HEFNI EFFENDI; Professor of Productivity and Aquatic Environment, Department of Aquatic Resources Management (MSP) FPIK IPB University

When concerns arose from all the public that environmental aspects were being marginalized when the Job Creation Law (UUCK) was to be enacted, President Jokowi replied succinctly, that businesses or activities that have a significant impact on the environment must still carry out environmental impact analysis studies.

In fact, it was emphasized again by the Minister of Environment and Forestry that the UUCK actually integrates environmental permits, which are now called environmental approvals, into business licensing, which is the foundation for strengthening law enforcement because it has direct implications for the business permits owned.

Environmental approval is pocketed through the preparation, assessment and ratification of the Environmental Impact Analysis document (Amdal) or the Environmental Management and Monitoring Effort Form (UKL-UPL).

The slow process of obtaining business permits, including environmental permits, was one of the triggers for the issuance of UUCK, which was further elaborated in PP No. 22 of 2021 concerning Implementation of Environmental Protection and Management. The World Bank (2020) reports, the level of ease of doing business in Indonesia is ranked 73 out of 190 countries surveyed. Unpleasant position.

Environmental management instruments

The complexity of the development spectrum in this country, with its very diverse ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as various social structures, as impact recipients, requires regulations dedicated to preserving and sustaining the environment.

It is not enough just standard standard procedures (SOP) for environmental management, both within the scope of Plan and Program Policies (KRP), such as KLHS (Strategic Environmental Assessment), RTRW (Regional Spatial Planning), as well as at the project level, such as Amdal, UKL -UPL, SPPL, Risk Analysis, Environmental audit, etc.

In addition to obligatory regulations, market-driven voluntary ones, such as: ISO 14001, Ecolabel, etc., are applied.

Amdal or UKL-UPL as part of environmental management instruments has been based on other instruments that are the obligation of the government, such as RTRW, KLHS, quality standards, and standard criteria for environmental damage.

There are at least four fundamental Amdal innovations after the enactment of UUCK. 1) Changes in the authority to evaluate environmental documents and issue environmental approvals by government agencies in the environmental sector at the central or regional level follow the authority to issue business permits.

2) Withdrawal of technical approval for the fulfillment of waste water quality standards, emissions and management of B3 waste which is a prerequisite that must be completed by the initiator of the activity in the Amdal or UKL-UPL submission and integrated into the environmental agreement.

3) Establishment of Environmental Due Diligence Test Institute (LUK) and Environmental Due Diligence Test Team (TUK). 4) Strengthening and developing environmental information systems through Amdalnet.

Environmental data integration

Amdal is a scientific study that should be supported by adequate scientific data, not only primary data from momentary sampling, but from previous data series that have been periodically collected by the Regional Environmental Service or several Directorates General at the Jakarta Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

However, the problem is that data within the scope of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is not structured integrated and is not publicly available. Another weakness of this environmental data is that it appears as if the data is only intended to satisfy the KPI performance (key performance index) of each unit, the data is not fit for all purposes.

Even if data on environmental quality (water, air, etc.) are even available in real time, many of which are already gathered in a KLHK data custodian and can be accessed by business actors, then it will be very useful for preparing environmental management documents. Data series is a prerequisite in modeling environmental quality predictions in the future.

In addition to the quality of environmental management documents that are still not good, the process of evaluating documents has not touched much on technocratic and procedural substance.

On the other hand, the still weak implementation of environmental management and monitoring (RKL-RPL/Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan) by business actors has also exacerbated the situation, due to the absence of regular oversight by the government.

Apart from this empirical fact which slows down the document processing process, the increasing quantity of businesses applying for environmental approval has recently become a reality.

Efforts to accelerate environmental approvals

Responding to an increase in applications for business and environmental licensing, the government issued Government Regulation No. 24 of 2018 concerning Electronically Integrated Business Licensing Services which regulates the single OSS (online single submission) licensing service.

When an environmental permit is issued, a business permit is also issued. However, stakeholders still feel slow.

The next effort in order to facilitate ease of doing business, the government issued UUCK which was later revised by Perpu No. 2 of 2022, and has been formalized as Law No. 6 of 2023.

The fundamental change in the business licensing regime in this country is the application of the one permit concept in the form of a Business Permit which includes three basic requirements. 1) Suitability of activities with space utilization.

2) Approval of buildings and certificates of proper functioning. 3) Environmental approvals, all of which implement an Electronic Integrated Business Licensing System (Online Single Submission Risk Based Approach/OSS RBA).

It doesn’t stop there, the government continues to seek breakthroughs in terms of facilitating and accelerating business licensing. So in early 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry formed a task force to accelerate environmental approval and assigned the task of discussing environmental assessment documents to provinces and districts/cities.

Furthermore, on 7 February 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry launched an Amdalnet information system (amdalnet.menlhk.go.id), in the form of a digital transformation system for environmental approval processes via an electronically integrated environmental document information system.

Amdalnet is the result of a long series of efforts by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in efforts to digitize environmental documents since 2007, which started with the UKL-UPL-online Amdal Documentation (DADU).

Constraints and solutions

Although extra-intensive efforts have been made by the government to simplify and facilitate and speed up business permits, this has not yet had a significant effect on accelerating the process of obtaining environmental approvals.

A number of the following obstacles still need to be addressed. 1) Immediate acceleration of preparation of specific standards for impact assessment and business process techniques for processing liquid, gas, solid and LB3 waste, for businesses that are common and frequently implemented in this country, which will become a generic reference in preparing Amdal, UKL-UPL, and Approval documents Technical.

2) Technical approvals (disposal or utilization of wastewater to certain formations, disposal of emissions, management of hazardous and toxic/B3 waste) have not been fully discussed based on electronic media, there are still differences in interpretation regarding the essential meaning of technical studies related to compliance with quality standards.

3) PKKPR (Approval of Compliance for Space Utilization Activities) and PKKPRL (Approval for Compatibility of Marine Space Utilization Activities), which have not been fully integrated electronically.

4) The transfer of the task of discussing environmental management documents to the regions is not accompanied by the transfer of the task of discussing technical approvals, thus disrupting the acceleration.

5) A team of document review experts is needed who focus on substance, and understand the scope of the EIA study, so that it doesn’t go too far out of context.

Some of these matters become imperatives that must be addressed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry because they are prerequisites for the registration of applications for environmental approval. When one of these prerequisite documents is not completed, the OSS system will automatically stop, unable to continue.

Therefore, this technical aspect must be unraveled immediately so that it can become an entry point for successful efforts to simplify the management of environmental approvals, while remaining scientifically and regulatoryly accountable.

Hopefully the momentum of Environment Day (5 June 2023) can inspire us to continue to contribute to a sustainable environment.

Sources: Republika ID