Anthropogenic disasters—caused by human actions or negligence—have become a serious threat, reaching a highly alarming stage.
Increasing anthropogenic pressures drive planetary crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, carbon cycle disruption, massive land use changes, chemical pollution, and water resource crises.
This situation poses a significant threat to the Earth’s ecosystems, demanding a more effective legal response.
However, the global environmental legal framework cannot handle the growing complexity of ecological crises, primarily due to regulatory fragmentation, a lack of global political commitment, and reactive policy approaches.
This was presented during the Legal Challenges to Address Planetary Crisis in the Anthropocene discussion, which was held at the UGM Central Office on Thursday (Oct. 3).
The UGM Bureau of Strategic Management organized the discussion with the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI).
This event featured two speakers: Professor Louis Kotzé, a Research Professor at the Faculty of Law, North-West University, South Africa, and Dr. Mas Achmad Santosa, the chief executive officer of IOJI. It also featured several experts from various UGM faculties.
Professor Kotzé emphasized that legal reform to address the planetary crisis has become crucial.
Environmental law has been limited to setting ‘limitations’ on human activities’ impacts on the environment within specific regions, but it fails to account for the cumulative effects on the broader Earth system.
“A new paradigm in environmental law is needed, one that prioritizes human interests but also considers ecosystems and principles like ecological integrity and eco-justice,” he said.
Dr. Santosa underscored that the legal framework and policies have become increasingly flexible as the crisis worsens. He emphasized that society and governments need to reconstruct and adopt a new paradigm for environmental law.
“As we know, the law currently focuses only on human concerns, but the environment is still neglected,” he stated.
He explained that anthropogenic pressures lead to a planetary crisis, evident in climate change, biodiversity loss, carbon cycle disruption, massive land use changes, chemical pollution, and water resource crises.
“This situation presents a serious threat to the Earth’s ecosystems, necessitating a more effective legal response,” he explained.
Despite this, Professor Kotzé, an expert in addressing planetary crises through law, stated that although the concept of the Anthropocene has not been officially recognized, it offers a new perspective for understanding humanity’s impact on the Earth system.
To him, it allows him to appreciate humanity’s influence on the planet.
“It is important to remember that the Anthropocene is not just about destruction but about the forces causing the Earth’s destruction. On the other hand, it also offers solutions to help us understand the complex issues we currently face,” he explained.
A paradigm shift in environmental law is required to address the ecological crisis in the Anthropocene era.
This shift must focus on new principles such as green integrity, ecological boundaries, and eco-justice, prioritizing ecosystems and the environment as the main considerations in decision-making.
By adopting this new paradigm, environmental law is expected to respond more to the evolving global challenges and offer sustainable solutions to the planetary crisis.
Dr. I Made Andi Arsana, a lecturer at the UGM Department of Geodetic Engineering specializing in the geospatial aspects of maritime law, asserted that planetary crises, such as climate change and environmental degradation, are realities that cannot be ignored.
However, he observed that many legal regulations are drafted without sufficient attention to these issues. He noted that various disciplines need to collaborate to formulate more comprehensive laws.
“If we want to improve this situation, we must start with laws that are more concerned with the state of the planet,” he said in an interview with journalists.
Dr. Arsana pointed out that one of the main challenges is that lawmaking is often conducted by official institutions that are monodisciplinary in nature. This requires interdisciplinary cooperation to ensure the resulting laws consider all relevant aspects.
Author: Lintang
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Firsto
Post-editor: Afif