Affiliations: [a] International Law Department, Faculty of Law, Andalas University, Padang, Indonesia | [b] Center of Constitutional Studies (PUSaKO), Faculty of Law, Andalas University, Padang, Indonesia
Abstract: The struggle to eradicate corruption in Indonesia has long been on going yet it seems like the phenomenon is spreading wider and stronger within almost all vital sectors of life on the massive archipelago, including the protection of the environment through legislation and regulations. Aware of this regrettable situation, the government passed Law No. 30/2002 allowing the creation of the Corruption Eradication Commission or Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (hereafter referred to as KPK). This law has significantly changed the fight against corruption in Indonesia. Since its creation, the Commission has been hunting down corruptors wherever they are like never before. This paper discusses the effort to prevent corruption in the protection of the environment by providing an overview of the laws and regulations enacted first to protect the environment, then to combat corruption in the process of safeguarding the environment in Indonesia, a country made up of more than seventeen thousand islands where agriculture remains one of the major drives of the economy and social well-being of the Indonesian people. In this paper, several cases of corruption are presented to help explain how corruption takes place in the government’s effort to protect the environment.
