I thought this was a pretty interesting story in the Jordan Times today about the Minister of Environment Khalid Irani who reportedly is carrying a ticket pad with him at all times now and even went out and issued the first eco-law fines. After seeing a man throw some litter from his car Irani wrote him a 20JD fine. He then went on to fine a truck driver 30JD for not covering the sand he was carrying in the back that was blowing all over the streets.
And with that, the eco-laws of the country go in to effect. However the specially trained 1,000 Eco-Cops won’t be graduating until later this month. They will be handling everything from the everyday litterbug to the big companies and factories, 21 of which were closed down just last Tuesday for environmental violations.
I love the idea of having eco-cops but I have my reservations about the implementation of this public policy. Their focus might eventually turn to mainly industrial violations rather than society. I think generally if you’re going to have eco-cops especially in a limited number, then they should be utilized to the fullest by having them roam the streets and fining people; make them symbols that might have an actual impact on the mindsets of everyday people. Other committees or environmental task forces should be set up just for industries.
I know industries have a greater impact on the general environment of the country but social mindsets are just as worse in the long run. People need to be forced to be aware of their own environment.
Good post .
Having enough people on the streets is necessary but it shouldnâ??t be done by neglecting the constant monitoring of big industries, because, as you have said, industries have a greater long-lasting impact on the environment.
one would think that having regular cups (thereâ??re plenty of them) taking care of the â??social mindsetâ? of people is more favorable than having the â??eco-copsâ? that are really needed to handle the more complex environmental issues of the industry, at least for now. I am not even sure that the â??social mindsetsâ? can be changed by having â??Eco-copsâ? roaming around fining people; our best example would be traffic tickets.
And why itâ??s always money? Let those violators do some community service this might help them realize the effects of their action on the environment better and hopefully make some positive change in their mindset.
Any way….it’s a step in the right direction
hamde, thanks
habchawi, hmm i agree with you to some extent. i agree normal cops should do the job but they don’t and even cops in most corners of the world dont, it’s seen as beneath them. having special eco-cops brings about a certain association that other cops do not, a uniform, a symbol, what have you. i think they may be more effective (in theory) than traffic cops who have been around as long as cars, they’ve become the standard. have the environment being policed is a completely new concept and is bound to rock the boat just a bit, like installing cameras at street lights.
money is the easiest thing in the big picture even though community service is the ideal, at least for me. fines are the easiest exchange.
although i think if we want to make the most positive change we need to focus on education as well.
It is a good step in the right direction…
I hope it would be applied to ALL… and I’m sure it will add something to our respect to environment in Jordan
good luck with these fines