Bahaya Sampah Plastik bagi Lingkungan dan Kesehatan

Oleh : Roller Wirda luthfiah

Salah satu faktor yang menyebabkan rusaknya lingkungan hidup yang sampai saat ini masih tetap menjadi "PR" besar bagi bangsa Indonesia adalah faktor pembuangan limbah sampah plastik. Kantong plastik telah menjadi sampah yang berbahaya dan sulit dikelola.
Diperlukan waktu puluhan bahkan ratusan tahun untuk membuat sampah bekas kantong plastik itu benar-benar terurai. Namun yang menjadi persoalan adalah dampak negatif sampah plastik ternyata sebesar fungsinya juga.

Lalu apakah anda tahu bahaya apa saja yang disebabkan kantong plastik bagi lingkungan hidup?
Dibutuhkan waktu 1000 tahun agar plastik dapat terurai oleh tanah secara terdekomposisi atau terurai dengan sempurna. Ini adalah sebuah waktu yang sangat lama. Saat terurai, partikel-partikel plastik akan mencemari tanah dan air tanah. Jika dibakar, sampah plastik akan menghasilkan asap beracun yang berbahaya bagi kesehatan yaitu jika proses pembakaranya tidak sempurna, plastik akan mengurai di udara sebagai dioksin. Senyawa ini sangat berbahaya bila terhirup manusia. Dampaknya antara lain memicu penyakit kanker, hepatitis, pembengkakan hati, gangguan sistem saraf dan memicu depresi.

Kantong plastik juga penyebab banjir, karena menyumbat saluran-saluran air, tanggul. Sehingga mengakibatkan banjir bahkan yang terparah merusak turbin waduk.
Diperkirakan, 500 juta hingga satu miliar kantong plastik digunakan di dunia tiap tahunnya. Jika sampah-sampah ini dibentangkan maka, dapat membukus permukaan bumi setidaknya hingga 10 kali lipat! Coba anda bayangkan begitu fantastisnya sampah plastik yang sudah terlampau menggunung di bumi kita ini. Dan tahukah anda? Setiap tahun, sekitar 500 milyar – 1 triliyun kantong plastik digunakan di seluruh dunia. Diperkirakan setiap orang menghabiskan 170 kantong plastik setiap tahunnya (coba kalikan dengan jumlah penduduk kotamu!)
Lebih dari 17 milyar kantong plastik dibagikan secara gratis oleh supermarket di seluruh dunia setiap tahunnya. Kantong plastik mulai marak digunakan sejak masuknya supermarket di kota-kota besar.

Sampah plastik dapat menyebabkan perubahan iklim?Sejak proses produksi hingga tahap pembuangan, sampah plastik mengemisikan gas rumah kaca ke atmosfer. Kegiatan produksi plastik membutuhkan sekitar 12 juta barel minyak dan 14 juta pohon setiap tahunnya. Proses produksinya sangat tidak hemat energi. Pada tahap pembuangan di lahan penimbunan sampah (TPA), sampah plastik mengeluarkan gas rumah kaca.

Lantas, apa solusinya mengatasi sampah kantong plastik?
Berbagai upaya menekan penggunaan kantong plastik pun dilakukan oleh beberapa Negara. Salah satunya dengan melakukan upaya kampanye untuk menghambat terjadinya pemanasan global. Sampah kantong plastik telah menjadi musuh serius bagi kelestarian lingkungan hidup. Jika sampah bekas kantong plastik itu dibiarkan di tanah, dia akan menjadi polutan yang signifikan. Kalau dibakar, sampah-sampah itu pun akan secara signifikan menambah kadar gas rumah kaca di atmosfer.

Apa yang harus kita lakukan?Kurangi penggunaan kantong plastik sekarang juga dan gunakan tas kain setiap kali berbelanja. Jika hanya membeli sedikit, masukan barang belanjaan ke dalam tas. Ingatkan orang rumah atau teman kamu untuk selalu membawa tas kain saat belanja. Hubungi supermarket, mall dan toko buku langganan kamu untuk berhenti memberikan kantong plastik.

Namun seperti diungkapkan anggota Dewan Pakar Dewan Pemerhati Kehutanan dan lingkungan Tatar Sunda (DPLKTS) Sobirin, pengolahan sampah menjadi solusi terbaik. Jika rumah tangga atau komunitas terkecil di lingkungan belum bisa mengolahnya, di daur ulang, maka pemilahan menjadi langkah kecil terbaik.

Terlepas dari usaha dan upaya tersebut, menurut pendapat saya pribadi semuanya akan berpulang kembali kepada individu-individu masing-masing. Dan kesadaran dirilah yang menentukan berjalan atau tidaknya langkah-langkah yang telah di anjurkan.

Saat berbagai Negara mulai melarang dan merespon terhadap bahaya penggunaan kantong plastik, seperti di Kenya dan Uganda malah sudah secara resmi melarang penggunaan kantong plastik. Sejumlah Negara mulai mengurangi penggunaan kantong plastik diantaranya Filipina, Australia, Hongkong, Taiwan, Irlandia, Skotlandia, Prancis, Swedia, Finlandia, Denmark, Jerman, Swiss, Tanzania, Bangladesh, dan Afrika Selatan. Singapura, sejak April 2007 berlangsung kampanye ‘Bring Your Own Bag’ (bawa langsung kantong anda sendiri), digelar oleh The National Environment Agency (NEA). Dan Pemerintahan China juga telah mengeluarkan rancangan undang-undang (RUU) mengatasi kantong plastik. Dan reaksi yang telah disiapkan antara lain pelarangan penggunaan tas plastik di Departement Store.Para pembeli akan dikenakan bayaran untuk kantong plastik dan akan diberlakukan standardisasi produksi tas plastik.

Sedangkan bagaimana dengan Indonesia sendiri? Pemerintah belum secara nyata membuat kebijakan tersebut. Menyadari dengan kondisi Indonesia yang sekarang ini maka terinspirasilah dari berbagai informasi tentang pelarangan penggunaan kantong plastic dari berbagai Negara. Mahasiswa Teknik Lingkungan (HMTL) ITB sejak sebulan terakhir mulai menjalankan kampanye untuk ‘memusuhi’ kantong plastik, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Negara Singapura.
HMTL berupaya membangun komunitas yang benar-benar sadar akan bahaya penggunaan plastik secara berlebihan. Acara “Plastic Phobia” yang merupakan rangkaian akhir dari “Anti Plastic Campaign Bag” atau Kampanye Anti Kantong Plastik itu diwarnai oleh “happening art” dan aksi seni instalasi dari mahasiswa Design Grafis ITB.

“Semangat merubah budaya penggunaan kantong plastik perlu dilakukan dari individu masing-masing. Upaya ini sangat positif untuk menghentikan bencana lingkungan akibat kantong plastik di masa depan” kata Rektor ITB Prof. Dr. Joko Santoso di sela-sela acara kampanye itu. Menurut Joko, sudah selayaknya kawula muda lebih peduli dan ramah kepada lingkungan, karena generasi muda akan menentukan penyelamatan lingkungan di masa mendatang.
Jadi ingat, jangan membakar sampah plastik karena jika sampah itu di bakar racun yang ada dalam sampah tersebut akan membuat polusi di udara termasuk pada udara yang kita hirup yang dapat membuat kita sakit. Jangan mengubur sampah plastik karena racun yang ada di dalam sampah akan meresap atau merembes kedalam tanah dan membuat air yang ada dalam tanah akan tercemar begitu juga lingkungan di sekitarnya. Jangan membuang sampah plastik, karena racun yang ada dalam sampah dapat mencemari lingkungan di sekitar kita, makhluk hidup dan lingkungan kita akan mengalami kerusakan dan racun akan terus bertambah dimana-mana.

Roller Wirda luthfiahJakarta Utaradha_gun2@yahoo.co.id
Source :http://www.republika.co.id/launcher/view/mid/19/news_id/2268

Family justice: what we can do to protect our children

By Camilla Cavendish

Over the past three days The Times has set out some of the ways in which it fears the child protection system is being subverted by forces that are largely unaccountable. We believe that the Children Act has unintentionally handed enormous power to local authorities and experts, which some are using arbitrarily. And that secrecy keeps injustices from public view.

Opening up the system sounds easier than it is. Yet there are concerns that it could lead to paediatricians and other experts being vilified and refusing to do child protection work, social workers becoming demoralised and the exposure of families' private troubles. That journalists would not keep confidences. That reports by local papers might inadvertently add to the suffering of children by revealing their identities to people living near by.

These are valid concerns. I know two couples who have adopted children in very difficult circumstances. The natural parents of those children are quite unable to care for them, but they are also vengeful. Those couples and those children should not have to live in fear of being tracked down. They have made me think very carefully about the nuances of this. But I feel that these considerations can no longer outweigh the risk of grave injustices being perpetrated against children. And that we can put safeguards in place that will work.

When the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee heard evidence on this issue three years ago, many of the respondents seemed to assume that media access would inevitably hurt children. That is wrong. In the Court of Appeal almost all family law hearings are in public with reporting restrictions imposed. The press attends family proceedings in magistrates' courts, again with reporting restrictions. The press simply does not identify children when it is illegal to do so. Many of my articles may seem incomplete precisely because I am bending over backwards not to publish information that might identify the child.

The Australian and Canadian family court systems are open and transparent. Children's identities are protected but judgments are public, and so is the evidence on which they are based. That means that justice can be done, and be seen to be done. Their press apparently takes no interest at all in the majority of cases. This would surely be the same here.

The Constitutional Affairs Select Committee took the view that courts should be opened in all but exceptional circumstances. In July 2006, the Government seemed to agree. It published a consultation paper stating that greater openness was required in family court proceedings “so that people can understand, better scrutinise decisions and have greater confidence”. It proposed that the media should attend proceedings “on behalf of and for the benefit of the public”, with reporting restrictions to keep the parties anonymous. Almost a year later, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, rowed back, citing a survey of 200 children in which a slender majority had expressed anxiety about letting the media into the family courts. He said that openness would be improved “not by numbers or types of people going in to the courts, but by the amount and quality of information coming out of the courts”. A second consultation paper proposed keeping courts closed, but encouraged judges to release anonymised judgments.

That was a tragic loss of nerve. For there is no way that the growing lack of public confidence in the system can be solved by the publication of a bit more information that the authorities decide to let us see. Publishing an anonymised judgment without the evidence will not let ordinary citizens see what is being done in their name. We cannot tell, for example, whether witness X repeatedly goes beyond their remit or offers hearsay evidence. We cannot tell whether local authority B or judge C repeatedly gives X's evidence undue weight. If it was felt too risky to reveal their names, I would suggest that each expert witness could be given a unique code. That would deter the sensationalist hack from malice, but would enable the determined truth-seeker to track the behaviour of individuals over time, and hold them to account.

Many of the children's charities and lawyers who lobby against openness are trying to protect vulnerable people from damaging publicity. It is a tricky balancing act. But the clincher for me is this. One of the most draconian decisions the State makes is to deprive a child of a parent's love and care. Removing a child from its family is not simply a private matter. It is a decision that demands the very highest standards of accountability and transparency.

I believe that wholesale reforms are needed, which can be summed up in ten points:

1. Open family courts to the press in all but exceptional circumstances (as recommended by the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee).

2.Let any parent or carer accused of abuse call any witnesses they need in their defence. At the moment, they are routinely refused permission to do so.

3.Give automatic permission for parents who are refused legal aid to get a lay adviser to help them present their case. This is routinely refused.

4.Remove the restrictions that prevent families from talking about their case (as recommended by the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee).

5.Review the definition of “emotional abuse” across local authorities, to make sure that it cannot become a catch-all for overzealous officials.

6.Provide an automatic right for parents to receive copies of case conference notes and all evidence used against them in court, just as they would in a criminal trial.

7.Create an independent body to oversee the actions of social services, with proper sanctions. If that body is to be the General Social Care Council, make it easier for parents to go directly to that body rather than having to face delays from the local authority.

8.Let children in care waive their right to privacy if they wish to speak out. For gagging children is surely not consistent with promoting their welfare.

9.Restructure CAFCASS, the Family Court Advisory Service, from being an organisation that reports on the parents to the courts to one that actively promotes the parenting needs of children. The primary focus should cease to be assisting the court process. It should be diverting parents away from contested hearings into the making of parenting plans.

10.Review the recent legal aid cut-backs that are deterring lawyers from taking on these complex family cases. It is quite wrong that desperate parents are unable to find a lawyer to help them in their time of need.

Thank you for listening. As Jeremy Bentham said, where there is no publicity, there is no justice. If you support these ideas, please do go online, support our campaign and e-mail your MP.

Source : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/camilla_cavendish/article4303324.ece

Naturalists puzzled by plummeting puffin numbers

By Valerie Elliott

Farne Islands

The plight of puffins is worrying the National Trust after the number of breeding pairs on the Farne Islands dropped by a third in five years.

It has alarmed conservationists because the islands, off the Northumberland coast, are home to England’s largest colony and previous audits had shown an increase in breeding. This year the results of a three-month survey - in which wardens have to stretch their arms inside each nesting burrow to count the birds - show a fall from 55,674 pairs in 2003 to 36,500 pairs.

The trust had hoped the numbers would reach 60,000 pairs or more this year. However, the decline was evident on each of the eight islands and on four the drop was as much as 50 per cent.

A similar study of puffins on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, another leading breeding site, also found a sharp reduction of numbers from 69,300 to 41,000.

Trust officials are convinced that many birds are failing to survive the eight months they spend at sea. They do not know if puffin losses are due to more intensive storms as a result of climate change or overfishing.

David Steel, the trust’s head warden on the Farne Islands, said that young puffins were successfully fledging but were no longer returning in subsequent years to breed.

Source :http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4402285.ece

A Torture Paper Trail

By Eugene Robinson

I still find it hard to believe that George W. Bush, to his eternal shame and our nation's great discredit, made torture a matter of hair-splitting, legalistic debate at the highest levels of the U.S. government. But that's precisely what he did.

Three previously classified administration memos obtained last week by the American Civil Liberties Union add to our understanding of this disgraceful episode. The documents are attempts to justify the unjustifiable -- the use of brutal interrogation methods that international agreements define as torture -- and to keep those who ordered and carried out this dirty business from being prosecuted and jailed.

The memos don't call it torture, of course. Heavily redacted before being surrendered to the ACLU under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the documents refer euphemistically to "enhanced techniques" of interrogation. Changing the name doesn't change the act, however. One memo, written in 2004, specifically makes clear the administration's view that "the waterboard" is an acceptable way to extract information.

Waterboarding, a technique of simulated drowning, is considered torture virtually everywhere on Earth except in the Bush administration's archive of self-exculpatory memos, directives and opinions.

The most stunning of the memos -- written in August 2002 by Jay Bybee, who was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel -- makes the incredible claim that unless a torturer has the "specific intent" to inflict severe pain or suffering, no violation of U.S. laws against torture has occurred. Bybee, since appointed to the federal bench, wrote that the torturer needed only the "honest belief" that he was not actually committing torture to avoid legal jeopardy. Oh, and Bybee added that it wasn't even necessary for that belief to be "reasonable."

The memo notes that U.S. torture statutes outlaw the infliction of severe mental pain as well as physical pain. It acknowledges that "the threat of imminent death" is one of the specific acts that can constitute torture. Somehow, though, the administration pretends not to understand that strapping a prisoner down and pouring water into his nose until he can't breathe constitutes a death threat -- regardless of whether the interrogator intended to stop before the prisoner actually drowned.

Perhaps that question was dealt with in the nine-tenths of the memo that was redacted before the administration handed it over to the ACLU. The memo never would have been released at all if the government hadn't been ordered to do so by a federal judge.

The whole thing would be laughable if it were not such a rank abomination. No government obeying the law needs a paper trail to absolve its interrogators of committing torture. Conversely, a government that produces such a paper trail has something monstrous to hide.

It is not difficult to avoid violating federal laws and international agreements that prohibit torture. Just don't torture people, period. The idea that there exists some acceptable middle ground -- a kind of "torture lite" -- is a hideous affront to this nation's honor and values. This, perhaps above all, is how George Bush should be remembered: as the president who embraced torture.

I wouldn't be surprised if, as he left office, Bush issued some sort of pardon clearing those who authorized or carried out "enhanced techniques" of interrogations from any jeopardy under U.S. law. International law is something else entirely, however, and I imagine that some of those involved in this sordid interlude might want to be careful in choosing their vacation spots. I'd avoid The Hague, for example.

Barack Obama has stood consistently against torture. John McCain, who was tortured himself as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, has denounced torture as well -- and, although he voted against restraining the CIA with the same no-exceptions policy that now applies to military interrogators, he has been forthright in saying that waterboarding is torture, and thus illegal. On Inauguration Day, whoever wins the presidency, this awful interlude will end.

A clear and urgent duty of the next president will be to investigate the Bush administration's torture policy and give Americans a full accounting of what was done in our name. It's astounding that we need some kind of truth commission in the United States of America, but we do. Only when we learn the full story of what happened will we be able to confidently promise, to ourselves and to a world that looks to this country for moral leadership: Never again.

The writer will answer questions at 1 p.m. today athttp://www.washingtonpost.com. His e-mail address iseugenerobinson@washpost.com.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802465.html?wpisrc=newsletter

Energy saving grants and offers

There is financial help available if you're planning to make energy saving improvements to your home. The Government, energy suppliers and local authorities all provide grants to help you implement energy saving measures in your home.

Most of the grants and offers you can benefit from are provided by three main groups.

The Government

The UK Government funds schemes providing up to £2,700 to households on certain benefits (see below for examples of eligibility criteria) to improve their heating and energy efficiency. In England the scheme is known as Warm Front, in Northern Ireland it is Warm Homes, in Scotland it is Warm Deal and the Central Heating Programme and in Wales it is the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. The eligibility criteria for the schemes differ between countries - with some schemes you need to be in receipt of certain benefits, whilst others are available to anyone over a certain age. Full details can be found on the websites listed below.

Examples of Warmfront eligibility criteria - If you own your own home or rent it from a private landlord and if:

• You are 60 years or older and are in receipt of one or more benefits. Benefits include: income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, job seekers allowance and pension credit.
  or
• You have a child under 16 or you are pregnant and have been given maternity MAT B1 and are also in receipt of benefits such as income support, council tax benefit etc.
  or
• You are in receipt of one or more benefits such as disability living allowance, child tax credit with an income of less than £15,460, housing benefit and disability premium etc.

Then you could be entitled to a warm front grant.

Visit the following websites for more information on the eligibility criteria for a:

• Warmfront grant (England)
• Warm Homes grant (Northern Ireland)
• Warm Deal and the Central heating programme (Scotland)
• Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales)

Please note that grants levels vary.

Energy Suppliers

The Government's Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) has been replaced by the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) this means energy suppliers with a certain number of customers operating in Great Britain are obliged to achieve targets for improving home energy efficiency. The suppliers therefore provide a range of offers which significantly reduce the cost of installing energy efficiency measures. What's more, you can take up offers from any of the energy companies, regardless of who supplies your gas and electricity.

Local authorities

Most Local authorities provide grants and offers for local residents to install certain energy efficiency measures in their home.

Source :http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/what_can_i_do_today/energy_saving_grants_and_offers

Ketahanan Pangan sebagai Hak Dasar Hidup dan Kehidupan Manusia Konsep Dasar Ketahanan Pangan

Oleh: Agung Pambudi

Ketahanan pangan merupakan bagian terpenting dari pemenuhan hak atas pangan sekaligus merupakan salah satu pilar utama hak azasi manusia. Ketahanan pangan juga merupakan bagian sangat penting dari ketahanan nasional. Dalam hal ini hak atas pangan seharusnya mendapat perhatian yang sama besar dengan usaha menegakkan pilar-pilar hak azasi manusia lain.

Kelaparan dan kekurangan pangan merupakan bentuk terburuk dari kemiskinan yang dihadapi rakyat, dimana kelaparan itu sendiri merupakan suatu proses sebab-akibat dari kemiskinan. Oleh sebab itu usaha pengembangan ketahanan pangan tidak dapat dipisahkan dari usaha penanggulangan masalah kemiskinan

Ketahanan Pangan juga diartikan sebagai kondisi terpenuhinya pangan bagi rumah tangga yang tercermin dari ketersediaan pangan yang cukup, baik jumlah, maupun mutunya, aman, merata, dan terjangkau. Ketahanan pangan merupakan hal yang penting dan strategis, karena berdasarkan pengalaman di banyak negara menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada satu negarapun yang dapat melaksanakan pembangunan secara mantap sebelum mampu mewujudkan ketahanan pangan terlebih dahulu.

Undang-undang Nomor 7 Tahun 1996 tentang Pangan mengamanatkan bahwa pemerintah bersama masyarakat mewujudkan ketahanan pangan bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia.

Indonesia merupakan negara dengan jumlah penduduk yang banyak dan tingkat pertumbuhannya yang tinggi, maka upaya untuk mewujudkan ketahanan pangan merupakan tantangan yang harus mendapatkan prioritas untuk kesejahteraan bangsa. Indonesia sebagai negara agraris dan maritim dengan sumberdaya alam dan sosial budaya yang beragam, harus dipandang sebagai karunia Ilahi untuk mewujudkan ketahanan pangan.

Strategi Menuju Ketahanan Pangan Nasional

Dalam rangka mewujudkan ketahanan pangan, maka seluruh sektor harus berperan secara aktif dan berkoordinasi secara rapi dengan Pemerintah Pusat, Pemerintah Propinsi, Pemerintah Kabupaten/Kota, Pemerintah Desa dan masyarakat untuk meningkatkan strategi demi mewujudkan ketahanan pangan nasional

Oleh karena ketahanan pangan tercermin pada ketersediaan pangan secara nyata, maka harus secara jelas dapat diketahui oleh masyarakat mengenai penyediaan pangan. Penyediaan pangan ini bertujuan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan konsumsi rumah tangga yang terus terus berkembang dari waktu kewaktu. Untuk mewujudkan penyediaan pangan tersebut, perlu dilakukan pengembangan sistem produksi, efisiensi sistem usaha pangan, teknologi produksi pangan, sarana dan prasarana produksi pangan dan mempertahankan dan mengembangkan lahan produktif.

3. Berbagai Permasalahan Aktual

Meskipun ketahanan pangan ditingkat nasional jika dilihat dari perbandingan antara jumlah produksi dan konsumsi total relatif telah dapat dicapai, namun pada kenyataanya ketahanan pangan dibeberapa daerah tertentu dan ketahanan pangan dibanyak keluarga masih sangat rentan.

Kesejahteraan petani pangan yang relatif rendah dan menurun saat ini akan sangat menentukan prospek ketahanan pangan. Kesejahteraan tersebut ditentukan oleh berbagai faktor dan keterbatasan, diantaranya yang utama adalah :

a. Sebagian petani miskin karena memang tidak memiliki faktor produktif apapun kecuali tenaga kerjanya

b. Luas lahan petani sempit dan mendapat tekanan untuk terus terkonversi

c. Terbatasnya akses terhadap dukungan layanan pembiayaan

d. Masih terbatasnya akses terhadap informasi dan teknologi yang lebih baik

e. Infrastruktur produksi (air, listrik, jalan, informasi dan telekomunikasi) yang kurang memadai

f. Struktur pasar yang tidak adil dan eksploitatif akibat posisi rebut-tawar (bargaining position) yang sangat lemah bagi petani.

g. Masih terbatasnya sumberdaya manusia.

4. Ketahanan Pangan & Komitmen 2015

Program ketahanan pangan dan perbaikan lingkungan tersebut juga merupakan komitmen bangsa Indonesia bersama-sama dengan 191 negara yang tergabung dalam Perserikatan Bangsa-bangsa untuk mewujudkan 8 agenda pembangunan Millenium atau yang lebih dikenal sebagai Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015 terutama agenda ke-1 (Mengurangi tingkat kemiskinan dan kelaparan) dan agenda ke-7 (Menjamin keberlanjutan pembangunan lingkungan).

Berbagai strategi penanggulangganya sudah barang tentu terus diupayakan oleh pihak-pihak terkait termasuk Departemen Kehutanan yang gencar mengkampanyekan berbagai program rehabilitasi hutan dan lahan sebagai sarana perbaikan lingkungan, peningkatan kesejahtraan ekonomi dan mewujudkan ketahanan pangan masyarakat. Salah satu program

B. AGROFORESTRY:

“Latar Belakang, Strategi dan Implementasi”

1. Latar Belakang

Eksploitasi hutan dan konversi lahan dalam skala massal saat ini telah berimbas kepada kerusakan lingkungan yang sangat parah. Perubahan iklim dunia, pemanasan global, bencana alam banjir, longsor, kekeringan, yang datang silih berganti adalah fenomena turunan yang harus “dirasakan” umat manusia pada dua dasawarsa terakhir dan masih akan berlanjut hingga puluhan tahun kedepan.

Tuntutan menuju kelestarian alam dan lingkungan seringkali terbentur pada tuntutan ekonomi yang dirasa jauh lebih penting, karena menyangkut pemenuhan kebutuhan sandang, pangan dan papan. Ketidakmampuan pemerintah dalam menciptakan stabilitas ekonomi yang diiringi makin meroketnya harga-harga kebutuhan pokok masyarakat, adalah kenyataan pahit lainnya yang harus dihadapi dalam usaha pelestarian alam dan lingkungan.

Harus ada semacam jalan tengah yang bersifat win-win solution sehingga mampu mengakomodir antara kepentingan pemenuhan kebutuhan ekonomi dan konservasi sumberdaya alam dan lingkungan yang sama-sama krusialnya sehingga konsep “Hutan Lestari dan Masyarakat Sejahtera” dapat terwujud dalam arti yang sebenarnya. Salah satunya adalah pola Agroforestry.

2. Strategi

Agroforestry atau yang lazim disebut Wanatani adalah suatu bentuk pengelolaan lahan yang pada prinsipnya mengkombinasikan tanaman pepohonan dengan tanaman semusim/tanaman pertanian, peternakan atau perikanan. agroforestry dilaksanakan dengan satu tujuan yakni efisiensi penggunaan lahan, artinya dari sebidang lahan bisa dihasilkan berbagai produk yang bernilai ekonomi. Pola tersebut juga dilakukan dalam rangka mengoptimalkan dan meningkatkan produktivitas lahan.

Ilustrasinya sebagai berikut. Pada sebidang tanah, seorang petani menanam sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria) yang memiliki tajuk (canopy) yang tinggi dan luas. Di bawahnya, sang petani menanam tanaman kopi (Coffea spp) yang memang memerlukan naungan untuk berproduksi. Lapisan terbawah di dekat permukaan tanah dimanfaatkan untuk menanam empon-empon atau ganyong (Canna edulis) yang toleran/tahan terhadap naungan.

Pola tanam agroforestry tidak sekedar untuk meningkatkan produktivitas lahan, tetapi juga melindungi lahan dari kerusakan dan mencegah penurunan kesuburan tanah melalui mekanisme alami. Tanaman kayu yang berumur panjang diharapkan mampu memompa zat-zar hara (nutrient) di lapisan tanah yang dalam, kemudian ditransfer ke permukaan tanah melalui luruhnya biomasa. Mekanisme ini juga mampu memelihara produktivitas tanaman yang berumur pendek, seperti palawija. Mekanisme alami tersebut menyerupai ekosistem hutan alam, yakni tanpa input dari luar, ekosistem mampu memelihara kelestarian produksi dalam jangka panjang.

Pola tanam agroforestry yang dianggap paling mendekati struktur hutan alam adalah pekarangan atau kebun. Pada pekarangan/kebun, tanaman-tanaman tumbuh secara acak sehingga menciptakan struktur tajuk dan perakaran yang berlapis. Jadi manfaat ganda dari pola agroforestry (yang ideal dan konsisten) adalah peningkatan produktivitas dan pemeliharaan lingkungan

Melalui pola tersebut diharapkan kebutuhan petani berupa bahan pangan seperti palawija, umbi-ubian, pakan ternak dan kayu untuk keperluan sehari-hari dapat dipenuhi secara berkesinambungan juga mampu melindungi dan meningkatkan kesuburan tanah serta menjaga kelestarian lingkungan hidup.

3. Agroforestry di Sulawesi Selatan.

Pola Agroforestry dengan segala bentuk dan kombinasinya sebenarnya telah lama dipraktekkan masyarakat di sulawesi Selatan, meskipun potensi tersebut belum digarap secara maksimal.

Dalam rangka mensosialisasikan dan mengembangkan pola agroforestry kepada masyarakat, Balai Pengelolaan DAS jeneberang Walanae pada tahun 2003 melaksanakan kegiatan Pembangunan Areal Model Agroforestry di lokasi Desa Bacu-bacu, Kec. Pujananting, Kab. Barru dan di Desa Batumalonro, Kecamatan Bisoloro, Kabupaten Gowa. Masing-masing seluas 100 ha. Pada bab selanjutnya, booklet ini akan mengupas lebih jauh tentang keberhasilan pelaksanaan kegiatan pembangunan Areal Model Agroforestry di Desa Batumalonro, Kecamatan Bisoloro, Kabupaten Gowa

C. Success Story

Kegiatan Areal Model Agroforestry

Desa Batumalonro, Kecamatan Bisoloro, Kabupaten Gowa

1. Profil Desa Batumalonro

Desa Batumalonro terletak ± 55 km timur laut kota makassar dan secara administratif termasuk dalam wilayah kecamatan Bisoloro, Kabupaten Gowa. Desa Batumalonro memiliki wilayah seluas ± km2 yang umumnya terdiri dari areal perkebunan, persawahan dan permukiman penduduk.

Aksesibilitas dari dan menuju desa Batumalonro telah cukup baik. Aliran listrik, sarana pendidikan (SD), kesehatan (puskesmas pembantu/bidan), sarana ibadah, dan sarana informasi (TV) telah mencukupi.

Masyarakat Batumalonro rata-rata mengenyam pendidikan hingga tingkat SD s/d SLTP. Adapun mata pencaharian penduduk Batumalonro kebanyakan adalah petani, pedagang, buruh, dan berbagai sektor informal lainnya.

2. Agroforestry di Batumalonro

Desa Batumalonro dipilih sebagai lokasi agroforestry dengan petimbangan kondisi alamnya yang berbukit-bukit, banyak ditanami tanaman palawija seperti jagung dan sayur-mayur, tingkat kepadatan penduduk yang cukup banyak, dan aksesibilitas lokasi yang mudah dijangkau.

Kegiatan Pembangunan Areal Model Agroforestry di desa Batumalonro dimulai tahun 2003 pada lahan seluas 100 ha. Adapun jenis tanaman yang ditanam antara lain Jati lokal, Gmelina, dan Mahoni (kayu-kayuan) dan Nangka, Mangga, Duian, dan Jambu Mete (MPTS).

Saat ini kegiatan Pembangunan Areal Model Agroforestry telah memasuki pemeliharaan tahun ke-IV. Berdasarkan hasil monitoring dan evaluasi pelaksanaan kegiatan tahun ke-3 yang dilaksanakan BP DAS Jeneberang Walanae pada tahun 2006 lalu kondisi tanaman di lokasi Agroforestry dalam keadaan sehat dan terawat.

Prosentase tumbuh tanaman di lokasi Agroforestry mencapai ± 79,13 % dalam kondisi baik dan dominan sehat. Tinggi tanaman rata-rata ± 45 s/d 250 cm. Dan diameter batangnya rata-rata mencapai 1 s/d 25 cm.

3. Kelembagaan Masyarakat

Para pemilik lahan di lokasi Agroforstry Batumalonro sepakat membentuk kelompok tani sebagai sarana sosialisasi, berorganisasi agar memudahkan pelaksanaan kegiatan sehari-hari. Kelompok tani tersebut adalah :

No	Kelompok Tani	Jml Anggota	Ketua	Lokasi
1	Ba’do Tene	49	Dg. Rani	Bunga Sunggu
2	Bakka Tene	50	Said Dg. Nompo	Bunga Sunggu

Dalam kegiatan sehari-hari, kedua kelompok tani tersebut didampingi oleh Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM) Al-Fath. Adapu beberapa kegiatan yang dilakukan LSM Al-Fath bersama seluruh angota kelompok tani antara lain:

• Pertemuan dan sosialisasi pencegahan kebakaran hutan dan lahan
• Pertemuan rutin kelompok tani
• Inventarisasi angota kelompok tani
• Inventarisasi kondisi lahan dan jenis tanaman yang siap tanam
• Pembinaan dan motivasi anggota kelompok tani akan manfaat tanaman kayu-kayuan.
• Pembenahan administrasi kelompok

4.Manfaat Agroforestry Bagi Masyarakat Batumalonro

Setelah berjalan selama 4 tahun, talah banyak manfaat yang bisa dirsakan warga desa Batumalonro dan sekitarnya, karena beberapa komoditas tanaman yang ditanam pada tahun pertama sudah mulai membuahkan hasil.

Komoditi tanaman palawija yang diusahakan masyarakat masyarakat Batumalonro antara lain : Jagung, Kacang-kacangan, sayuran, dan umbi-umbian. Adapun rata-rata produksi pertahunnya sebagai berikut:

No	Jenis Komoditi	Produksi /Th (Kg)	Harga / Kg	Perkiraan Pendapatan
1	Jagung	1.2 ton	Rp. 1.200,-	Rp. 1.440.000,-
2	Ubi kayu	± 200 kg	Rp. 500,-	Rp. 100.000,-
3	Wanafarma/Kunyit	± 150 kg	Rp. 800,-	Rp. 120.000,-
4	Sayuran	Fluktuatif	-	Konsumsi sendiri

Selain komoditi palawija dan holtikultura, masyarakat desa Batumalonro juga memperoleh hasil tambahan berupa buah jambu mete yang telah dipanen hingga mencapai ± 300 kg/tahun dengan harga jual mencapai Rp. 2000/kg (basah), sehingga tambahan pendapatan masyarakat setiap tahunnya akan mencapai ± Rp. 600.000,-

Sedangkan proyeksi pendapatan masyarakat dari hasil panen tanaman kayu-kayuan beberapa tahaun yang akan datang diperkirakan sebagai berikut:

No	Jenis Komoditi	Rata2 Jumlah Batang/KK	Harga / batang	± Perkiraan Pendapatan
1	Jati lokal	150	Rp. 150.000	Rp. 22.500.000
2	Gmelina	300	Rp.80.000	Rp.24.000.000
3	Mahoni	50	Rp. 110.000	Rp.5.500.000

Meskipun masih berskala kecil, kegiatan Agroforestry harus diakui telah mampu memberikan kontribusi yang cukup signifikan bagi peningkatan kesejahteraan ekonomi masyarakat Batumalonro. Hasil panen dari kegiatan Agroforestry kiranya akan cukup membantu masyarakat dalam pemenuhan kebutuhan sehar-hari terutama bahan pangan, sembako yang semakin mahal akibat kenaikan BBM, dan kondisi ekonomi Indonesia yang masih belum stabil.

Model diatas sudah sepantasnya untuk terus dikembangkan, diadaptasi dan diimplementasikan di wilayah-wilayah lain khususnya di Sulawesi Selatan, sehingga membuka kesempatan seluas-luasnya kepada masyarakat yang memiliki keterbatasan lahan untuk memperbaiki kualitas hidup dan kehidupannya sekarang dan dimasa mendatang.

Source : http://www.bpdas-jeneberang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=51

Which Diet's Best? That's Your Choice.

By Sally Squires

Is there one diet that's best for losing weight? That's the debate that simmers in weight-loss circles and occasionally boils into a full diet fad. Just recall how the low-carbohydrate craze swept the nation a few years ago.

More recently, the Mediterranean style of eating -- fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, yogurt, as well as olive oil and wine -- has caught the fancy of dieters. And with good reason: taste.

Now a number of studies suggest that both the low-carbohydrate approach and the Mediterranean diet can substitute for a traditional low-fat weight-loss diet.

The latest findings come from a two-year Harvard study of 322 moderately obese middle-aged Israelis. Published in last week's New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that "Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be safe and effective alternatives to low-fat diets." (The study was partly funded by the foundation set up by late diet doctor Robert C. Atkins, a staunch proponent of the low-carbohydrate, high-protein approach.)

But before you add meat and butter to every meal or begin liberally pouring olive oil and wine, know this. "From a weight-loss perspective, it all comes down to calories," says Gary Foster, director of the obesity center at Temple University in Philadelphia.

There are a few other caveats, including the fact that 86 percent of participants in this latest study were men. Lean, fat or somewhere in between, men have more muscle and less fat than women. That makes weight loss a bit easier for those with the XY chromosomes. (Yes, ladies, more proof that life is unfair.)

The study randomly assigned participants -- all employees of a research center in Dimona, Israel -- to a low-fat diet, a low-carb diet or a Mediterranean diet. Participants attended group meetings and met with a dietitian regularly throughout the study. Those who struggled with weight loss received motivational telephone calls from dietitians to help them stay on track. The research center's cafeteria also provided lunches -- (the main meal in Israel) that met their nutritional goals. But participants were free to eat whatever they wanted in the cafeteria.

Daily calorie and fat intake goals were set for those in the low-fat and Mediterranean diet groups. Women were advised to eat 1,500 calories per day; men, 1,800. The low-fat group was counseled to keep total fat to about 30 percent of daily calories; the Mediterranean group, to 35 percent. The low-carb group counted carbohydrate grams rather than calories and was advised to start with just 20 grams per day -- about the amount found in 1 1/2 slices of whole-wheat bread -- for the first two months, with a gradual increase to 120 grams.

As in similar previous studies, the low-carbohydrate group shed pounds the quickest during the first six months of the study. But by about 11 months, the Mediterranean and the low-carb groups were not substantially different in weight loss. Both did better than the low-fat group. At the study's end, those in the low-fat group had lost an average of six pounds; those in the Mediterranean group, nearly eight pounds; and those in the low-carbohydrate group, 10 pounds.

Women did best on the Mediterranean diet, losing about 13 pounds over two years, compared with five pounds for the low-carb diet and just two pounds for the low-fat approach.

"That was a surprise," said Meir Stampfer, a professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a co-author of the study. "But there were only 45 women in the study, so don't put too much weight on it because of the small numbers."

Men and women on all three diets significantly whittled their waistlines and improved blood pressure; both changes help cut risk for heart disease and diabetes. But the study found that no one diet was better than another in improving these measures.

Levels of the hunger hormone leptin also improved on all three diets, which means appetite was less likely to be out of control. So did "good" cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides, the unhealthy fats that contribute to heart disease. The low-carbohydrate diet produced the biggest improvements for both.

On the other hand, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), a type of "bad" cholesterol, did not change significantly on any of the diets.

"The first take-home message is that if you are embarking on weight loss, start with a low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet," Stampfer said. That doesn't mean "eating cheeseburgers and throwing away the bun," he said.

Red meat is less common in Israel than in the United States. Bacon and pork rinds are rarely found. Participants were urged to eat healthy protein, such as fish and chicken without the skin, as well as dairy products. Eating healthy sources of protein low in saturated fat "is one of the key points," Stampfer said.

On all three diets, weight loss took focus and commitment. "You can lose weight," Stampfer said. "But it is hard and it is not going to happen rapidly."

As for sticking with a particular regimen, the low-fat group did best: 90 percent stayed with the plan for two years, followed by 85 percent for the Mediterranean group and 78 percent for the low-carb group.

"You have to choose a diet that you can stick with for the rest of your life," Stampfer said. "Not just to make it to the wedding or for the summer."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071802705.html?wpisrc=newsletter

Krisis Pangan Global dan Ancaman Bagi Indonesia

By WALHI

Krisis pangan global dirasakan dampaknya oleh seluruh negara melalui berbagai macam bentuk. Walaupun krisis pangan baru terasa nyata pada saat ini, tetapi prosesnya berlangsung lama seiring dengan berkembangnya sistem penyediaan pangan yang berorientasi akumulasi kapital secara global. Saat pangan diperlakukan seperti komoditas pada umumnya dan bukan sebagai hak dasar manusia untuk hidup, maka orientasinya akan berubah sesuai kecenderungan pasar. Dimana bahan pangan dengan permintaan tinggi akan diutamakan dengan mengabaikan dampaknya terhadap ketahanan pangan.

Krisis pangan pada saat ini terjadi dalam kaitannya dengan harga yang tinggi untuk beberapa bahan pangan, yaitu gandum, kedelai, beras, jagung, produk turunan susu, dan tanaman untuk minyak dan daging.

Penyebab kenaikan harga tidak sama untuk beberapa bahan pangan, dan dijelaskan sebagai berikut:

1. Harga pangan naik karena kompetisi dengan pangan/komoditi yang lebih menguntungkan

a. Tingginya harga bahan bakar fosil global mendorong pencarian alternatif dan termasuk di dalamnya agrofuel.

Agrofuel yang diminati saat ini adalah Jagung, Tebu, Sawit, Rapeseed. Efisiensi Jagung untuk bahan bakar mendorong Amerika menurunkan 15% produksi kedelai dan menggantinya ke Jagung. Penurunan ini menyebabkan kenaikan harga yang nyata dan menghantam negara pengimpor kedelai dari Amerika. Indonesia mengimpor sebanyak 64% kedelai dari Amerika (Deptan, 2007) dan penurunan suplai melumpuhkan lebih pengrajin tempe dan kedelai.

b. Perubahan pola konsumsi, yaitu peningkatan kebutuhan daging.

Beberapa Negara berkembang dengan penduduk tinggi seperti India dan China, perubahan konsumsi daging/kapita menyebabkan kenaikan harga daging, dan dampaknya menaikkan beberapa harga biji-bijian sebagai pakan.

2. Kenaikan harga pangan karena tingginya harga bahan bakar fosil. Dengan perdagangan pangan antar Negara, benua, samudra biaya transportasi akan menyebabkan naiknya harga pangan. Sebagai contoh, rata-rata jarak yang ditempuh oleh gandum pada saat diimpor adalah 3885 Km atau mendekati 4 kali panjang pulau jawa (http://www.localfooddirectory.ca/foodshed/geobrowser)

3. Kenaikan harga pangan karena prioritas kebutuhan dalam negeri.

Hal ini terjadi untuk beras, ketika eksportir ke-2 dan ke-3 terbesar di dunia, yaitu Vietnam dan India memutuskan untuk mengurangi jumlah ekspor.

4. Harga bahan bakar yang meningkat tinggi menuntut pencarian sumber alternatif yang lebih murah dengan meningkatkan agrofuel. Secara beruntun kompetisi agrofuel menyisihkan jumlah produksi untuk pangan sehingga harga pangan turut naik. Selain itu, pola penyediaan pangan yang berjalan melalui intensitas pertukaran yang tinggi dan jarak yang jauh menyebabkan harga pangan turut naik sebagai konsekuensi ongkos produksi.

Implikasi tingginya konsumsi daging

Sebagai gambaran, secara global perbandingan lahan yang digunakan untuk peternakan sekitar 25 kali lipat luas untuk tanaman, sedangkan hasil sereal atau biji-bijian mencapai hampir 9 kali lipat produksi daging yang dihasilkan (UN Food Outlook, Mei 2008). Atau untuk memenuhi kebutuhan daging seorang Kanada selama setahuan dibutuhkan 4,6 kali lipat lapangan bola (1,6 Ha), dibandingkan dengan beberapa negara berkembang yang dapat mencukupi kebutuhan karbohidrat satu orang dengan 0.2 Ha. (IDRC 2007 di http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-30610-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html). Ilustrasi untuk jumlah air yang dibutuhkan: 1 kg gandum = 1000-2000 l air; 1 kg daging sapi = 10.000-13.000 l air

Dengan gambaran ini bisa dibayangkan ketika permintaan daging dari China dan India meningkat, maka semakin banyak bahan pangan yang dijadikan pakan, karena memberikan nilai ekonomi yang lebih tinggi. Sejak tahun 1985 konsumsi daging di China meningkat dari 20% menjadi 50% terhadap porsi diet.

Secara konseptual dan visi dunia, agrikultur dimaksudkan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pangan seluruh umat manusia. Tetapi kenyataannya pangan sekedar komoditi dimana faktor-faktor penyetirnya adalah fungsi ekonomi. Pangan sebagai hak dasar sehingga kelaparan harus dihilangkan menjadi visi yang ditinggalkan. Kelaparan modern pasca 1700 memperlihatkan bahwa kelaparan justru disebabkan karena kebijakan yang tidak memprioritaskan keselamatan rakyatnya. Kelaparan Irish 1845-1849 terjadi setelah makanan dikirim ke Inggris yang mampu membayar lebih, begitu juga dengan kelaparan 1973 di Ethiopia. Kelaparan terbesar dalam abad 20 terjadi di China pada tahun 1958-61 dimana 20 juta orang meninggal, dan ini disebabkan kebijakan China untuk meninggalkan pertanian dan beralih sebagian ke industri baja.

Daftar kelaparan lain selama abad 20 dilatarbelakangi oleh terjadinya perang.

Dari gambaran di atas terlihat bahwa kelaparan modern terjadi untuk sebab-sebab yang dapat dihindari. Sistem produksi-konsumsi pangan dikontrol oleh pasar menyebabkan orientasi produksi bukan untuk pemenuhan hak manusia, melainkan untuk mendapat keuntungan sebesar-besarnya.

Krisis pangan Indonesia

Terhadap kenaikan harga global, harga pangan di Indonesia cenderung lebih stabil kecuali untuk minyak goreng dan kedelai. Bila Indonesia impor, maka ancaman di depan mata adalah kenaikan harga beras akibat kenaikan harga global 133% dalam periode januari-mei 2008 (FAO: Food Outlook, Mei 2008). Tetapi yang pasti terjadi adalah kenaikan harga pangan, termasuk beras pasca-kenaikan BBM.

Beras

Harga beras dalam negeri cenderung lebih stabil dibandingkan kenaikan harga global. Saat ini Indonesia masih terbilang aman soal beras, karena produksi hingga saat ini masih mampu memenuhi kebutuhan nasional, bahkan sedikit surplus.

Kondisi surplus dan tingginya harga beras menjadi godaan untuk ekspor walaupun dengan ketetapan hanya bila stok mencapai 3 juta ton.

Melihat kecenderungan impor Indonesia dengan variasi yang sangat tinggi, ekspor pada saat ini sangat berisiko. Indonesia tidak bisa mengekspor beras, bahkan jika cadangan mencapai 3 juta ton, seperti yang disyaratkan oleh pemerintah.

Harga beras global naik disebabkan dua negara pengekspor utama beras, yaitu Vietnam dan India memutuskan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dalam negerinya terlebih dahulu. Tekanan peningkatan konsumsi, penurunan kualitas lahan, konversi lahan pertanian ke non-pertanian dan perubahan iklim mendorong orientasi lebih ke dalam negeri. Sebab tersebut tidak akan menjadi lebih baik dalam waktu dekat ini, bahkan diperkirakan harga beras akan terus tinggi hingga 10 tahun mendatang (OECD, FAO dan FAPRI[1]: Agriculture commodity market outlook 2007-2016). FAPRI dalam[2] laporan yang sama memperkirakan bahwa Indonesia akan tetap mengimpor beras pada 2008 walaupun di bawah satu juta ton, dibandingkan pada tahun 2007 dengan angka impor mencapai 1,8 juta ton. Dari faktor perubahan iklim saja disebutkan dalam laporan ke-4 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) bahwa luas lahan pertanian global akan menurun seper enamnya.

Saat ini, beberapa daerah produsen beras utama Indonesia, seperti wilayah Pantura (Indramayu dan Cirebon) sedang mengalami kekeringan yang dapat membahayakan pasokan pangan nasional. Walaupun pemerintah secara resmi menyebutkan bahwa hingga saat ini Indonesia diperkirakan dapat memenuhi target nasional. Tetapi, ketidakpastian cuaca menuntut kita untuk tidak terlalu optimis. Cadangan nasional harus terus diamankan dengan tidak melakukan ekspor. Sebagai catatan hingga tahun 2005 Indonesia masih melakukan ekspor (Statistik Deptan) beras walaupun dengan jumlah sedikit.

Minyak Goreng

Minyak goreng berasal dari minyak kelapa sawit, dimana Indonesia adalah penghasil pertama di dunia. Produksi Indonesia menyumbang 43% sawit dunia dengan porsi ekspor sebesar 73% dan konsumsi dalam negeri hanya 27%. Hal ini memperlihatkan ironi saat terjadi kenaikan harga minyak goreng dalam negeri hingga 100%. Penyebab utama kenaikan disinyalir karna penimbunan dan secara skematis harga dibangun untuk mengikuti harga pasar. Perbedaaan yang mencolok akan mendorong penjualan keluar negri dibanding untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dalam negeri. Di sini peran pemerintah untuk mengontrol distribusi, harga konsumen, dan memastikan akses masyarakat harus dijalankan.

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut, dapat menghubungi:

DinarRani Setiawan
Manajer Kampanye dan Pengkampanye Isu Air, Pangan dan Keberlanjutan
Email DinarRani Setiawan
Telepon kantor: +62-(0)21-791 93 363
Mobile:
Fax: +62-(0)21-794 1672

Source : http://www.walhi.or.id/kampanye/psda/080528_krisis_pangan_li/

Reforming Environment and Natural Resource Policy

by WALHI

The vast majority of environmental and natural resource problems in Indonesia stem from structural inadequacies. Natural resources are considered only in terms of their ability to be removed from the natural environment for the purpose of economic gain. Institutions and policies are not designed to ensure environmental sustainability and the natural environment is seen as an issue peripheral to the management of Indonesia’s forests, minerals, lands and foodstuffs. The value and services the natural environment provides to communities is also ignored, and the impacts of environmental degradation on people are rarely anticipated or prioritized by the government and industry.

Community rights

At the same time, communities are denied access to their own lands and kept out of natural resource decision-making processes. Communities rarely benefit from increases to services or income. While royalties and taxes are paid to the government, these don’t filter down to the local community.

WALHI is working towards a “democratization” of resource management. “Democratic” resource management means communities have rights to information and to participate in decision-making processes. They should also have the ability to veto natural resource extraction projects in their areas, and access to justice to redress problems if they occur.

WALHI is also working to reform the legal, policy and institutional frameworks that govern natural resources. The work ties in with issues like forestry, mining and other WALHI campaigns. As part of this campaign, WALHI is calling for a Natural Resources Management Act, which would act as an umbrella law to govern decisions relating to all the different natural resource sectors like mining and forestry. This Act would ensure Indonesian peoples’ rights to their livelihood resources and sustaining the environment take precedence over the profit of trans-national corporations or corrupt government officials.

Dedicated departments

In the same vein, WALHI is calling for an integrated department to deal with environment and natural resources. Currently there is only a State Ministry for the Environment, who operates from Jakarta, without any regional or local offices to oversee environmental management. This is unlike the Departments of Forestry and Mining, which operate extensively throughout the Indonesian Archipelago.

The role of this department would be to ensure that permits for natural resource extraction like forestry and mining are granted within the capacity of the natural environment. WALHI is also calling for the establishment of a protection agency to manage environmental standards. Current existing authorities are small and poorly funded and lack the ability to deal with breaches in environmental capacity or punish polluters.

Conflict resolution

Before sustainable management of Indonesia’s natural resources can be achieved, existing conflicts between local communities and companies or governments must be resolved. Communities all over Indonesia have suffered violence, had their lands forcibly taken from them and their access to their environment and livelihood sources cut off. This almost always happens without prior informed consent and communities receive little or no benefits, royalties or compensation from the extraction of the natural resources in their area. This is evidenced by the high poverty levels of areas like Aceh, which generates up to US$1.5 billion in oil and gas revenues alone each year.

WALHI is advocating the establishment of a commission to deal especially with conflicts over natural resources. The role of this body would be to assess different community appeals for reparations or grievances for past conflicts. Until the establishment of such a commission is possible, WALHI is working with the Human Rights commission to seek justice for abuses to community rights.

For more information, please contact:

Helvi Lystiani
Information and Communications (National Office)
Email Helvi Lystiani
Telepon kantor: +62-(0)21-791 93 363
Mobile:
Fax: +62-(0)21-794 1673

Source : http://www.eng.walhi.or.id/kampanye/psda/reform_psda_info/

Sustainable development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."^[1]

The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability.

Scope and definitions

Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues. The United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, refers to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection.^[2]

Indigenous peoples have argued, through various international forums such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Convention on Biological Diversity, that there are four pillars of sustainable development, the fourth being cultural.

The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001) further elaborates the concept by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence". In this vision, cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development.

Economic Sustainability: Agenda 21 clearly identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that recognises these interdependent pillars. It emphasises that in sustainable development everyone is a user and provider of information. It stresses the need to change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social concerns into all development processes. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that broad public participation in decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.^[3]

According to Hasna, sustainability is a process which tells of a development of all aspects of human life affecting sustenance. It means resolving the conflict between the various competing goals, and involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity famously known as three dimensions (triple bottom line) with is the resultant vector being technology, hence it is a continually evolving process; the ‘journey’ (the process of achieving sustainability) is of course vitally important, but only as a means of getting to the destination (the desired future state). However,the ‘destination’ of sustainability is not a fixed place in the normal sense that we understand destination. Instead, it is a set of wishful characteristics of a future system.^[4]

Green development is generally differentiated from sustainable development in that Green development prioritizes what its proponents consider to be environmental sustainability over economic and cultural considerations. Proponents of Sustainable Development argue that it provides a context in which to improve overall sustainability where cutting edge Green development is unattainable. For example, a cutting edge treatment plant with extremely high maintenance costs may not be sustainable in regions of the world with fewer financial resources. An environmentally ideal plant that is shut down due to bankruptcy is obviously less sustainable than one that is maintainable by the community, even if it is somewhat less effective from an environmental standpoint.

Some research activities start from this definition to argue that the environment is a combination of nature and culture. The Network of Excellence "Sustainable Development in a Diverse World", ^[5] sponsored by the European Union, integrates multidisciplinary capacities and interprets cultural diversity as a key element of a new strategy for sustainable development.

Still other researchers view environmental and social challenges as opportunities for development action. This is particularly true in the concept of sustainable enterprise that frames these global needs as opportunities for private enterprise to provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. This view is now being taught at many business schools including the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan.

The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the scope of sustainable development:^[6]

Agriculture Atmosphere Biodiversity Biotechnology Capacity-building Climate Change Consumption and Production Patterns Demographics Desertification and Drought Disaster Reduction and Management

Education and Awareness Energy Finance Forests Fresh Water Health Human Settlements Indicators Industry Information for Decision Making and Participation Integrated Decision Making

International Law International Cooperation for Enabling Environment Institutional Arrangements Land management Major Groups Mountains National Sustainable Development Strategies Oceans and Seas Poverty Sanitation

Science SIDS Sustainable tourism Technology Toxic Chemicals Trade and Environment Transport Waste (Hazardous) Waste (Radioactive) Waste (Solid) Water

Sustainable development is an eclectic concept, as a wide array of views fall under its umbrella. The concept has included notions of weak sustainability, strong sustainability and deep ecology. Different conceptions also reveal a strong tension between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. Thus, the concept remains weakly defined and contains a large amount of debate as to its precise definition.

During the last ten years, different organizations have tried to measure and monitor the proximity to what they consider sustainability by implementing what has been called sustainability metric and indices.

Sustainable development is said to set limits on the developing world. While current first world countries polluted significantly during their development, the same countries encourage third world countries to reduce pollution, which sometimes impedes growth. Some consider that the implementation of sustainable development would mean a reversion to pre-modern lifestyles.^[7]

Others have criticized the overuse of the term:

"[The] word sustainable has been used in too many situations today, and ecological sustainability is one of those terms that confuse a lot of people. You hear about sustainable development, sustainable growth, sustainable economies, sustainable societies, sustainable agriculture. Everything is sustainable (Temple, 1992)."^[7]

Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the process of making sure current processes of interaction with the environment are pursued with the idea of keeping the environment as pristine as naturally possible based on ideal-seeking behavior.

An "unsustainable situation" occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature's resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of carrying capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for humanity.

Consumption of renewable resources	State of environment	Sustainability
More than nature's ability to replenish	Environmental degradation	Not sustainable
Equal to nature's ability to replenish	Environmental equilibrium	Steady-state economy
Less than nature's ability to replenish	Environmental renewal	Sustainable development

Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

The United Nations has declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development starting in January of 2005. A non-partisan multi-sector response to the decade has formed within the U.S. via the U.S. Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.^[8] Active sectors teams have formed for youth, higher education, business, religion, the arts, and more. Organizations and individuals can join in sharing resources and success stories, and creating a sustainable future. Sustainable development is not just about business perspective but should be understood in such way to benefit the whole as a world.

External links

• Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan
• WWW-Virtual Library Sustainable development - Links to sustainable development sources
• Nature conservation+spirituality = sustainable development
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development
• Sustainable development - Highlights the need for a people-centred approach to sustainable development and provides links to related sources
• European Sustainable Development Network - ESDN - Sustainable development policies and strategies in Europe
• Bicycle City - Sustainable community development
• The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University views environmental and social needs as business opportunities.
• U.K. Sustainable Development Commission
• Forward Scotland Independent organization
• Appropedia - a Wiki focused on sustainable international development and poverty reduction
• International Institute for Environment and Development
• International Institute for Sustainable Development
• International Organization for Sustainable Development
• Debunking-myth-about-the-third-world UN databases presented with interactive data-mining tools and shows.
• World Bank website on sustainable development.
• Citizens Network for Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Development Law & Policy
• Institute for Trade Standards and Sustainable Development

Source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development