A sustainability review on the Indonesian job creation law

The Job Creation Law (JCL) is an omnibus law promulgated by the Indonesian government to promote investment in the nation by simplifying business license issuance and providing an exemption on previously established procedures. Business license applicants are exempted from the obligation to conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) so long as their projects are aligned with the land utilization policy and the zoning plan. This creates a threat to environmental sustainability as only 10% cities or regencies in Indonesia are equipped with detailed zoning plans. Furthermore, environmental considerations are rarely incorporated into spatial planning. This paper reviews changes in spatial and environmental planning practices based on a comparison among existing regulations, qualitative assessment of potential environmental impact based on lessons learned from various study cases, and critical evaluations on the aim to ease business establishment versus sustainability. The research method includes analysis of relevant document and descriptive quantitative analysis. We found that JCL puts sustainability aside and may lead to further environmental degradation.