ISSN 0219-3213 2018 no. 6 Trends in Southeast Asia RECONCILING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPERATIVES IN BATAM LEE POH ONN TRS6/18s ISBN 978-981-4818-33-9 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119614 http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg 9 789814 818339 18-J03457 00 Trends_2018-6 cover.indd 1 27/2/18 10:58 AM Trends in Southeast Asia 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 1 27/2/18 10:59 AM The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) is an autonomous organization established in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are grouped under Regional Economic Studies (RES), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS). The Institute is also home to the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre (NSC) and the Singapore APEC Study Centre. ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued more than 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world. 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 2 27/2/18 10:59 AM 2018 no. 6 Trends in Southeast Asia RECONCILING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPERATIVES IN BATAM LEE POH ONN 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 3 27/2/18 10:59 AM Published by: ISEAS Publishing 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119614 [email protected] http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg © 2018 ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission. The author is wholly responsible for the views expressed in this book which do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. ISEAS Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Lee, Poh Onn. Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam. (Trends in Southeast Asia Series, 0219-3213 ; TRS6/18) 1. Economic development—Environmental aspects—Indonesia. 2. Environmental degradation—Indonesia. 3. Environmental law—Indonesia. I. Title. II. Series: Trends in Southeast Asia ; TRS 6/18. DS501 I59T no. 6(2018) March 2018 ISBN 978-981-4818-33-9 (soft cover) ISBN 978-981-4818-34-6 (ebook, PDF) Typeset by Superskill Graphics Pte Ltd Printed in Singapore by Mainland Press Pte Ltd 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 4 27/2/18 10:59 AM FOREWORD The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics. The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region. THE EDITORS Series Chairman: Choi Shing Kwok Series Editor: Ooi Kee Beng Editorial Committee: Su-Ann Oh Daljit Singh Francis E. Hutchinson Benjamin Loh 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 5 27/2/18 10:59 AM 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 6 27/2/18 10:59 AM Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam By Lee Poh Onn EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Batam’s economic transformation has been accompanied by a marked degradation of its natural environment. Enforcement to protect the environment has often been inadequate on many fronts, exacerbated by population increases. • Though regulations exist for the provision of public amenities like wastewater and sewerage treatment, existing facilities are run-down and ill-equipped to cope with the present demands. • The capacity of reservoirs to meet the present demand for water is also strained because of the large population base, with illegal intrusion and squatters further threatening supplies. • Economic and environmental imperatives can be reconciled if more emphasis and resources are put into enforcing regulations and protecting the environment. 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 7 27/2/18 10:59 AM 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 8 27/2/18 10:59 AM Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam By Lee Poh Onn1 INTRODUCTION Batam’s economic growth has been nothing short of spectacular. In the 1990s, it experienced an investment boom fuelled by investments from Singapore. This lasted for two decades and transformed the economy and landscape of what was an outpost into a place with a major industrial city of over 1 million inhabitants. This impressive pace of development has often been accompanied by a marked degradation of the natural environment. Mangrove areas have rapidly disappeared, floods have occurred around the city because of erosion caused by land clearing; illegal squatter settlements have intruded into protected forests, and toxic substances from the offshore cleaning of ships have affected the quality of Batam’s coastal waters. But all is not lost. Economic and environmental imperatives can be reconciled if Batam’s development trajectory takes into account the impact of economic growth on the environment. Sustainable development is not impossible.2 1 Lee Poh Onn is Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. The author would like to thank Ulla Fionna, Francis E. Hutchinson and Siwage Dharma Negara for their guidance, and Jason Salim and Amoz Hor for translating text gathered from his interview questionnaires in Batam. Thanks also goes to Francis E. Hutchinson and Serina Rahman for very useful feedback on an earlier version of this paper, to Ooi Kee Beng for editing, and to Benjamin Hu for producing the maps on Batam. 2 A.A. Hezri and S.R. Dovers, “Shifting the Policy Goal from Environment to Sustainable Development”, in Malaysia’s Development Challenges: Graduating from the Middle, edited by Hal Hill, Tham Siew Yean and Ragayah Mat Zin (London and New York: Routledge, 2012), p. 277. 1 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 1 27/2/18 10:59 AM Negative environmental impacts have to be controlled by regulations and by proper enforcement. The institutional framework (regulations and property rights) plays a central role to ensure that negative environmental impacts are accounted for and minimized. Problems generally arise from either an absence of regulations or property rights to regulate the environment or from the absence or lack of enforcement by the relevant authorities. The Riau Islands Province (PRI) is made up of five rural regencies (kabupaten) and two cities or urban municipalities (kota). Batam and Tanjung Pinang are the two cities within PRI, while Bintan, Karimun, Lingga, Anambas and Natuna form the five regencies.3 Batam Island’s land area totals 415 km2 (41,500 hectares). This paper will examine the various manifestations and causes of environmental degradation against the backdrop of economic transformation, population growth and enforcement (or lack thereof). It also provides a comprehensive update where possible of the present state of environmental affairs in the municipality, and the challenges involved in maintaining the carrying capacity of the environment to cope with development. Following a discussion of the methodology used in this study, the next section will examine the impact of government policies on economic transformation, and of migration on population growth. Regulations and enforcement measures are then discussed in general, followed by an examination of Batam’s environmental management challenges across many fronts. These include industrial pollution (electronics industry); shipyards and pollution; cut and fill and land reclamation; general wastes; water pollution in reservoirs; wastewater and sewage treatment; mangroves and conservation; and air pollution emissions. 3 Mulya Amri, “A Periphery Serving Three Cores: Balancing Local, National, and Cross-Border Interests in the Riau Islands”, in The SIJORI Cross-Border Regions: Transnational Politics, Economics, and Culture, edited by Francis E. Hutchinson and Terence Chong (Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2016), p. 155. 2 18-J03457 01 Trends_2018-6.indd 2 27/2/18 10:59 AM METHODOLOGY The methodology for this study includes site visits, gathering of key informant materials from four interviews, and extracting of information from published primary and secondary sources. Two site visits were conducted in March 2017 and April 2017 primarily to observe and update environmental conditions existing throughout the municipality. This also involved trips to various parts of the island including the fringes of forest areas and reservoirs, and to industrial sites. The first site visit also included discussion with officials at Badan Pengusaha Batam (BP Batam) to understand the present state of economic development and existing challenges faced by development planners.4 The second visit included an informal interview with an academic/activist who shared deep concerns for the natural environment in Batam. This individual highlighted a number of locations in Batam where negative environmental impacts are visible. Besides the two site visits, this study involved separately interviewing four individuals from 16 to 19 November 2016: an academic in the law faculty (17 November), two environmental NGOs (18 and 19 November), and a BAPEDAL5 official (16 November).