Environmental Crime and Law Enforcement in Indonesia: Some Reflections on Counterproductive Approaches

The enforcement of environmental law in Indonesia shows a contradictory nature. The exploitation of natural resources by corporations has caused unparalleled disasters. Yet, the perpetrators, especially those corporations who work in collective, are rarely able to be persecuted. This research aims to examine the obstacles to environmental law enforcement in Indonesia and analyze the ideal environmental law enforcement model for future use. This research uses a qualitative approach which examines the concepts related to the ideal law enforcement for the future (ius constituendum). Our examination finds that there are three main obstacles in enforcing environmental law in Indonesia: the inability to deal with corporations which have strong political backing, overlapping authorities in the process of crime investigation, and difficulties faced by law enforcement officers in finding evidence. In light of these findings, we propose a model of legal protection for victims of pollution and/ or environmental destruction using the principle of restorative justice. In this model, judges can represent facilitators from the state for the initial stage. The value of this model is that rather than only pursuing punishment for the perpetrators, it shifts the focus towards providing compensation for the victims by the perpetrators.