The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seen people go to ‘survival mode’ and push environmental preservation into the backseat. Although the closure of factories, cancelling of air transportation has accounted for lowering of emissions, these are only temporal, as economies attempt to revive themselves, it is likely that we will go back to the ‘status quo’ emissions once we are out of this COVID-19 situation.  In the meantime, waste and pollution problems have been on the rise putting our ecosystem is at risk.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) enhanced the outbreak status of COVID-19 from an epidemic to a pandemic.  This indicates that COVID-19 is highly contagious, with a high fatality rate and no effective medical treatment.[1] Thus, the WHO has urged countries to enact strategic policies to slow the spread of the virus and manage its impacts.

This project initiated by the Global Pandemic Network aims to document academic articles on COVID-19 Regulations globally, starting with Indonesia, where laws were already in place to allow the government to respond to the pandemic.  Under Article 12 of the Indonesian Constitution, the President has the authority to declare a state of emergency, where the conditions and subsequent measures for a state of emergency are to be explained in legislation.[2]  Other relevant legislation that authorises the government to take action includes the  Emergency Situation Law (Law No.74/1957 jo. Law No.23/1959), Contagious Diseases Law (Law No.4/1984), Disaster Management Law (Law No.24/2007), and Health Quarantine Law (Law No.6/2018).

[1] Amesh A. Adalja et al, “The Character of Pandemic Pathogen,” accessed June 5, 2020, https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/pubs_archive/pubs-pdfs/2018/180510-pandemic-pathogens-report.pdf

[2] 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. art. 12.

Presentations

Linda Yanti Sulistiawati, “Covid-19 and Climate Change” at the GPN Global Webinar: Covid-19 and Cities. Building Resilience on Human Rights and Environmental Protection, 15 July 2020.  https://youtu.be/_GpyMrvYSYY