L'elisir d'amore

By: Farid Solana

Environmental issues have become global concern. Economic activities and population growth, both of them are two factors mainly related to global warming and any enviro-related problems. One of outstanding Indonesian figures in the field of economic and ecological consideration is Emil Salim. The remarkable scholar, who has been serving for more than three decades for Indonesia, shares his thought and his wisdom with you.

Graduated from Faculty of Economics University of Indonesia, Emil Salim is mostly renowned as an environmentalist. He’s one of the intellectuals who initiated the establishment of Indonesian Ministry of Population and Environment. In the last two years, he has ministered as the advisor for environment and sustainable development issues in the Advisory Council to President S. B. Yudhoyono.

It’s quite difficult to fully apprehend on how an economist ‘changed’ his field of study, and turned into an ecologist at first. Emil Salim says that the journey he undertakes for the last-three decades initiated by the assignment given by former Indonesian President, Soeharto. He had just finished his Ph.D. study in economics from University of California, Berkeley when Soeharto appointed him to join the team of economic advisers in 1966. Something bigger, which required more holistic approach, appeared before his eyes then.

According to Emil Salim, “Economy is an activity conducted to efficiently make use of available natural resources for development.” The development itself completely depends on existing capital, workers or manpower, technology and natural resources.

Meanwhile, during his early days, he and his team discovered that Indonesia’s natural resources are fairly unique. First, Indonesia’s located in equator. It means that Indonesia is a tropical country and has two seasons – different from most of European countries. “This condition implies that all equatorian countries – such as Brazil in Latin America, Zaire and Congo in Africa – possess tropical-rain forest with the richest natural resources on Earth,” says Emil Salim who was born in Lahat, West Sumatera, on June 8^th 1930.

Second, Indonesia is an archipelago. It’s different from Brazil and Zaire: both are continental countries. There are more than 17 thousand islands in Indonesia, situated on the distance between London and Cairo. “Each has different micro climate. Aceh, for example, has different micro climate compared to Papua, Banten, and Sulawesi. The difference brings about a unique natural resources’ characteristic,” Emil uttering his explanation.

In addition, demographically, Indonesia must cope with the fact that China and India are the countries with the largest population on earth. “Our population is our potential. It’s imperative for our government to propose labor-intensive industry.” Few years ago, when China and India’s economic are not fully grown, “Indonesia developed labor-intensive industry such as textile, shoes, chips, etc. Later, when they finally do well in developing their economy, we need to discover another resource in order to succeed in achieving financial prudence. To me, the key is our natural resources,” Emil expressing his thought.

As we know, China and India, they don’t have tropical-rain forest. They don’t have tropic oceans also. “We have what they don’t. If we successfully refurbish our natural resources – trough the aid of science and technology – then will not only be able to face China and India, but also the rest of the world. That’s why economic growth will not be attained if we pay no attention to environmental aspects,” says the man who is also a member of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals.

“We can no longer see environment as something merely exploitable. We should revolutionize our point of view upon environment and regard it as the source of our natural resources, something that we can use to strengthen our competitive advantage in economy,” says Emil. “That’s the only way we can carry out resource-based value added development.”

Most of us do not realize that ecological regeneration lasts slower than the destruction itself. Emil Salim notices this kind of misunderstanding. He says, “We simply embark economic growth but neglect our environment as the source of raw material. What we need to do now is to build our country in a different manner, in a better way.”

One of elements in economic development is entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs perform their activity based on market’s signals. It means that something can be valued as profitable as long as market represents it as it seems. But, “Market doesn’t expose the importance of environment because there are no benchmarking tools for the environment itself. There’s no market for clean-air, river or forest. There’s no market for educational and health package in support of the poor, for example. This tendency endures due to the conception that social environment is unable to earn profit!” says Emil who has chaired the Kehati Foundation.

Saying that neither environment nor social atmosphere contribute in economic activity is a sign of personal detachment. Later these days, concept such as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) emerges as a response to those imbalance thoughts upon ecology and human spirit. At the same time, Emil Salim thinks that we should ‘quantify’ both ecology and social environment. “People participate in economic activity due to the available profit. Can you imagine what will happen if our environment is given the appropriate value? I’m sure that people will use the product of enviro-friendly companies. It’s human nature to do something good and admire noble deeds.”

Last June, he commenced Sustainable Responsible Investment Kehati Index. 25 companies won the award. The assessment is not only acquired from their profit, but also from how they handle environment, i.e. the eco-friendly-ness of the production process, waste management programs, concern on human rights, energy usage, and their practice of good governance, etc.

“The prestige of a company with deep concern on environment and social understanding will increase. The 25 companies have 0.75 rate of growth index, while the composite index mainly 0.45% rate of growth. This means that public put higher respect upon enviro-friendly companies. This phenomenon has become international trend. No wonder if nowadays we find many green-business movements,” says the former Minister of State for Population and the Environment from 1983-1993.

His explanations suggest that we should see outside the box while practicing business or any economic activities. So far, business mostly practices inward-management – focus more on shareholders, board of directors – and less aware that the company exists in the midle of society. “If enviro-friendly companies crop up while people worry about the condition of our planet in the future, then people will put the products of such companies on the first list,” says Emil.

Proposing harmony among human existence and the practice of meeting human needs, Emil Salim agrees with the concept of sustainable development. He believes that our country will achieved the goal of the notion. However, “We have to pay attention to our environment and local wisdom in every culture we have.” One of the best models of local wisdom represents by Balinese. “In Bali, ecology is best maintained through the philosophy of ‘Tri Hita Karana’ which means ‘three-leading causes of prosperity’, namely: (1) harmony between man and God, (2) harmony between man and society and (3) harmony between man and ecosystem. Bali is an ecological island,” says Emil Salim, whose uncle is Agus Salim, one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Indonesia and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the early 1950s.

That kind of philosophy exists also in his birthplace, in Minangkabau.

Emil Salim also says, “There’s popular saying in my home, i.e. ‘Alam Tagambang Jadi Guru’. It means that my ecosystem is my teacher: not money or anything else. That’s why, when peasants want to plant something, all they need to do is seeing where birds fly. It reflects the existing harmony between human and nature. This is the principal characteristic of Eastern culture. There is no civilization that puts a better balance between ecology and human spirit other than Eastern culture. Not even European or Western culture!”

Mr. Emil Salim and Mr. Iwan, his assistant, in his office at Presidential Advisory Council, Jakarta, June 9th 2009