Complaint System for Environment (ID0102)

January 2019 - December 2020
Commitment Description
Lead implementing
agency/actor
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MEF)
Society always becomes the victim of the impact of
pollution and/or environmental damage caused by
business or other activities. And to respond to the
impact, the central government has made a complaint
and reporting portal for an environmental issue.
Through LAPOR!-SP4N, people can submit their
complaints on the environmental issue. Furthermore,
MEF has also prepared complaint management
system through the implementation of Minister of
Environment and Forestry Regulation Number
22/2017 on Procedures for Managing Complaints of
Alleged Pollution and/or Environmental Damage
and/or Deforestation.
Moreover, complaint management system in MEF is
managed by three directorates which are The
Directorate General of Law Enforcement, The
Directorate Complaint Management, Supervision,
Administration Sanction, and The General
Inspectorate. These three platforms have not been
integrated yet. In result, it causes people to make a
complaint to the right administrator. For this reason,
integration within MEF to create qualified, transparent
and participatory complaint management system is
needed.
Previously, the commitment related to complaining
about the environment was also written in Open
Government Indonesia Action Plan 2016-2017. The
commitment included integration of MEF complaint
platform with LAPOR!-SP4N. However, it did not
reach the target due to integration technicality and
existed regulation. Considering that, in 2018-2020 the
commitment will be more focused on organizing an
internal complaint in MEF to have a single reference
complaint system
What is the public problem that
the commitment will address?
There are three complaint portals for environmental
issues in MEF. This commitment targets the
optimization of the role of LAPOR! by issuing a
General Secretary Decree Letter regarding the LAPOR
management team within the MEF. In addition, to
provide a clear path, in this commitment also issued a
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of single
reference Complaint System in the environmental and forestry area. Moreover, single reference complaint
management commitment will ease people to make a
complaint. It will also accelerate the management
process in handling complaints and cut the
coordination process as all directorates could access
the report.
Complain report and participatory engagement in
monitoring mechanism for environmental are expected
to assist by MEF. In addition to people’s needs, MEF
can also monitor the performance of complaints
management, supervision, and environmental law
enforcement carried out by environmental agencies
under the ministry.
There are two directions of strategy to achieve this
commitment, first, is through improving management
rules related to environmental complaints. The SOP is
as a base to strengthen and as a guarantee of legal
certainty to carry out the complaints. Furthermore,
improvement and strengthening the mechanism and
online information system are needed to increase civic
participation in environmental protection and
maintenance.
How will the commitment
contribute to solve the public
The existence of a complaint and/or monitoring
information system opens more information about the
status of complaints and/or supervision management
carried out by the Ministry of Environment and its
agencies.
This information system allows the public to submit
reliable criticism in the management of complaints and
the supervision carried out that is not in accordance
with the applicable mechanism, including the time
period and the methodology. This can encourage
people participation in environmental issues.
This system also allows MEF to monitor the agencies
in order to manage complaints and supervision with
the same standards and avoid double management of
complaints or supervision.
In addition to that, it allows MEF to conduct second line
inspection and second line enforcement more
effective. Thus, it will encourage the transparency and
accountability of MEF's performance.
This system will also be integrated into the revision of
the Complaints Management Regulation and
Complaints Supervision Regulation which at the same
time are being developed.
Why is this commitment relevant
to OGP values?
The commitment is in line with the effort of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), an international agenda
to create inclusive and transparent development.
Especially in No. 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong
Institutions. In addition, this commitment also
intersects with SDG No. 12 on responsible consumption and production, and No. 13 on climate
action.
This commitment also becomes MEF’s achievement in
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) under the provisions of the Paris
Agreement on climate change through Transparency
Framework. This achievement also becomes part of
The Project for Advancing Climate Transparency
(PACT), a consortium that supports the design and
development of transparency effectiveness and
accountability in the environmental reports.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable
deliverable
Start Date: End Date:
1. The issuance of General
Secretary Decree Letter regarding
the LAPOR management team
within the MEF.
June 2019 December 2019
2. Formulation of SOP used as a
single reference for complaint
handling mechanism within MEF
March 2020 December 2020
Contact information
Other Actors
Involved
State actors
involved
1. Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic
Reform
2. Ombudsman RI
CSOs, private
sector, multilaterals,
working groups
Indonesian Centre for Environmental Law (ICEL)

11. The Development of Service System on Single Reference Complaint Management and Supervision in Environment and Forestry

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

There are three complaint portals for environmental issues in MEF. This commitment targets the optimization of the role of LAPOR! by issuing a General Secretary Decree Letter regarding the LAPOR management team within the MEF. In addition, to provide a clear path, in this commitment also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of single reference Complaint System in the environmental and forestry area. Moreover, single reference complaint management commitment will ease people to make a complaint. It will also accelerate the management process in handling complaints and cut the coordination process as all directorates could access the report.

Milestones:

1. The issuance of General Secretary Decree Letter regarding the LAPOR management team within the MEF.
2. Formulation of SOP used as a single reference for complaint handling mechanism within MEF.

Start Date: January 2019                                                               End Date: December 2020

Context and Objectives

Presidential Regulation No. 76/2013 on Public Service Complaints Management [122] mandates the creation of a system for the government to manage public complaints related to public service on a single reference system. Following the integration of LAPOR! and the SP4N, the government integrated complaints management across government institutions (including ministries, non-structural institutions, public universities, state-owned enterprises, and local governments) into the system. However, the government faced obstacles in integrating the complaints management system of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry into the LAPOR!-SP4N system.

A commitment in the previous action plan began integration of the Ministry’s complaints management into LAPOR!-SP4N. However, the commitment ultimately failed. In this action plan, the government hopes to establish a regulation and a standard procedure for the Ministry to manage public complaints related to the environment and forestry sectors received through LAPOR!-SP4N.

According to the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is already connected to LAPOR!-SP4N. ^[123] However, the Ministry has not responded to any complaints on the system. LAPOR!-SP4N reported a total of 509 complaints related to environment and forestry; none of which were addressed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The main problem causing inaction from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is a lack of regulation within the Ministry. Aside from LAPOR!, the Ministry has already been operating multiple complaints systems independently, such as Gakum for complaints related to suspected illegal activities and PPSA for administrative violations. ^[124] The Ministry also has different regulations specific to complaints management for different directorates within its organization. As a result, complaints management within the Ministry does not conform to a single standard procedure and mechanism.

With this commitment, the government hopes to integrate the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s independent complaints system into the LAPOR!-SP4N system. The government aims to establish a single reference procedure for all government institutions and eliminate confusion among citizens and inconsistency in government practice. To achieve these objectives, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will appoint an official, via decree, within the Ministry to be responsible for complaints related to the Ministry’s function on LAPOR!-SP4N. Additionally, the Ministry will develop a standard procedure to ensure that complaints management within the Ministry adheres to the same mechanism as other government institutions integrated to LAPOR!-SP4N.

This commitment carries minor potential impact to change government practice. In the previous IRM report, ^[125] findings suggested that complaints received through the Ministry’s Gakum system are different in nature because they focus on improving law enforcement’s ability to protect the environment and forest resources. Therefore, complaints received through the Gakum system require immediate response that may not be met by using the LAPOR!-SP4N system. Regardless, the development of a regulation within the Ministry to establish clear procedures in managing complaints received through LAPOR! could potentially improve the Ministry’s ability in responding to public inquiries.

Next Steps

In implementing this commitment, the government should:

• Develop a clear procedure for units within the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to follow in responding to public complaints received through LAPOR!-SP4N; and
• Establish a government-CSO mechanism to monitor the effectiveness of government’s response to public complaints in the environment and forestry sectors.

[122] Government of Indonesia, “Peraturan Presiden Nomor 76/2013 tentang Pengelolaan Pengaduan Pelayanan Publik” (2013), https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/41445/perpres-no-76-tahun-2013.

[123] OGI National Secretariat, “Notulensi Pengaduan KLHK” (2018), drive.bappenas.go.id/owncloud/index.php/s/9EVHNJTsybFPnH9?path=%2FNotulensi%20Pertemuan%20Bilateral.

[124] Ibid.

[125] Open Government Partnership, “Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) Indonesia Progress Report 2016–2017” (2018), 57–58, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Indonesia_Mid-Term_Report_2016-2017_EN.pdf.

11. The Development of Service System on Single Reference Complaint Management and Supervision in Environment and Forestry

Limited:

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) issued Secretary-General Decree No. SK.33 / SETJEN / DATIN / SET.1 / 6/2019 concerning the Formation of a Management Team / Working Group for Complaint Handling and LAPOR Applications in KLHK to strengthen the complaints management service system and one-stop supervision in the environmental and forestry sector. [71] However, the draft regulation of the Secretary-General regarding the standard operating procedure for managing one-stop complaints within the scope of KLHK was not ratified during the implementation period. [72] Overall, SP4N-LAPOR! may not be the optimal system for KLHK complaints, as these complaints require immediate response to improve law enforcement’s ability to protect environmental resources. [73]