ENVIRONMENT WARRIOR

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

He was one of those who laid the New Order’s economic foundations. Heading four departments from 1971 to 1993, he was known as a minister who dared to speak openly to Suharto. “For the sake of cemara (casuarina trees), I once turned down the construction of a power plant in Bedugul before Pak Harto,” he said.

The man, Prof. Dr. Emil Salim, set up the Office of Minister for Environment Affairs from scratch. He worked with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious figures, sent trained staffers abroad, and struggled at international negotiation tables. Born in Lahat 79 years ago, he was popular as a pioneering environment fighter.

During the Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, December 7-18, Tempo presents a colorful story of this environment warrior.

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MY acquaintance with nature began as I was a primary school fifth-grader. At the time our family lived in Lahat, South Sumatra. I was taught by a Dutch teacher named De Jong. This teacher nurtured my love of nature. Almost every Saturday, he took us for a walk in the woods. There we learned valuable lessons.

We were at first annoyed by the forest outing. Leeches posed a problem to us. As soon as we reached the woods, the worms swiftly sucked our

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