Disaster is part of a Global Injustice

Disaster from the Perspectives of Climate Change,
Poverty and Free Market Economy

Climate change is broadly acknowledged to cause and will continue to cause large scale disasters around the world, from an increasing temperature of earth's surface to an increase in sea levels, floods, landslides, and more. However, many people still do not understand that the problems relating to climate change are in actual fact due to an unjust global system. This concept was clarified by Hira Jhamtani, a member of INSIST's Board of Trustees, in a national seminar 'Climate Change and Disaster Management in Indonesia' organized by INSIST (SUSDEC LPTP) and CORDAID Netherlands at YPRI's Education Center in Pakem, Yogyakarta on 16-17 February 2008. The seminar was attended by around 30 people from various member organizations of INSIST, local NGOs, representatives of regional governments from Maluku, Sulawesi, NTT, Jambi and Java, as well as representatives from various international organizations including Wetlands International, WWF, CARITAS, NOVIB in Aceh, and CORDAID Netherlands. (picture: group discussion of seminar's participants). The seminar was moderated by Dr. Baiquni from the Faculty of Geography of Gajah Mada University and also a senior advisor of INSIST's member organization based in Solo, LPTP.

According to Hira, one of the root causes of the problem of climate change is the unwillingness of industrialized countries, as the biggest producers of greenhouse emissions, to fullfil their obligations as agreed upon internationally through the Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, in the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007, developed countries remained evasive of their responsibilities for various reasons. “They”, according to Hira, “are in fact ridiculing the Kyoto Protocol by saying developing countries are themselves producers of greenhouse gases and hold the same level of responsibility in the reduction of emmissions as developed countries.” In doing so, the developed countries effectively divert the attention away from their own responsibility.

Hira calls this an ‘injustice that was forced in a very crude manner’. Factual data clearly shows that in fact developing countries albeit having the largest populations in the world (China, India, and Indonesia itself) only produce emissions of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) between 1.2 and 2.7 metric tonnes per capita in comparison to developed countries such as Singapore (13.8), Canada (16.5), Australia (18.3), and the biggest emitter the United States (20.2). “Americans have the largest income and purchasing power, eight times that of developing nations and also produce CO2 emissions amounting eight times more than that of ‘poor and developing countries’.” (see graph)

The second resource person in the seminar, Ivan A.Hadar, consultant of UNDP’s MDGs program as well as member of INSIST’s Board of Trustees, stressed that poverty remains one of Indonesia’s national problems, a problem which will be increasingly aggravated by the threats of disasters in the country. "As a result”, he said, “the National Action Plan for the reduction of poverty as those grafted in the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) will become increasingly hard to achieve.” According to Ivan, achievement efforts of MDGs are focused on results and impacts of the cause and not focused on finding solutions to the cause itself which is rooted in economic injustice and global politics. He underlined the explanation provided by Hira that at the heart of the climate change issue lies poverty and the processes relating to impoverishment of the world’s populations. He suggested a need for all the stakeholders to clearly understand the connection between all of these elements (poverty and the impoverishment, climate change, and disaster) in order to develop a better solution.

The third speaker, Don Marut, Executive Director INFID in Jakarta and also former Executive Secretary of INSIST’s Executuve Board 2002-2005, presented facts and analysis showing that disaster, especially social conflicts and riots in Indonesia are also part of the big scenario of global neo-liberalism. "From all the cases that I observed since the beginning of the reformation in 1999", said Don, "the pattern is always the same or similar." Immediately after conflicts ended or began to subside, or even when they are still taking place, large scale new investment and exploitation of natural resources follow in the areas of these conflicts. He gave several examples such as the protracted social conflict in Poso and Ambon and continous provocation of ethnic and religious conflict in South and West Sulawesi as well as several other areas. Likewise the 'First Bali Bombing' incident and other events in East Java. He also explained several examples of similair cases throughout history in Congo, Nigeria, and the Chili during the coup by the dictator of general Pinochet against Salvador Allende. In the case of Chili the government and large conglomerates of the United States engineered the coup based on the advice of Milton Friedman, an expert in economics and main advocate of neo-liberalism who came to Chili soon after Allende fell and became the economic adviser the Pinochet regime. Don warned that in the very basics of the neo-liberalism theory of Friedman that “crisis in needed for change to occur”. Therefore, Don emphasized, NGOs working to handle risks and impacts of disaster, particularly social disasters and riots, should not forget the ‘game of neo-liberalism’ and the ‘free market system’ driven by multilateral financial institutions such as World Bank and IMF.

In the afternoon, the seminar continued with inputs put forward by three key speakers focusing discussion on their expereinces in dealing with disasters during the past several years. The Chairman for the Office of Development Plan (BAPPEDA) of Bantul District (representing the Regent), Drs. Riyantono MSi, presented the District of Bantul's experience -- as an example of successfully incorporating various political and economic aspects in handling the disaster. Following this, Eko Teguh from MPBI (Indonesian Society for Disaster Management) explaind the processes of legislation and the content of Disaster Management Regulation No. 24/2007 put forward by the Indonesian legislative body, including some limitations. The final presentation was given by Roem Topatimasang, Chairman of INSIST’s Executive Board 2005-2007. Roem explaining the basic concept and experience of INSIST’s Team of Humanitarian Volunteers who were invovled in emergency and reconstruction activities following the earthquake in Bantul and Klaten in 2006. The last three key speakers agreed that disaster management should be focused on capability and mobilization of local resources (including the local government agencies) oriented by principles of international humanitarian aid principles, which is already accepted in various international conventions and in Indonesia’s Regulation No. 24/2007 regarding disaster. “Despite there still being limitiations with regards to this Regulation,” according to Roem and Eko, “we shouldn’t be passiviely awaiting the enactment of the regulation and other legal documents. Local initiative should be started to implement all universal principles contained in the Regulation 24.”