Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world, consisting of 16,065 islands. In the subsequent 2050, around 22 million people on the coast of Indonesia will face floods annually due to the climate change-induced sea-level rise. The Indonesian judiciary has also recognized climate change as one of the threats to the continuity of living things. Climate change's effect on human rights in the context of the environment has been recognized at the domestic level.

Legal Framework

 * Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (1945) - Article 28(H) of the Constitution cemented that every citizen shall have the right to live in physical and spiritual prosperity, to have a home and to enjoy a good and healthy environment, and shall have the right to obtain medical care.


 * Law No. 32 on Environmental Protection and Management (2009) - The aim of this legal instrument is to achieve environmentally sustainable development through environmental planning policies, as well as fair environmental exploitation, development, preservation, reconstruction, monitoring and control.


 * Decree of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court No. 36/KMA/SK/H/2013 on Application of Guidelines for Handling Environmental Cases - This decree provides that individuals can bring claims against the government/state for failing to uphold their right to a healthy and good environment. It is one of the legal basis for citizen lawsuits (actio popularis) in environmental disputes brought in courts for the State's failure.

Cases

 * Komari et. al v. Samarinda Mayor - In this case, while the primary argument of this lawsuit focuses on the government’s operation of granting mining licenses that are not following post-mine reclamation procedures and obligations that the government does not enforce, climate change used as a secondary argument. Plaintiff included one of the propositions that proved that the defendant had contributed to climate change in Samarinda.
 * Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) v. PT Waringin Agro Jaya - Ministry of Environment and Forestry sued one of the companies supposedly behind the massive forest fire incidents in South Sumatra Province. In this case, the defendant found being responsible for carrying out intentional combustion within the region for economic benefits and had to compensate for the damages.
 * Montara Oil Spill case - In this case that was decided by the Federal Court of Australia, a Thai oil company was obliged to pay damages to Indonesian seaweed farmers for an oilspill it caused in Australian waters that affected their crops.

Organizations

 * Greenpeace Indonesia
 * Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL)
 * Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia