Presentation text in 2012 Science Exchange of CRCNPB.
1. Title: Policy disjuncture in biosecurity management (case study of Eastern Indonesia provinces).
2. Project number: CRC 60157
3. Author: Theo Litaay. CRCNPB. Ph.D Student, Charles Darwin University
4. Abstract:
Research in four provinces of Eastern Indonesia region found that pests and diseases have affected the agriculture life of very remote islands in Indonesia, which are far from the media and central government's attention. While the national government is
occupied with national problems, the district government in the remote part of the country - facing budget and expertise shortage - is struggling to deal with the problems. In the decentralized government setting, local government is facing another problem which is the capacity to develop and implement proper plan to answer the problems and to communicate with the communities. This is worsen by the structure of bureaucracy that does not meet with complexities in the ground. These problems not only put the country away from its international obligations under biosecurity's international policy frameworks but also reducing the quality of life of local communities. This study is a qualitative research conducted through 122 interviews, 18 observations, 202
documents, and 13 databases focused in four provinces in Eastern Indonesia namely Papua, West Papua, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara.
5. Contact details: Name: Theo Litaay
Phone: +62-815-7749346
Email: t.litaay@crcplantbiosecurity.com.au
Globalization through advancement of technologies and transportation brings the opportunity for people from many countries to connect and to move from one place to another. In Indonesia, economic development also contributes to the movement of people and goods to and from Indonesia. As a member of international trade
conventions, Indonesia is bound by its international rights and obligations in developing the regional economy. This brings substantial challenges for Indonesia to adapt its economic demand at the same time as its international obligations. The stakes for Indonesia are high, as the country needs to improve its governance capacity in order to maximize the opportunities from international trade.
There are multiple problems facing the Indonesian government in answering the
The external challenges for the government lie in the problems of poverty faced by many communities, especially in the research sites. The four research sites of this study (Papua, Papua Barat, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara) represent the most poverty stricken regions in Indonesia, located in geographical proximity that comprises a block of poor regions. Their location on the border of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor increases the possibility of pest and disease incursions to and from Northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.
The entirety of my literature review argues that public policy is the instrument for the government to address the issues. Better governance may gauged by: the official response to an issue through decision making, implementing the decision, evaluating the impact of the decision, which is addressing the issue while continuing to manage governmental tasks and functions. The better the governance is. In this regard, government policies related to biosecurity issues are facing significant demands from the international, national, and local frameworks. Those frameworks are meant to develop a better quality of life for society, nevertheless there is limited government capacity in Indonesia. To handle the problems, there is no other choice than to engage local communities to resolve their problems. In answering local problems, it is important to understand the value of local knowledge. Local knowledge works through the social network together with its structure, so that the advancement of local knowledge actually depends on the social capital within a community as it relates to other communities. Delivery of biosecurity by government through a set of national and local policy
frameworks while simultaneously observing related international frameworks contributes to the improvement of a new international framework. Each policy frameworks has its particular knowledge reference and is supported by its knowledge system.
This research focuses on a number of cases, using intensive interviews and field observations in four provinces, in-depth analysis of historical materials and studying a variety of empirical materials that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in community life and government decision making experiences. In performing this qualitative inquiry a multicase method is applied in this research to analyze the phenomenon of development paradigms in eastern Indonesia’s provinces in comparison to national and international policy frameworks. Ethnographic techniques are applied in gather in-depth data. Learning from Baszanger and Dodier’s notions on ethnographic research, the need for an empirical approach is influenced by the
differences of characteristics between the research sites and by the need to connect the facts with the specific features of Indonesian post-1998-political reforms. The data consists of 122 interviews, 18 observations, 202 documents, and 13 medias or
databases, from a range of people with widely differing heritages and regions in order to construct a clear and complete picture of the research object.
complaints from their constituents, who are local communities and other stakeholders. Problems that arise from globalization are: a) invasion of introduced plants, b)
introduction of hybrid food plants that threaten the production of local food, c) the loss of indigenous breeder innovations caused by changes to trade policy permitting the
introduction of genetically modified organisms (seedling plants and cattle), d) paralyzed social networking around traditional seedling commerce, and e) movement of virus and other notifiable diseases due to movement of people and goods across borders without proper quarantine measures.
Actually, the Indonesian central government is aware of the impact of weak biosecurity management toward agricultural productivity. The government is also aware that the answer lies in an integrated approach to the implementation of a biosecurity framework, whether at international, national, or local levels. The challenge for the government is the internal coordination across government ministries and related agencies, not to mention problems at local government level. Competing and vested interests of
government institutions resulting from long term status quo has jeopardized and blocked efforts to answer the challenge of poverty alleviation as the real problem. Meanwhile lack of good governance is also a problem made worse by weak law enforcement. Lack of good governance is an overall risk to all stakeholders, from the government budget to farmers’ welfare.
The gap between the levels of policymakers also contributes to the challenges, where the policymakers at the local level lack understanding of biosecurity policies in their own region because they are not sufficiently exposed to the issue through national or
provincial policies (for many decision makers, biosecurity is understood merely as plant pest and disease management).
Although international and national frameworks are very important in setting up the basis for policymaking, the lack of implementation at the local level is the key problem that undermines the opportunity of success of any policymaking.
Analysis of the data shows that integrated biosecurity policy should be handled both through sector-based approach and region-based approach. A sector-based approach would engage biosecurity management with the stakeholders; government, private sector, universities, local communities, and non-governmental organizations collectively. A region-based approach to biosecurity policy needs to consider the regional
characteristics of each region, whether the archipelago regions or the continental regions. This policy design takes political will, sufficiently qualified human resources, and budget support.
The four research sites are multi-gate regions where the incoming and outgoing transport of people and goods increases the biosecurity risks for the regions and the surrounding areas. The biosecurity continuum – that is related to the border issues – is worthy attention as follows: a) the pre-border aspect: long distance coasts; b) the border aspect: inadequate number of quarantine officers, inadequate number of extension officers, and inadequate number of village facilitators; c) the post-border aspect:
challenge has increased as the impact of climate change had affects the planting period, altering the pattern of pests and diseases, and the farmers are not sufficiently supported to anticipate this new situation.
Nevertheless, at the policy-making stage, data emerge that the Indonesian national biosecurity policy framework has accommodated international instruments based on the following categories of threat against biodiversity:
Quarantine pests and diseases;
Invasive Alien Species (IAS);
Bioterrorism;
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or Living Modified Organisms (LMOs); and
Smuggling of Genetic Resources.
Among those five sectors, the most advanced frameworks (based on the existence of policies and agencies) are the pests and diseases quarantine sector and the GMOs or LMOs sector. The existing policy frameworks accommodate international and national frameworks while still lacking the local policy framework.
The pests and diseases quarantine sector is organized into four fields of regulation namely:
Sanitary (animal and animal products).
Phytosanitary (plant and plant products).
Codex alimentarius (food safety).
Agriculture cultivation system.
In relation to sanitary (animal and animal products), national legislation and the rules that regulate the issues in this field and their implementation is the Agriculture
Quarantine Agency of Indonesia (AQAI). The existing frameworks also function as the basis for government officials to develop their policies in related fields.
However, this study shows that the existence of policy frameworks need to be
accompanied by sufficient support for human resources and institutional development in order to strengthen the capability of quarantine enforcement, especially in the entry gates and border areas. Weak quarantine management could result in several biosecurity problems especially during the outbreak of bird flu epidemic.
is that of virus control in animal and animal products that come into Indonesia; and is also related to consumer protection measures by the government.
Since 1992 Indonesian central government passed the Law on Plant, Fish, and Animal Quarantine (Law No 16 / 1992). This legislation is implemented operationally through Government Regulation No 82 / 2000 on Animal Quarantine and other Ministry of Agriculture decrees. All these provisions are administered by the Agriculture
Quarantine Agency of Indonesia (AQAI, or known in its Indonesian name as Badan Karantina Pertanian Indonesia or BARANTAN) and other ad-hoc biosecurity agencies under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia.
The international provision that is the basis for the above-mentioned regulations is the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), of which Indonesia is a member country. According to Article 3 of the Indonesian Law on Plant, Fish, and Animal Quarantine, the purposes of animal, fish, and plant quarantine are to prevent incoming pests and diseases either from abroad or within Indonesian provinces as mandated by Indonesian law and those of destination countries. Law on Plant, Fish, and Animal Quarantine not only provides for quarantine measures but also provides powers of investigation procedures and criminalization articles for offenders of the law. This law covers the Invasive Alien Species (IAS) issue however it is too general a regulation to provide proper protection while there is no operating procedure yet available.
The same legislation (Law on Plant, Fish, and Animal Quarantine) also serves the area of Phytosanitary (plant and plant products). Besides the national legislation, the series of implementing regulations, such as Government Regulation on Plant Quarantine has also been set. In this area, there is another existing regulation that is the Law on Agriculture Cultivation System.
In the food safety area, Indonesian central government is a member of the international forum, under the supervision of FAO and WHO, to implement Codex Alimentarius as an international minimal standardization on food safety. Based on the guidelines in Codex Alimentarius, in 1996 Indonesia also set the Law on Food. This legislation provides legal measures to prevent the distribution of any poisonous food or hazardous food material, prohibits the distribution of polluted food whether biologically, physically, or chemically. Implementation of this legislation is provided through implemention of Government Regulation on Food Labels and Advertisement and Government
Regulation on Food Safety, Quality, and Nutrition. Control and supervision are provided by the Food and Medicine Control Agency (Balai Pengawas Obat dan Makanan or popularly known as BPOM).
Food and Medicine Control Agency (BPOM), and the Council of Food Security (Dewan Ketahanan Pangan).
The configuration of the executing authorities for these regulations describes the
complication and the difficulties faced during the coordination to implement the policies. Another difficulty apparent in implementing the Government Regulation on Food Safety, Quality, and Nutrition (Government Regulation No. 28/2004), which is handled by more than one body inside the Ministry of Agriculture, namely among others are Agriculture Quarantine Agency of Indonesia, Food Security Body, Directorate of Quality and
Standardization, and all the Directorates of the related-commodities. This situation itself creates a coordination problem and competing interests among agencies may result in stagnation in policy-making, not to mention a weakened position in the international negotiation forum. As mentioned by a key informant, the urgency for breakthrough steps in reorganizing the decision making process is apparent.
Another related biosecurity issue is that of genetically modified organisms (GMO), which has been enacted such as the Ratification of the UN Convention on Biodiversity and the Ratification of Cartagena Protocol or Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on the
Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as their implementing policy through
Government Regulation on Biosafety of GMO products. Meanwhile, the plant protection issue is covered through the Law on Agriculture Cultivation System. Its implementing policy is the Government Regulation on Plant Protection.
Another part of the research that I want to present here is the answer to a question: What is the most practical solution for successful development that accounts for local, regional, national, and international policy frameworks? Successful regional
development as a formal process covers the set of activities started from planning, implementation, and evaluation.
The most important principle developed from the study in relation to local knowledge is recognizing and placing high value on people as the source of recognition to nature, knowledge, and traditions. This is related to the principle of sound policy that the existence of policy is proven in real life not only as words on paper.
Unique geographical conditions is also another factor to be considered, such as the problem faced by Maluku Province and East Nusa Tenggara Province as archipelagic regions. The challenges of the archipelago provinces are immense and different from big island or continental-like provinces. The provinces’ territories are predominantly water and small islands, with a high proportion of poverty. Economic activities are centralized in a few growth centres, especially the capital cities of the provinces, which has caused the problem of urbanization and resulted in workforce shortages in the villages. Geographical conditions have often hampered public services to the
the sea regions the ratio of sea to population, does not reflect the uniqueness of the archipelago provinces.
In the context of biosecurity, capacity building is needed. Biosecurity capacity should be improved along with cross-sectoral cooperation in biosecurity control, cross border biosecurity cooperation, and community empowerment using a social capital framework of bonding, bridging, and linking. Bonding is empowerment of the community group in local biosecurity management. Bridging is engagement of traditional leaders in
community development. Linking is engaging universities in research to anticipate various development problems and organize cross-stakeholder coordination teams through Musrenbang (the development planning deliberation).
Policy monitoring and evaluation is a critical aspect in all regions of this research’s sites. Multi-institutional monitoring and supervision has been conducted at each layer of
supervision whether local, provincial, or national. Nevertheless, good governance is still on the “to be achieved” agenda. The handicap in the local government evaluation system is the system itself. The system does not provide proper sanctions for underperformance and no clear recognition for high achievement.
Fortunately, as one of the fruits of political reform and democratization, civil society and press freedom flourishes in the regions of the research sites. This progress manages to improve public advocacy and is supported by media pressure against bad governance. These are the forms of socio-political pressure that manage to endorse law enforcement agencies’ reactions toward any bad governance practice.
Implications.
Implications for policy.
Policy is a necessary strategy to achieve desired change. It is the tool for the
government to perform its function, to deliver its services and to create difference for the communities. The implication of this finding is that sound policy reflects government ability to function and perform its duty to make a difference. It is the call for local governments to perform their duties and to develop better policy and deliver effective implementation.
Policy implementation meanings service delivery, values transfer, best practice introduction and enforcement of national interest. It takes persistence and consistent action, or purposive course of action. The change brought in by policy implementation is reflected in the quality of government service delivery and the introduction of best practice that contain ideal values.
needed between local governments and local universities. Policy analysis needs reliable information produced from good quality research.
A knowledge-based approach will provide development planning meetings with accurate and sufficient information. The Musrenbang is one effective framework to guarantee participation and strengthen legitimacy. It is important to guarantee that Musrenbang is conducted accordingly and to ensure the active participation of local communities. The Musrenbang itself needs reform by allowing more opportunities for local initiatives and proposals rather than championing central government’s programs.
Central and local government need to endorse more initiatives to facilitate local villagers greater participation and responsibility for developing their own community. The
program with a strong local-basis strengthens the legitimacy of the government and their program before the eyes of the people.
In the context of biosecurity, the district agriculture service plays the leading role in the region, by implementing its program, facilitating national and local program
implementation, and empowering local communities through knowledge transfer activities.
Implications for practice.
Policy implementation means service delivery, values transfer, best practice introduction and enforcement of national interest. It takes persistence and consistent action, or a purposive course of action. This is a challenge to be answered and fulfilled by local government in Eastern Indonesia. Persistent, consistent, and purposive action are three important principles to guide the course of action taken by the local government. This is not to say that the communities will be depending on government action, in fact when the government is weak and lacks the capability to deal with problems, it is the communities that play the main role in solving their own problems, supported by non-government organizations and sometimes international development agencies.
Globalization does not only bring business but also cross border cooperation between international development agencies and international non-governmental organizations with local communities.
The local governments need to be active otherwise they will lose their relevancy with the communities. The above-mentioned Musrenbang process can be the opportunity to increase public trust to participate in development processes.
Local government is facing challenges such as budget shortage, low human resource quality, lack of institutional capacity to conduct integrated planning, lack of information, and difficult geographical conditions. These are the agendas to be settled by the local government. While budget shortage is an issue for local government, data also shows that at the same time bad governance (especially corruption) is still a problem.
Implications for further research.
As this research studies the adoption of local knowledge using biosecurity policy as the entry point, research on other issues in relation to local knowledge is needed. More research is needed to depict the institutional support and the system of local
knowledge-based service delivery.
Another implication of this research – from a theoretical perspective – is the need for more studies in defining the clear boundaries of local knowledge. Locality is blurred when the boundary is compared to a larger group or a higher level, something that is local in one context could be the non-local in another context.
Another issue for further research relates to the regional policymaking and dependency issue. Regional dependency toward national programs need to be studied to find proper solutions. Indonesia’s public policy is caught in the duality of needs between a decentralized government and a government that provides welfare programs to
communities.
6. Presenting author’s biography:
