Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A coalition of environmental non-governmental organizations called on Friday for an edict that would enable the common people to have greater opportunities in the utilization of the country's immense natural resources.

The coalition also called for a clear mechanism of conflict resolution relating to land disputes between the people and the state.

"Over all these years, the immense natural resources have been exploited by the businesspeople and the political elite. They need to be returned to the people ... and this must clearly be included in articles of the Assembly's decree," said Agus Purnomo, executive director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Indonesia here on Friday.

Agus was commenting on the draft decree for the Agrarian Reform and Natural Resource Management currently being deliberated at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

He said that the draft regulates the natural resource utilization more than that of the natural resource management.

Fellow activist from the Agrarian Reform (KPA) Nurfauzi hailed the move by the Assembly to enact the decree, but criticized a lack of thorough explanation in it.

Instead of accommodating only the cultivation of land and urban areas, Nurfauzi said, the agrarian reforms should also include forests, coastal areas, and locations where mining activities take place.

He also calls for a limitation to the concession-owners in resource exploitation.

Nurfauzi added he hoped the draft decree would also include principles for sustainable development, tribal rules, human rights protection, democracy, and diversity.

Sandra Moniaga from the Society for Ecology-based Law Reform (Huma) admitted that the draft decree had more or less brought good news environmental activists.

"It is difficult though to assess if our suggestions have been adopted in the decree," she said.