Quality Assessment of Public Perceptions and Attitudes toward the Project Plan in the EIA Document – Cases in East Kalimantan Province

Abstract

This study evaluates the public perceptions and attitudes toward project plans in environmental impact assessment (EIA) documents in East Kalimantan Province, comparing them with applicable regulations and relevant theories. The study aims to find out whether the EIA has been performed as it should, considering that in the field, there were many rejections of project plans, such as in Rempang, Wadas, and Bontang. The guideline for assessing this parameter is Decree of the Head of the Environmental Impact Control Agency No. 299/1996. According to guidelines and theory, the assessment must be conducted after public involvement, before preparing the terms of reference. If the results show that many people have negative attitudes and perceptions or reject the project plan, a solution is necessary first to avoid cases like Rempang, Wadas, and Bontang. However, studies in Indonesia have tended to examine only community perceptions and attitudes toward the project plans. This research did not study the causes of community rejection of project plans related to EIA. The research results show that assessments of public perceptions and attitudes toward project plans do not meet regulations. Many EIA makers do not understand the concept of perception and attitude. This parameter is usually assessed as an impacted parameter, not as a public involvement result, so if people reject the project plan, it is not known early on. Therefore, people often reject project plans in the study area when the project starts. In addition, this parameter is only called "perception and attitude," incomplete with subject and object.