as environmental NGOs and senior Indonesian researchers. The consortium is working together to build the capacity of the government and civil society organizations to strengthen accountability mechanisms, while seeking to balance different types of regulation.
In the second phase of the project, the ICEL is working to scale up the environmental framework and its implementation by enhancing the government’s role, especially in Eastern Indonesia - Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, and West Papua. This project will collaborate with MoEF to draft new government regulation on water pollution control.
The project is funded through the Indonesia-Netherlands Rule of Law Fund of the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, which is managed by IDLO.
Photo copyright: Wibowo Djatmiko
