Mohamad Rayan. Clipping.
RI ready for REDD application to cut carbon
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Fri, 05/22/2009 1:22 PM Headlines
Indonesia is set to benefit from forest carbon trade as the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) scheme will likely be included in the post-Kyoto Protocol regime.
After becoming the first country to issue regulation on REDD, Indonesia, the world's third-largest forest country, with about 120 million hectares of rainforest, is ready to invite the international community to take part in the country's forest carbon trading.
A ministerial decree signed by Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Kaban states indigenous people, local authorities, private organizations and businesspeople both local and foreign are allowed to run REDD projects in the country's forests.
"We are the first country with regulation on the REDD mechanism," Nur Masripatin, a senior Forestry Ministry official dealing with the REDD, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The decree says permits for REDD projects will be given to people or groups that have ownership certificates in managing forests.
Project developers are required to submit proposals to the Forestry Ministry for approval.
Nur said the ministry would set up a REDD commission to assess all project proposals within 14 days before the minister could approve or reject the projects.
"Project developers who secure licenses should start the REDD project within 90 days at the latest after the approval," she said.
Delegates from all over the world will gather in Copenhagen this December to decide whether the REDD should be included in a new climate pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Once agreed upon, forest nations, including Indonesia, could raise billions of dollars by trading the carbon sink in forests to developed nations to help them meeting emissions cut targets.
Estimates vary but annual revenue from REDD credits could reach between US$5 billion and $20 billion, the UN says.
Yvo de Boer, head of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, said the REDD would very likely be included in the Copenhagen climate pact.
"It's very likely we'll see REDD included in the Copenhagen agreement," he said as quoted by Reuters.
Debate still rages over whether a REDD scheme, once all the measuring, monitoring and verification systems have been agreed upon, should be funded entirely by the market, only by public funds or a mixture of both.
"If REDD is to be brought under a market-based approach, then questions of volume and what that volume would do to price are also an issue," de Boer said.
WWF-Indonesia hailed the new REDD regulation as positive action in dealing with climate change.
"It's a good starting point, but the decree has yet to answer crucial issues like the total greenhouse gas emissions that could be slashed through REDD projects," WWF-Indonesia climate change program director Fitrian Ardiansyah told the Post.
Senior Finance Ministry research officer Noeroso L. Wahyudi said the government had not yet decided whether the carbon credit revenue would be taxed as income or as a commodity.
Selasa, 30 Juni 2009
Selasa, 23 Juni 2009
Carbon and ocean
RI advocates ocean issues at Bonn talks
Mohamad Rayan Clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/04/2009 12:51 PM National
Indonesian delegates attended the Bonn climate conference in Germany this week with a clear agenda of ensuring ocean issues are incorporated into climate talks to help save millions of coastal people from the brunt of global warming.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said delegates would officially table the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) at the Bonn climate conference, hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"Our goal is to put ocean issues on the negotiation table at the Bonn climate conference," Minister Rachmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"For us, the Bonn conference is "the right door" to enable ocean issues to be included on the official agenda of the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference."
The MOD requiring countries to promote sustainable ocean management and ocean conservation was an output of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado in May.
The ocean conference was initiated by Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, which has about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory.
According to Minister Rachmat, once ocean issues are adopted as part of the UNFCCC agenda, the chances for ocean nations to get financial incentives for adaptation and technology will be wide open.
Coastal communities, mainly in small island states, are deemed as being the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, mainly due to rising sea levels.
The countries have repeatedly called on rich nations for financial and technological assistance to stem climate change.
Three-thousand delegates from 190 countries will gather in Bonn between June 1 and June 12 to prepare a new agreement on reducing carbon emissions after 2012 by setting targets for developed nations.
The new climate-change pact will succeed the first phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires 37 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
After the Bonn meeting three further climate-change meetings are scheduled for this year, ahead of the Copenhagen meeting, where Kyoto's replacement is to be formally adopted. Aside from the UNFCCC meeting, Indonesia is expected to promote ocean issues to UN members as part of an informal consultative process on ocean and laws of the sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York in June and at the UN General Assembly in New York in November.
Earlier, Indonesia and other forest countries promoted the forest as an alternative mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After 10 years of intensive negotiations, the international community adopted a policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) at the Bali climate conference in 2007.
The REDD is being pushed as a key element for a new global agreement to fight climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, paving the way for forest nations to receive financial incentives to avoid deforestation.
"We hope carbon mechanisms such as those regulating forests can be applied to ocean issues," Minister Rachmat said.
He said that ocean countries still need to run scientific research to learn the ocean's ability to mitigate climate change.
Mohamad Rayan Clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/04/2009 12:51 PM National
Indonesian delegates attended the Bonn climate conference in Germany this week with a clear agenda of ensuring ocean issues are incorporated into climate talks to help save millions of coastal people from the brunt of global warming.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said delegates would officially table the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) at the Bonn climate conference, hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"Our goal is to put ocean issues on the negotiation table at the Bonn climate conference," Minister Rachmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"For us, the Bonn conference is "the right door" to enable ocean issues to be included on the official agenda of the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference."
The MOD requiring countries to promote sustainable ocean management and ocean conservation was an output of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado in May.
The ocean conference was initiated by Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, which has about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory.
According to Minister Rachmat, once ocean issues are adopted as part of the UNFCCC agenda, the chances for ocean nations to get financial incentives for adaptation and technology will be wide open.
Coastal communities, mainly in small island states, are deemed as being the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, mainly due to rising sea levels.
The countries have repeatedly called on rich nations for financial and technological assistance to stem climate change.
Three-thousand delegates from 190 countries will gather in Bonn between June 1 and June 12 to prepare a new agreement on reducing carbon emissions after 2012 by setting targets for developed nations.
The new climate-change pact will succeed the first phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires 37 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
After the Bonn meeting three further climate-change meetings are scheduled for this year, ahead of the Copenhagen meeting, where Kyoto's replacement is to be formally adopted. Aside from the UNFCCC meeting, Indonesia is expected to promote ocean issues to UN members as part of an informal consultative process on ocean and laws of the sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York in June and at the UN General Assembly in New York in November.
Earlier, Indonesia and other forest countries promoted the forest as an alternative mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After 10 years of intensive negotiations, the international community adopted a policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) at the Bali climate conference in 2007.
The REDD is being pushed as a key element for a new global agreement to fight climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, paving the way for forest nations to receive financial incentives to avoid deforestation.
"We hope carbon mechanisms such as those regulating forests can be applied to ocean issues," Minister Rachmat said.
He said that ocean countries still need to run scientific research to learn the ocean's ability to mitigate climate change.
Carbon and ocean
RI advocates ocean issues at Bonn talks
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/04/2009 12:51 PM National
Indonesian delegates attended the Bonn climate conference in Germany this week with a clear agenda of ensuring ocean issues are incorporated into climate talks to help save millions of coastal people from the brunt of global warming.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said delegates would officially table the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) at the Bonn climate conference, hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"Our goal is to put ocean issues on the negotiation table at the Bonn climate conference," Minister Rachmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"For us, the Bonn conference is "the right door" to enable ocean issues to be included on the official agenda of the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference."
The MOD requiring countries to promote sustainable ocean management and ocean conservation was an output of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado in May.
The ocean conference was initiated by Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, which has about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory.
According to Minister Rachmat, once ocean issues are adopted as part of the UNFCCC agenda, the chances for ocean nations to get financial incentives for adaptation and technology will be wide open.
Coastal communities, mainly in small island states, are deemed as being the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, mainly due to rising sea levels.
The countries have repeatedly called on rich nations for financial and technological assistance to stem climate change.
Three-thousand delegates from 190 countries will gather in Bonn between June 1 and June 12 to prepare a new agreement on reducing carbon emissions after 2012 by setting targets for developed nations.
The new climate-change pact will succeed the first phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires 37 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
After the Bonn meeting three further climate-change meetings are scheduled for this year, ahead of the Copenhagen meeting, where Kyoto's replacement is to be formally adopted. Aside from the UNFCCC meeting, Indonesia is expected to promote ocean issues to UN members as part of an informal consultative process on ocean and laws of the sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York in June and at the UN General Assembly in New York in November.
Earlier, Indonesia and other forest countries promoted the forest as an alternative mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After 10 years of intensive negotiations, the international community adopted a policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) at the Bali climate conference in 2007.
The REDD is being pushed as a key element for a new global agreement to fight climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, paving the way for forest nations to receive financial incentives to avoid deforestation.
"We hope carbon mechanisms such as those regulating forests can be applied to ocean issues," Minister Rachmat said.
He said that ocean countries still need to run scientific research to learn the ocean's ability to mitigate climate change.
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/04/2009 12:51 PM National
Indonesian delegates attended the Bonn climate conference in Germany this week with a clear agenda of ensuring ocean issues are incorporated into climate talks to help save millions of coastal people from the brunt of global warming.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said delegates would officially table the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) at the Bonn climate conference, hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"Our goal is to put ocean issues on the negotiation table at the Bonn climate conference," Minister Rachmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"For us, the Bonn conference is "the right door" to enable ocean issues to be included on the official agenda of the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference."
The MOD requiring countries to promote sustainable ocean management and ocean conservation was an output of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado in May.
The ocean conference was initiated by Indonesia, the world's largest archipelagic nation, which has about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory.
According to Minister Rachmat, once ocean issues are adopted as part of the UNFCCC agenda, the chances for ocean nations to get financial incentives for adaptation and technology will be wide open.
Coastal communities, mainly in small island states, are deemed as being the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, mainly due to rising sea levels.
The countries have repeatedly called on rich nations for financial and technological assistance to stem climate change.
Three-thousand delegates from 190 countries will gather in Bonn between June 1 and June 12 to prepare a new agreement on reducing carbon emissions after 2012 by setting targets for developed nations.
The new climate-change pact will succeed the first phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires 37 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
After the Bonn meeting three further climate-change meetings are scheduled for this year, ahead of the Copenhagen meeting, where Kyoto's replacement is to be formally adopted. Aside from the UNFCCC meeting, Indonesia is expected to promote ocean issues to UN members as part of an informal consultative process on ocean and laws of the sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York in June and at the UN General Assembly in New York in November.
Earlier, Indonesia and other forest countries promoted the forest as an alternative mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After 10 years of intensive negotiations, the international community adopted a policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) at the Bali climate conference in 2007.
The REDD is being pushed as a key element for a new global agreement to fight climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, paving the way for forest nations to receive financial incentives to avoid deforestation.
"We hope carbon mechanisms such as those regulating forests can be applied to ocean issues," Minister Rachmat said.
He said that ocean countries still need to run scientific research to learn the ocean's ability to mitigate climate change.
REDD and Finance
Indonesia needs $4b to avert deforestation
Mohamad rayan-Clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Wed, 06/03/2009 9:31 AM National
The government is upbeat that Indonesian deforestation could be averted if international communities grant US$4 billion until 2012 to finance the livelihood of local people and stop forest conversions.
The Forestry Ministry said the money would be used to address the main causes of deforestation prior to the implementation of the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism.
“We need an investment of $4 billion to address the causes of deforestation. The fund should be from world communities as deforestation has become a global problem, especially concerning climate change,” Nur Masripatin, secretary for the ministry’s forestry research and development agency told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
“Tackling deforestation is not merely about law enforcement, money talks here, including on how to finance the livelihood of local communities around the forests or how to deal with the expansion of plantations.”
She said the government only had a limited budget to handle deforestation. She did not elaborate the exact amount.
“Deforestation in developing counties will continue to increase if there is no policy intervention that enables the countries to reduce emissions from forests without sacrificing their national development.”
The world countries have long eyed Indonesia’s forests as one of the lungs to “clean” the atmosphere from rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Many have criticized the Indonesian government for its failure to combat high rates of deforestation, which have risen to over one million hectares per year.
Indonesia has about 120 million hectares of rainforest – the third-largest on the planet after Brazil and Congo.
Deforestation contributes about 20 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, with about 75 percent from developing countries.
Seeing the impact of the deforestation, the world countries have adopted the use of the REDD mechanism to help protect the forests by providing financial incentives to forest nations.
The government hoped the upcoming REDD mechanism would also cut the country’s illegal logging.Forestry Minister Malam Samat Kaban said illegal logging cases, which also caused deforestation, had declined sharply over the last four years with only hundreds of cases currently compared to about 9,600 in Soeharto’s era.
Executive Director of Greenomics Indonesia Elfian Effendi said the illegal logging practices remained rampant in the country due to the government’s poor monitoring.
“Yes, there is a decline in term of illegal logging cases but such practices remain rampant in places,” he said.
“The fact is that illegal logging and illegal trade along the borders of Kalimantan-Malaysia, Riau-Malaysia-Singapore and in Papua remains unresolved.”
He said illegal logging could also be seen from the expansion of oil palm estates in protected areas and conservation forests in the country.
Even worse, he said the local administrations still awarded licenses for forest conversion, including for plantations.
Mohamad rayan-Clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Wed, 06/03/2009 9:31 AM National
The government is upbeat that Indonesian deforestation could be averted if international communities grant US$4 billion until 2012 to finance the livelihood of local people and stop forest conversions.
The Forestry Ministry said the money would be used to address the main causes of deforestation prior to the implementation of the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism.
“We need an investment of $4 billion to address the causes of deforestation. The fund should be from world communities as deforestation has become a global problem, especially concerning climate change,” Nur Masripatin, secretary for the ministry’s forestry research and development agency told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
“Tackling deforestation is not merely about law enforcement, money talks here, including on how to finance the livelihood of local communities around the forests or how to deal with the expansion of plantations.”
She said the government only had a limited budget to handle deforestation. She did not elaborate the exact amount.
“Deforestation in developing counties will continue to increase if there is no policy intervention that enables the countries to reduce emissions from forests without sacrificing their national development.”
The world countries have long eyed Indonesia’s forests as one of the lungs to “clean” the atmosphere from rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Many have criticized the Indonesian government for its failure to combat high rates of deforestation, which have risen to over one million hectares per year.
Indonesia has about 120 million hectares of rainforest – the third-largest on the planet after Brazil and Congo.
Deforestation contributes about 20 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, with about 75 percent from developing countries.
Seeing the impact of the deforestation, the world countries have adopted the use of the REDD mechanism to help protect the forests by providing financial incentives to forest nations.
The government hoped the upcoming REDD mechanism would also cut the country’s illegal logging.Forestry Minister Malam Samat Kaban said illegal logging cases, which also caused deforestation, had declined sharply over the last four years with only hundreds of cases currently compared to about 9,600 in Soeharto’s era.
Executive Director of Greenomics Indonesia Elfian Effendi said the illegal logging practices remained rampant in the country due to the government’s poor monitoring.
“Yes, there is a decline in term of illegal logging cases but such practices remain rampant in places,” he said.
“The fact is that illegal logging and illegal trade along the borders of Kalimantan-Malaysia, Riau-Malaysia-Singapore and in Papua remains unresolved.”
He said illegal logging could also be seen from the expansion of oil palm estates in protected areas and conservation forests in the country.
Even worse, he said the local administrations still awarded licenses for forest conversion, including for plantations.
redd and forestry
Carbon conservation in forests could preserve endangered species: Study
Mohamad Rayan-clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Fri, 06/05/2009 1:23 PM National
A report revealed that paying to conserve billions of tons of carbon stored in tropical forests could also protect orangutans, pygmy elephants and other wildlife at risk of extinction.
The study examined the potential role of carbon payments in protecting 3.3 million hectares of tropical forest in Kalimantan.It said if CO2 credits could be sold for US$10 to $33 per ton, conserving the forest would be more profitable than clearing the land for oil palm plantations. In addition, forest conservation would prevent 2.1 billion tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere and preserve the habitat of some of the world’s most threatened mammal species living in these forests. “Our study clearly demonstrates that payments made to reduce carbon emissions from forests could also be an efficient and effective way to protect biodiversity,” Oscar Venter, a biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia and the study’s lead author said in a statement.
The study, jointly done by researchers from the Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the University of Queensland, The Nature Conservancy and the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Conservation Letters.They compared the revenues that could be derived from protecting the forest and thus avoiding a large amount of carbon emissions, to the revenue that would be derived from converting the forest to oil palm plantations.
The study determined that 40 of Kalimantan’s 46 threatened mammals live within areas slated for oil palm development. It said that planned oil palm plantations in peat forest areas, where carbon is most abundant, contain almost twice the mammal species density as more expensive areas. “Reducing Emissions Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) offers important win-win opportunities for climate and biodiversity protection,” said Frances Seymour, Director General of CIFOR. “Ultimately, our goal is to help fashion an agreement in Copenhagen that will allow tropical forests to become a part of a more comprehensive climate agreement – one that will reduce emissions, as well as produce cobenefits. “There is already a good case to be made for ending the exclusion of existing forests in the next climate pact. This new evidence shows just one of the many benefits that a REDD accord could have.”
Mohamad Rayan-clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Fri, 06/05/2009 1:23 PM National
A report revealed that paying to conserve billions of tons of carbon stored in tropical forests could also protect orangutans, pygmy elephants and other wildlife at risk of extinction.
The study examined the potential role of carbon payments in protecting 3.3 million hectares of tropical forest in Kalimantan.It said if CO2 credits could be sold for US$10 to $33 per ton, conserving the forest would be more profitable than clearing the land for oil palm plantations. In addition, forest conservation would prevent 2.1 billion tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere and preserve the habitat of some of the world’s most threatened mammal species living in these forests. “Our study clearly demonstrates that payments made to reduce carbon emissions from forests could also be an efficient and effective way to protect biodiversity,” Oscar Venter, a biologist at the University of Queensland in Australia and the study’s lead author said in a statement.
The study, jointly done by researchers from the Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the University of Queensland, The Nature Conservancy and the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Conservation Letters.They compared the revenues that could be derived from protecting the forest and thus avoiding a large amount of carbon emissions, to the revenue that would be derived from converting the forest to oil palm plantations.
The study determined that 40 of Kalimantan’s 46 threatened mammals live within areas slated for oil palm development. It said that planned oil palm plantations in peat forest areas, where carbon is most abundant, contain almost twice the mammal species density as more expensive areas. “Reducing Emissions Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) offers important win-win opportunities for climate and biodiversity protection,” said Frances Seymour, Director General of CIFOR. “Ultimately, our goal is to help fashion an agreement in Copenhagen that will allow tropical forests to become a part of a more comprehensive climate agreement – one that will reduce emissions, as well as produce cobenefits. “There is already a good case to be made for ending the exclusion of existing forests in the next climate pact. This new evidence shows just one of the many benefits that a REDD accord could have.”
Redd and Indonesia
Time to reflect and act
Mohamad Rayan-Clipper
Sudibyo M. Wiradji , THE JAKARTAPOST , JAKARTA Fri, 06/05/2009 1:40 PM Supplement
This year's World Environment Day (WED) carries the theme "*Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change".
The theme is definitely relevant to Indonesia, which has the world's second largest tropical rainforest after Brazil.
This means it is important to look into Indonesia's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, its role in reducing the emissions and in coping with environmental issues.
Dealing with environmental issues, especially tackling climate change, remains a tough challenge. Indonesia is a large archipelagic country in which economic growth is highly emphasized and often prioritized at the expense of the environment. The concept of sustainable development, now more popularly called green or ecological development, is only good at the policy level. Under the sustainable development concept, economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects are equally important. In other words, the concept has yet to be implemented accordingly. This may explain the increasing environmental degradation suffered by different regions in the country, with deforestation and ecologically imbalanced cities in urban areas calling for attention.
It is no secret that excessive exploitation of forest resources and uncontrollable logging, forest fires and the destruction of peatland between the 1980s and 1990s led to forest degradation and deforestation. During these periods, between 0.8 billion tons and 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) were emitted to the atmosphere and turned into greenhouse gasses that contributed to climate change. Globally, greenhouse gas emissions related to forestry account for about 20 percent of the total. The World Bank ranks Indonesia as the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter due to deforestation, land clearing and forest fires. Around 61 million hectares or around half of the country's total forest area of 120 million hectares has been cleared.
But as far as forestry is concerned, there is hope that the state of our forests will improve.
Even though the UN Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) initiative won't be endorsed until the UN Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009, several countries - including Australia, Norway, Germany and the UK - have provided financial assistance under the program. The UN-REDD, launched at the Bali Climate Conference in 2007, is a global initiative that aims to provide compensation through the global carbon market for countries that reduce their national emissions by stopping and reversing deforestation and land degradation.
A pilot project covering 100 hectares of land is now under way in several regions, including Central, East and West Kalimantan and Palembang in South Sumatra. A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is studying the possibility of applying the REDD to different levels, including regency, site and even several production units such as crude palm oil (CPO). Under the REDD concept, an effort is under way to utilize non-forest land for oil palm plantations to replace plantations that occupy forest land with high conservation value.
If everything goes as planned, under UN-REDD initiative, Indonesia will receive US$3.7 billion or more than Rp 33.7 trillion per year. With the funds, there should be no reason for Indonesia not to act to protect its forests and rehabilitate those that have been deforested. However, the central and regional governments, organizations, agencies, NGOs and stakeholders involved in the projects under REDD mechanism should assure international communities that the funds will not be embezzled, misused or misappropriated but will be used in an accountable manner. The positive side of the forest rehabilitation initiative is that it will provide job opportunities for people living around forests, including migrants whose livelihoods rely heavily on forest products, provided that the initiative can meet the real need of the local people. According to data, about 20 million people live in or around forests across Indonesia. Therefore, it is advisable to engage local communities in this regard. By participating in the REDD program, Indonesia will do its part in the global fight against climate change.
Another challenge, which is the toughest one, is how to deal with the greedy individuals (businesspeople and investors) who exploit Indonesia's weak law enforcement. It is no secret that greed on the part of individuals plays a big role in causing damage to forests in Indonesia, especially those who think nothing of generating short-term profit by taking advantage of forest resources for their own interest at an uncontrolled rate at the expense of the environment. Hectares of forest land in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi have been cleared to make way for plantations, including ones growing oil palms.
The question to be raised then is whether local governments can ensure an absence of greedy individuals who desire to expand oil palm plantations in protected forests with high conservation value.
Misappropriation of funds under the REDD scheme and the government's inability to curb uncontrolled forest clearance may undermine international confidence and tarnish Indonesia's image, and thus the budding hope to see Indonesia's tropical forests with their rich biodiversity well conserved may go up in smoke.
Like forests, environmentally unfriendly cities also produce greenhouse gasses, mostly from buildings and communities. And as part of efforts to mitigate global warming and keep natural resources sustainable, green building initiatives have been adopted in several countries.
Efforts are under way to introduce green initiatives, including green building practices, as a response to the growing global call to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of green building principles, which among other things, involves conserving energy and water. According to one report, globally, cities and communities cause 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
The population explosion coupled with the uncontrolled number of vehicles in big cities on Java island, especially in Jakarta, has deteriorated urban ecosystems. In Jakarta, for instance, green areas have shrunk dramatically over the last several decades.
Out of the ideal 30 percent of Jakarta's 650 square kilometers being dedicated to open green space, only 10 percent or around 65 square kilometers have been. Twenty percent of former green space has been turned into commercial buildings. Consequently, the limited trees in Jakarta's parks are insufficient to absorb CO2 emitted by the millions of vehicles using the city's roads daily. If the situation is left as it is, with no concrete action taken to control the size of the population and number of vehicles, imagine what will happen to Jakarta in the next 10 or 20 years! Cars in Jakarta may get stuck to the point of growing roots themselves!
Despite greater attention being paid by the global community to tropical forests, part of which belongs to Indonesia, this does not necessarily mean that urban ecosystems are neglected as cities also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, campaigns to raise environmental awareness must continue.
Mohamad Rayan-Clipper
Sudibyo M. Wiradji , THE JAKARTAPOST , JAKARTA Fri, 06/05/2009 1:40 PM Supplement
This year's World Environment Day (WED) carries the theme "*Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change".
The theme is definitely relevant to Indonesia, which has the world's second largest tropical rainforest after Brazil.
This means it is important to look into Indonesia's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, its role in reducing the emissions and in coping with environmental issues.
Dealing with environmental issues, especially tackling climate change, remains a tough challenge. Indonesia is a large archipelagic country in which economic growth is highly emphasized and often prioritized at the expense of the environment. The concept of sustainable development, now more popularly called green or ecological development, is only good at the policy level. Under the sustainable development concept, economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects are equally important. In other words, the concept has yet to be implemented accordingly. This may explain the increasing environmental degradation suffered by different regions in the country, with deforestation and ecologically imbalanced cities in urban areas calling for attention.
It is no secret that excessive exploitation of forest resources and uncontrollable logging, forest fires and the destruction of peatland between the 1980s and 1990s led to forest degradation and deforestation. During these periods, between 0.8 billion tons and 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) were emitted to the atmosphere and turned into greenhouse gasses that contributed to climate change. Globally, greenhouse gas emissions related to forestry account for about 20 percent of the total. The World Bank ranks Indonesia as the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter due to deforestation, land clearing and forest fires. Around 61 million hectares or around half of the country's total forest area of 120 million hectares has been cleared.
But as far as forestry is concerned, there is hope that the state of our forests will improve.
Even though the UN Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) initiative won't be endorsed until the UN Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009, several countries - including Australia, Norway, Germany and the UK - have provided financial assistance under the program. The UN-REDD, launched at the Bali Climate Conference in 2007, is a global initiative that aims to provide compensation through the global carbon market for countries that reduce their national emissions by stopping and reversing deforestation and land degradation.
A pilot project covering 100 hectares of land is now under way in several regions, including Central, East and West Kalimantan and Palembang in South Sumatra. A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is studying the possibility of applying the REDD to different levels, including regency, site and even several production units such as crude palm oil (CPO). Under the REDD concept, an effort is under way to utilize non-forest land for oil palm plantations to replace plantations that occupy forest land with high conservation value.
If everything goes as planned, under UN-REDD initiative, Indonesia will receive US$3.7 billion or more than Rp 33.7 trillion per year. With the funds, there should be no reason for Indonesia not to act to protect its forests and rehabilitate those that have been deforested. However, the central and regional governments, organizations, agencies, NGOs and stakeholders involved in the projects under REDD mechanism should assure international communities that the funds will not be embezzled, misused or misappropriated but will be used in an accountable manner. The positive side of the forest rehabilitation initiative is that it will provide job opportunities for people living around forests, including migrants whose livelihoods rely heavily on forest products, provided that the initiative can meet the real need of the local people. According to data, about 20 million people live in or around forests across Indonesia. Therefore, it is advisable to engage local communities in this regard. By participating in the REDD program, Indonesia will do its part in the global fight against climate change.
Another challenge, which is the toughest one, is how to deal with the greedy individuals (businesspeople and investors) who exploit Indonesia's weak law enforcement. It is no secret that greed on the part of individuals plays a big role in causing damage to forests in Indonesia, especially those who think nothing of generating short-term profit by taking advantage of forest resources for their own interest at an uncontrolled rate at the expense of the environment. Hectares of forest land in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi have been cleared to make way for plantations, including ones growing oil palms.
The question to be raised then is whether local governments can ensure an absence of greedy individuals who desire to expand oil palm plantations in protected forests with high conservation value.
Misappropriation of funds under the REDD scheme and the government's inability to curb uncontrolled forest clearance may undermine international confidence and tarnish Indonesia's image, and thus the budding hope to see Indonesia's tropical forests with their rich biodiversity well conserved may go up in smoke.
Like forests, environmentally unfriendly cities also produce greenhouse gasses, mostly from buildings and communities. And as part of efforts to mitigate global warming and keep natural resources sustainable, green building initiatives have been adopted in several countries.
Efforts are under way to introduce green initiatives, including green building practices, as a response to the growing global call to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of green building principles, which among other things, involves conserving energy and water. According to one report, globally, cities and communities cause 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
The population explosion coupled with the uncontrolled number of vehicles in big cities on Java island, especially in Jakarta, has deteriorated urban ecosystems. In Jakarta, for instance, green areas have shrunk dramatically over the last several decades.
Out of the ideal 30 percent of Jakarta's 650 square kilometers being dedicated to open green space, only 10 percent or around 65 square kilometers have been. Twenty percent of former green space has been turned into commercial buildings. Consequently, the limited trees in Jakarta's parks are insufficient to absorb CO2 emitted by the millions of vehicles using the city's roads daily. If the situation is left as it is, with no concrete action taken to control the size of the population and number of vehicles, imagine what will happen to Jakarta in the next 10 or 20 years! Cars in Jakarta may get stuck to the point of growing roots themselves!
Despite greater attention being paid by the global community to tropical forests, part of which belongs to Indonesia, this does not necessarily mean that urban ecosystems are neglected as cities also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, campaigns to raise environmental awareness must continue.
REDD and Deforestation
Global coalition demands end to deforestation
Mohamad Rayan-clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Wed, 06/10/2009 1:02 PM National
A coalition of global forests appealed to the world's negotiators in Bonn climate conference to make a strong deal on ending the deforestation.
Dozens of global green groups -including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Rava Institute Indonesia, Watch Indonesia and Greenpeace - gathered in Bonn to deliver a warning that climate deals should ensure the survival of all countries and peoples around the world.
"We submit the petition at the Bonn conference asking negotiators to end deforestation and stop expansions of timber plantations," Teguh Surya, a forest campaigner from Walhi, told The Jakarta Post from Bonn on Tuesday.
"But such moves will not be effective for as long as rich nations do not change their consumption of timber products, including those from Indonesia," Teguh said.
Youth groups, NGOs, indigenous organizations, women's groups also joined the global forest coalition.
"Survival is not negotiable. The climate deal signed in Copenhagen needs to ensure the survival of all countries and peoples," youth spokesperson Gemma Tillack said.
"The immediate protection of the world's forests is no longer just an option, it is essential to ensure a safe climate for us and our kids."
Delegates from about 190 countries gathered in Bonn, Germany, to discuss a great number of global issues, including the Bali road map for emissions cuts, adaptation funds, technology transfers and mitigation efforts.
At a groundbreaking UN meeting in 2007 in Bali, most countries decided to craft a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which had obliged 37 industrial countries to cut carbon dioxide and other pollutants by a total of 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. They gave themselves a two-year time frame to complete the new agreement.
With six months left, however, negotiators are still deadlocked on major issues. They will gather three more times before a decisive meeting in December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, when an accord is scheduled to be adopted.
The countries have agreed to use forests under the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism as an alternative way to reduce emissions.
The forest coalition, however, said developed nations should not use forest protection and avoiding deforestation in developing nations as an offset mechanism for their own emissions. It said the negotiators should identify underlying causes of deforestation and degradation and involve indigenous peoples and women's groups in decision-making processes related to forests.
"Any policies intended to reduce deforestation and forest degradation should include measures to reduce consumption of forest products, especially in the industrialized North," the statement said.
Mohamad Rayan-clipper
Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Wed, 06/10/2009 1:02 PM National
A coalition of global forests appealed to the world's negotiators in Bonn climate conference to make a strong deal on ending the deforestation.
Dozens of global green groups -including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Rava Institute Indonesia, Watch Indonesia and Greenpeace - gathered in Bonn to deliver a warning that climate deals should ensure the survival of all countries and peoples around the world.
"We submit the petition at the Bonn conference asking negotiators to end deforestation and stop expansions of timber plantations," Teguh Surya, a forest campaigner from Walhi, told The Jakarta Post from Bonn on Tuesday.
"But such moves will not be effective for as long as rich nations do not change their consumption of timber products, including those from Indonesia," Teguh said.
Youth groups, NGOs, indigenous organizations, women's groups also joined the global forest coalition.
"Survival is not negotiable. The climate deal signed in Copenhagen needs to ensure the survival of all countries and peoples," youth spokesperson Gemma Tillack said.
"The immediate protection of the world's forests is no longer just an option, it is essential to ensure a safe climate for us and our kids."
Delegates from about 190 countries gathered in Bonn, Germany, to discuss a great number of global issues, including the Bali road map for emissions cuts, adaptation funds, technology transfers and mitigation efforts.
At a groundbreaking UN meeting in 2007 in Bali, most countries decided to craft a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which had obliged 37 industrial countries to cut carbon dioxide and other pollutants by a total of 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. They gave themselves a two-year time frame to complete the new agreement.
With six months left, however, negotiators are still deadlocked on major issues. They will gather three more times before a decisive meeting in December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, when an accord is scheduled to be adopted.
The countries have agreed to use forests under the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism as an alternative way to reduce emissions.
The forest coalition, however, said developed nations should not use forest protection and avoiding deforestation in developing nations as an offset mechanism for their own emissions. It said the negotiators should identify underlying causes of deforestation and degradation and involve indigenous peoples and women's groups in decision-making processes related to forests.
"Any policies intended to reduce deforestation and forest degradation should include measures to reduce consumption of forest products, especially in the industrialized North," the statement said.
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