Emil Salim

Emil Salim was appointed as Indonesia's first Minister of Environment, a position he held for 15 years under President Suharto. He was responsible for developing environmental policies and regulations in a rapidly industrializing country.

Emil Salim oversaw the passage of Indonesia's first comprehensive environmental law, the Environmental Management Act (Law No. 4/1982). The act established principles for environmental impact assessments and pollution control.

Emil Salim served as a member of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission), which produced the landmark report 'Our Common Future' in 1987, defining the concept of sustainable development.

Emil Salim pushed for sustainable forestry practices in Indonesia, including a ban on raw log exports to promote domestic processing. His policies faced resistance from powerful logging interests but aimed to reduce deforestation.

Emil Salim led the Indonesian delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro. He contributed to the adoption of Agenda 21 and the Framework Convention on Climate Change.