| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 29 (ANTARA) - Working to raise production to almost any level is not a problem for Indonesia's over 50,000 small scale batik enterprises but they still face difficulties in marketing their products. They ask the government to help overcome their weaknesses in marketing. The expectation was voiced by several batik producers who are taking part in a batik exposition during the current World Batik Summit 2011 in Jakarta on Wednesday. "Regarding production, no matter how much, batik makers can deliver. But the problem is how to market our product," Eko (34), a small-scale batik producer who joined the expo said. Eko said marketing is the main problem so that he hoped that the world batik expo would help popularize the various types of Indonesian batik and to promote them to the world consumers. Therefore, a number of batik makers exhibiting their products at the current World Batik Summit 2011 expressed hope that the government would routinely organize national and international batik expos. "The government is expected to help promote batik products by holding exhibitions routinely. Thus, batik will become more popular," Farisi, 56, a batik maker from Pekalongan, Central Java, said. Farisi said that so far batik producers had been facing constraints in marketing their products due to lack of customers. More exhibitions were only held in Pekalongan. "We admit that we are still weak in marketing. Most of our buyers are tourists who happen to visit Pekalongan," he added. He said that small batik producers could actually organize exhibitions of their own but they hoped they would not be charged for accommodation and transportation costs. "The greater number of small and medium scale batik producers that could survive the bigger number of workers that could be employed," he said. He said that the production of a piece of cloth alone could involve more than ten workers for the work of dyeing, pattern making to staining. He said that exhibitions would bring batik close to the people, so that hopefully it would boost batik sales. Therefore, the Batik World Summit 2011 is being held in Jakarta to discuss problems relating to the development, promotion and preservation of batik. On the occasion, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pengestu presented a blueprint for the preservation and development of Indonesian 'batik' to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "In the blueprint, the government outlines efforts to increase batik's competitive edges at home and overseas," Mari Elka Pangestu said. She said the blueprint outlined efforts to preserve and develop Indonesian batik as a product representing the country's national identity and pride. It is expected to serve as a basis for working out short, medium and long term policies. Mari said that in the short term a number of quick win programs would be carried out such as improving the batik standardization, composing batik communication strategies as a cultural heritage and as a driver of the economy, improving the batik kraton's motives and taking stocks of batik books. Other quick win programs, she said, included popularization and promotion through the media, deciding batik producer regions as pilot projects which were environment friendly and were to be developed into a tourism destination and a creative region and conducting international scale activities. Based on the blueprint, there are about 55,000 batik making entities in Indonesia of which 99 percent are small scale businesses. In 2010 alone, Batik industry provided jobs for 916,783 with a production value of Rp3.9 trillion. In the meantime, state-owned bank BNI is providing assistance for the development of small scale batik businesses. BNI is developing a number of "BNI Batik Kampoengs" where batik development centers are being developed and empowered with a partnership program, a financing facility, a capacity building and a market access support. The programs are being developed in a number of regions like Pekalongan, Pati, Solo, Yogyakarta, Cirebon and other regions. BNI President Director Gatot M Suwondo said that most batik businesses in Indonesia were small and medium scale enterprises which had been given attention by BNI in developing their business since they were still micro-business scale through a partnership program. He said that Batik was also a product which contributed to Indonesia's exports because consumers in the world increasingly liked this product. However, in 2009, the figure dropped to 76.01 million US dollars, and in 2010 it fell further to 69.24 million US dollars due to global crisis. It was among others exported to the United States, Belgium and Japan Indonesia's batik exports in 2011 experienced lower growth compared with previous years as a consequence of the global financial crisis. Minister Mari Elka Pengestu said batik exports in 2011 declined because the commodity's main markets were in countries going through a financial crisis, namely the United States and Europe as well as Japan, the minister said. ***5*** |
Kamis, 29 September 2011
BATIK MAKERS NEED MARKETING KNOW-HOW
Senin, 26 September 2011
INFRASTRUCTURES NEED MORE FUNDS FOR ECONOMIC EXPANSION
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 26 (ANTARA) - Despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's efforts over the past two years to increase the state budget allocation for infrastructure development, many quarters have assssed the amounts so far to be too small for accelerating economic development. According to a World Bank economist, Indonesia has to increase its budget allocation if it wants to achieve the goals of its economic development as outlined in its master plan. World Bank trade economist Henry Sandee said recently that so far Indonesia had allocated only a small amount of funds for the development of its infrastructures. In the last ten years, the allocation for infrastructure was only about two to three percent, yet now there has been an improvement as it has been increased to 19.3 percent, he said. Actually, in the last two years, President Yudhoyono had always promised to focus on infrastructure in order to boost the country's economic development. The budget for infrastructure in 2011 was raised from Rp108 trillion in 2010 to RP126 trillion in 2011. "We are going to focus the budget on development of good quality infrastructure facilities in our efforts to improve the pace of economic development," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said when he delivered the government's financial note and the 2011 draft State Budget (APBN) in August 2010. In the meantime, when he delivered the 2012 draft state budget last August, President Yudhoyono said the government had set Rp168.1 trillion in the 2012 Draft State Budget for the development of infrastructures, including energy, food resilience and communications infrastructure. He said that in the 2012 draft state budget the allocation for capital expenditure was set at Rp168.1 trillion, up Rp27.2 trillion or 19.3 percent from the 2011 revised state budget. According to the World Bank's trade economist, there has been an increase, yet it is not enough for accelerating economic development. "There has been an improvement because capital expenditure for infrastructures has increased 19.3 percent, but if it is willing to achieve its MP3EI (Master Plan for Acceleration of Indonesia's Development and Economic Expansion) target, it should increase further the allocation," Henry Sandee said. The funds Indonesia allocates for infrastructure development, including those for 2012 which stand at Rp168.1 trillion, are still small, Henry said. The budget for infrastructure development in advanced countries like Germany usually accounts for seven to eight percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Henry Sandee. He said Indonesia's fund allocations for the infrastructure sector in the last ten years only account for about two to three percent of its GDP. Indonesia's total GDP IN 2010 was recorded at Rp6,422 trillion while its allocation for infrastructures was only Rp134.61 trillion or only about 2.09 percent of its GDP. One of the strategy to achieve the MP3I target, according to the WB, is to cut logistics funds which at present reached 20 percent of the total operational and production costs. The MP3I goals included an effort to include Indonesia among the world's big ten economies with a gross domestic product of US4.5 trillion and a per capita income of US$15,000. Indonesia is currently included in the world's big 17 economies with a per capita income of US$3,000. Besides small budget, the government is also slow in absorbing budget for the development of infrastructure. Up the end of last August, the absorption of the 2011 budget was still low, namely only 51.3 percent. Moreover, the realization of capital expenditure was only 26.9 percent. "It is not good if the budget surplus is too big because some infrastructure projects which should be finished would be neglected," Kemal Azis Stamboel, member of House Commission XI on financial affairs said on Monday. In the meantime, Director General of State Treasury Agus Suprijanto has previously told a hearing with Commission XI of the House that the budget surplus up to the middle of September reached Rp74.3 trillion, which increased from Rp41.01 trillion at the end of last August. The surplus was the difference between the realized state income of Rp779.9 trillion, or 66.2 percent of the revised 2011 state budget's ceiling, and the realized state spending amounting to Rp700.6 trillion. Kemal said that the delay in the development of an infrastructure project would reduce the country's supporting capacity in generating economic growth, creation of more job opportunities and improving the people's prosperity. "In addition, our competitive edge will be reduced in the face of our competitors," he added. He said that this year, the ranking of Indonesia's competitiveness dropped two points from 44 last year to 46. And one of the causes was related to the lack of infrastructures. "This should be kept as an important note, so that parties responsible for the implementation of capital expenditure, particularly the one that concerns infrastructures, will seriously realize the absorption of the budget while not neglecting the funds that have been allocated," Kemal said.***5*** |
Sabtu, 24 September 2011
RI LIKELY TO CUT GAS EXPORTS TO SINGAPORE
| by Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 24 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is likely to cut its gas exports to Singapore due to increasing demand for the commodity at home, but a minister warns that totally stopping the exports could bring on a legal problem. So far, Singapore is importing about 700 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfpd) of gas from Indonesia under a contract that will expire in 2020. On the other hand, due to increasing demand at home, Indonesia is also importing the commodity to cover a consumption deficit. Indonesia's gas consumption in 2005 for example was recorded at 3,541 mmscfd and it rose to 4,233 mmscfd in 2009. Thus, Indonesia is considering reducing its gas exports to Singapore amid difficulties to meet its own domestic need for the fuel. A team to renegotiate Indonesia's gas export contract with Singapore had already started working. "I have asked the team to accomplish a halt to additional gas exports to Singapore," Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told a working meeting with House Commission VII on energy affairs. He said gas exports to Singapore had been too voluminous while there was a shortage in supply for domestic needs. Yet, Industry Minister MS Hidayat warned that Indonesia should not stop it all at once because it could result in a legal problem. "I have heard that gas exports to Singapore will be stopped to meet the need for gas at home. I don't think it should be totally stopped all at once," Hidayat said. If the Indonesian step caused business damage to the Singapore side then the island state based on the Anglo Saxon law could file a complaint and sue Indonesia for defaulting on the contract. She said she had asked Singapore to lend some of the gas to which it was contractually entitled to Indonesia for some time. "We are studying the possibility of reducing or temporarily borrowing gas based on the existing contract with Singapore," she said. Evita Legowo said her office had coordinated with the ministry of foreign affairs to re-negotiate the contract with Singapore. "Though it is difficult, yet we have to find a way," she said. The House of Representatives (DPR) had earlier asked the government to divert some of the gas destined for export to Singapore to state-owned electricity company PLN to meet the utility's need for the fuel. Totok Daryanto, said although it would be difficult, he was convinced the government could do it. He made the remarks after a closed-door meeting with the director general of electricity who represented the Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) "The House supports the diversion of the gas to PLN," he said. He said that of ConocoPhilips' gas production of 700 billion British thermal unit (bbutd), some 400-500 bbtud were exported to Singapore, while at the same time, PLN needed a large quantity of gas. Totok said it would be difficult for the government to re-negotiate the contract with Singapore because the position of Indonesia in the contract was weak. State gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) estimated that the gas deficit would reach 385 billion British thermal units per day [BBTUD] in 2010, according to a report by the Jakarta Post last year, and will continue to increase until reaching 713 bbtud in 2015. In the meantime, Minister Hatta Rajasa denied he had permitted additional gas exports to Singapore at the expense of state-owned electricity company PT PLN. "It is not true that a limited coordination meeting of the office of the coordinating minister for the economy has decided to supply 100 bbtud to Singapore," he said. Evita Legowo, confirmed Hatta's statement saying "there was no decision to allow additional gas exports to Singapore. What was agreed on was additional gas supply to increase Chevron's production (PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia)." The decision, according to PT PGN, was made due to a drop in gas supply from gas producer ConocoPhillips to PGN after the government decided to shift it to Chevron to increase oil production and gas exports to Singapore. PLN needs an extra gas supply of 600 billion British thermal unit per day to meet its gas needs of 900 bbtud. "We have 300 BBTUD now. We need another 600 bbtud," PLN President Director Dahlan Iskan said. Therefore, PLN is looking into the possibility of gas supplies from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Qatar to meet its gas needs. "We will select which of them will offer the best price," Dahlan Iskan said. Domestic industries had so far been relying on gas from sources or suppliers in the country. But until the end of 2011 state gas company PT PGN could only meet around 583 mmscfd of an existing demand for 863 mmscfd. According to Industry Minister Hidayat, Indonesia will import gas from the Middle East to meet increasing demand following strong growth of national industries. "National industries keep on growing so we need to anticipate a possible shortage of gas. The gas import is urgently needed because domestic supply is meeting only 60 percent of domestic need," Hidayat said.***5*** |
Kamis, 22 September 2011
RICE FIELDS NEED BETTER INFRASTRUCTURES
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 22 (ANTARA) - Indonesia needs to develop its dams and irrigation to overcome desolation during droughts so that the country's 7.5 million hectares of rice fields could be maximized to support the government's food resilience program. "The drying up of agricultural lands occurring now is caused not only by drought but also by the government's low concern about development of agricultural infrastructures," Rofi Munawar, a member of House Commission IV on agricultural affairs, said here on Thursday. The water crises and extensive rice fields affected by the dry spell in the current drought which reached 95,891 hectares are partly blamed on the government which the legislator said was lacking seriousness in developing agricultural in restructures. "Scant government attention to development of agricultural infrastructures has contributed to the desolation of farm lands in many regions," Rofi Munawar said. As reported earlier, West Java, one of the country's rice producing provinces, has during the past few weeks been experiencing a severe drought which has affected 37,000 hectares of rice fields. Of the acreage, 13,000 hectares failed to produce a harvest. Thousands of hectares of farm land have remained idle and uncultivated during the drought due to water crises. "The availability of water is a deciding factor in the rice production so that the need for food could be met. At present, more than 20 percent of the country's irrigation systems have been damaged which could disturb efforts to increase food production," he said. Rofi also questioned the government's target to have 10 million tons of rice production surplus in 2015 because until August this year the acreage of rice farms that had been affected by drought had reached 95,891 hectares. This size is almost equal to that affected by drought the whole year in 2010 which stood at 96,721 hectares. "There is an upward trend in the acreage of affected rice fields and this threatens the efforts to achieve the target to produce 10 million tons of rice surplus in 2015," he said. The legislator said the government had also ignored the development of new dams so that extensive rice fields continued to face harvest failures during the drought every year. "This is because investment in the agricultural infrastructure has tended to be ignored since the reform era so that the agricultural sector is undergoing stagnation," he said. According to Rofi who is a politician of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Indonesia now only has some 284 large reservoirs with a capacity of irrigating only 800 thousand hectares of rice fields, or only about 11 percent of the country's 7.5 million hectares of technical irrigation farms. The roles of dams are vitally important for agriculture, particularly during the planting season, he said. Thus, the government should clearly map out the strength of the country's irrigation networks. The central government should ask provincial governments to also map out farmlands in the regions which had technical, semi-technical and simple irrigation systems as well as rain-fed farming. As regards to concerns that the drought could threaten the government's target to produce ten million tons of rice surplus, the agriculture ministry has proposed an additional food security fund of Rp3 trillion to help achieve the rice production surplus target. "The proposal came from the Agriculture Minister. To increase rice production I think the proposal for additional fund is acceptable," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said after attending a coordination meeting on food affairs at the Agriculture Ministry here recently. The extra budget fund was badly needed to achieve the rice surplus target, the more so because budget allocations for food security this year fell short of need, he said. In 2011, the government allocated Rp3 trillion in emergency fund for food security. Virtually, Indonesia with its extensive land areas is a country which can come up as a major food producing country in the world. "I say that this country has good food prospects. The world population will continue to increase so that the need for standard food and energy will be big, and at the same time food and energy security will be facing a global challenge," the President said when visiting a Livestock Research Center at the Livestock Training Center in Ciawi, Bogor, last month. In the 2012 draft state budget, the funds for agricultural infrastructure development were included in the budget for the development of the country?s infrastructures as a whole, whose values totaled Rp168.1 trillion. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government had set Rp168.1 trillion capital expenditure in the 2012 Draft State Budget for the development of infrastructure, including energy, food resilience and communications infrastructure. "We design the increase in the capital expenditure for supporting infrastructure development, including energy, food resilience and communications infrastructure," the President said in his state of the nation address last month.***5*** |
Rabu, 21 September 2011
CABINET SHAKE-UP, NOW OR NEVER
by Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 21 (ANTARA) - The cabinet reshuffle discourse may have disturbed ministers but the president had better realize that it is now or never at all so that his ministers can concentrate on their jobs in the remaining three years, observers say. "If the president really intends to replace low-performing or problematic ministers, he had better do it immediately because , if not, it will have political implications that will affect his government's performance," Arizka Warganegara, political analyst of Lampung University (Unila) said in response to the cabinet reshuffle discourse. Arizka's view was shared by his political scientist colleague Edi Indrizal of Andalas University in West Sumatra. Edi said that if the president did not reshuffle the cabinet, it would further worsen his image which had already dropped by an unprecedented figure of late. "Moreover, the president now has objective reasons to reshuffle his cabinet because there are several ministers whose performance is considered not optimal," Edi said. Besides, if the president reshuffles his cabinet, the new ministers will have enough time to carry out their visions and missions in the administration's remaining three years. However, the two political observers said that in replacing some of his ministers President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should not base his decision on political considerations. "It would be useless to reshuffle the cabinet if it is based on political considerations, much less if it is based on like and dislike. The new ministers' performance would not be maximal because the right man was not put in the right place," said Arizka. In the meantime, Edi said that if political considerations were taken into account in replacing the ministers, it would be hard to expect that an improvement in the ministers' performance could be made in the remaining three years. He said that political considerations for a cabinet reshuffle could be a boomerang for the president because so far the ministers who got more public spotlights were those who came from political parties. Therefore, now is the time for the president to prove to the public that he was not 'held hostage' by political parties and could take a firm step to place professional people for carrying out his vision and missions, Edi said. He said it was now time for Yudhoyono to carry out reshuffle because now was the last momentum for him to decide the journey of his leadership. Two years of his second presidential term was enough for him to judge which ministers had to be replaced. According to Arizka Warganegara, the president in replacing his ministers should use a clear and measurable criteria. He must have the courage to ignore political intervention from political parties in his coalition and the opposition party. Besides, the president should place professionals in their respective fields and provide no rooms for personal egoism in the cabinet, thus objectivity would become a means of measuring the composition of the cabinet. In this case, the Head of State should empower the Presidential Work Unit for Development Supervision and Control (UKP4) as an institution which is able to provide an objective assessment of the government's performance. Political observer of the Malang-based University of Muhammadiyah (UMM) Dr Mas'ud Said meanwhile suggested that Yudhoyono should pay attention to three aspects in reshuffling his cabinet. He said that the three aspects covered ministers who were related to legal problems, who had bad performance and who had bad health conditions. A minister with legal problem was not good in public opinions while those with bad health conditions would affect work performance. The new ministers must be more capable than the outgoing ministers they had replaced as otherwise it would invite new public criticisms. "It would not pose any problem if the successor ministers have more capability," Mas'ud said. Rizka Negara added that if order to see incapable ministers their performance should be learned from the assessment and report of the UKP4. He said that at least four ministers should be replaced due to inability to handle the problems of Indonesian migrant workers overseas, judicial mafia cases, unprofessional handling of the upcoming SEA Games and the failure in the mediation of free trade such as the Chinese Asian Free Trade Area (CAFTA). Besides, the minister who has bad health conditions should also be replaced, Rizka said. In the meantime, Secretary General of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Muhammad Anis Matta expressed his suspicion that the reshuffle discourse had been raised by a certain party for the interest of strengthening logistics in the face of the 2014 general elections. "I am afraid that the president has gathered input from those who wanted the cabinet to be reshuffled with the ultimate end of strengthening their logistics in the face of the general elections," Anis Matta said. However, he believed that the discourse on the cabinet reshuffle was only a rumor. "If it is true that the president is willing to reshuffle his cabinet, he must have contacted the leaders of political parties," he said. The PKS secretary general said that the president had not yet contacted any political parties who were members of his government coalition. Therefore, PKS was of the view that there was no certainty yet about the cabinet shake-up discourse. According to a presidential aide, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is currently formulating a cabinet reshuffle plan with Vice President Boediono. Presidential special aide for political communication Daniel Sparingga said on Tuesday the president had not yet involved political parties in the process at this stage but would do so later on. "Until now, the President has not yet involved anyone except the vice president but in time , he will also involve political parties and political parties also understand that the success of the government will also be their success," he said. He said the President and the vice president had deliberately isolated themselves from the coalition with regard to producing the best decision. "So, there is a new spirit. We change from what in the past used to be called "being held hostage" to the brotherhood spirit," he said.***3*** |
Selasa, 20 September 2011
GOVT TO SPEED UP PADDY PLANTING AMID DROUGHT
by Andi Abdussalam Jakarta, Sept 21 (ANTARA) - In spite of the drought, the government is ready to begin paddy planting this month, in an effort to cover this year's predicted shortage of production by 2.5 million tons of unhulled rice. The plan to begin planting this month is earlier than the normal planting season in the October-March period where drought has usually ended and rain has begun to fall in different parts of Indonesia. Though rain is expected to begin falling in certain areas in Sumatra at the end of this month, yet Java is still predicted to suffer from drought until the end of October. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Western Sumatra, namely areas from Aceh, North Sumatra until Riau provinces, will begin to receive rain at the end of this month or in the middle of October. In the meantime, the eastern areas of Sumatra, like West Sumatra, South Sumatra and Lampung, will enter the rainy season at the end of October or early in November. Provinces in Java, from Banten, West Java, Central Java and East Java, are expected to enter the rainy season at the end of October or early November. Yet, the government is planning to start rice planting earlier this month. "In order to cover the shortage of 2.538 million tons of the target, we will move forward the paddy planting schedule to September this month," Agriculture Minister said recently. The government this year has set itself the target of producing 70.6 million tons of dry unhusked rice, up 7 percent from its previous year's target. But based on the forecast II figure of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the country's unhusked rice production is predicted to reach only 68.062 million tons, 3.39 percent lower than the government's target. The minister said on Monday that drought has affected 95,891 hectares of rice fields in various regions of which about 3,713 hectares had failed to produce harvest yields, yet it is still considered within the normal level. Earlier, the Indonesian Rice Hullers and Businessmen Association (PERPADI) has urged the government to intensify the country's rice plantations in order to reduce the country's dependent on imports. Rice plantation intensification needed a long-term, consistent and correct policy. "Nowadays, nobody cares about the conversion of agricultural lands into malls and housing complexes, while the volumes of rice consumption continue to increase in line with the increasing number of population," PERPADI chairman Nellys Soekidi said. At present the number of Indonesia's population is about 237.6 million with a per capita rice consumption of 130 kg a year. With a growth rate of one percent, Indonesia will have a population of 300 million in 2030, agriculture observer Bungaran Saragih has predicted. So far, Indonesia has been saved by importing rice to meet the need for the staple of its population and to enrich its domestic stocks. According to Nellys, if exporter countries stop their rice supplies, it will be very dangerous to Indonesia's national food resilience. Nellys said that recently Indonesia through the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) imported 500 thousand tons if rice from Vietnam. Data at the Indonesian Farmers Association (SPI) showed that Indonesia's rice imports since 2010 have reached 1.84 million tons while prediction of rice production by the BPS this year is set at 37 million tons. So, according to Nellys, it is quite possible that he volumes of Indonesia's rice imports will continue to increase while its domestic rice production will continue to decline if it does not intensify its rice agriculture. The government should open up new land for rice farm in order to increase production and cover its rice shortage. After all, the government this year is predicted to fall short of 2.5 million tons of unhulled rice from its target. Virtually, Indonesia has the potentials of 4.79 million hectares of lands that can be planted with paddy during the2011 - 2012 rainy season, namely during the October 2011 - March 2012 period. However, Head of Agriculture Ministry for Agricultural Research and Development Haryono said that right now, of the 4.79 million hectares, only about 504 thousand hectares could be planted with paddy and 529 thousand hectare others could be planted with maize. He said that these were located in areas with normal rainfalls. Yet, rice fields located in areas whose rainfalls were above normal and could be planted with paddy reached 812 thousand hectares while those whose rainfalls below normal reached 599 thousand hectares. "We are now waiting for details from the BMKG on the zoning group areas related to the rainy season before we could issue a calendar on paddy planting schedules," Haryono said. He said that farmers should use paddy variety seeds which were resistant against dryness when they wanted to plant paddy in areas whose rainfalls below the normal level. On the other hand, farmers in areas whose rainfalls were above the normal level should use variety seeds which were strong against water inundation. Farmers were also called on to only plant secondary crops for fields which had experienced rice harvest failure. ***5*** |
Senin, 19 September 2011
NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS YEAR'S DROUGHT
| by Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 19 (ANTARA) - The current drought which had caused water crises and affected 95,891 hectares of rice fields in the country is unlikely to create worst impacts and escalate extensively beyond the normal level. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the current drought which had taken place for about two months is still categorically normal and that there is no need to worry about. "As predicted by the BMKG, in this September some parts of Indonesia is undergoing dry season, yet the dry spell is still within the normal level," BMKG Head for information Prabowo said. If the weather this time is felt exceptionally hot and a number of regions in the country are suffering from drought and water crisis it is because of the dry spell, where rain does not fall in a period of several consecutive days. "Much less if compared with that in 2010 when it was a wet dry season or during which rain often fell, the dry season this year is felt too strong, yet in term of annual variations the drought this year is still within the normal limits," Prabowo said. The ongoing drought has been taking place for about two months and has created water crises in many parts of Java, Indonesia's most densely populated island, causing residents to consume dirty water or purchase costly clean water. In East Java for example, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has reported that the drought has spread to 29 districts. "We don't think that residents in the municipality are being affected by the dry spells because they are served by the tap water company PDAM, yet there must be villages or subdistricts in 29 districts which are facing critical water," Head of East Java's BPBD for Prevention and Alertness Affairs, Sudaisman said here on Sunday. But he could not point out the names of villages and sub districts which were being affected by water crisis. "The provincial government officials have had a meeting with representatives of the 29 districts, some of which said they had been facing water crisis," he said. The current drought has caused water crisis not only in East Java but also its neighboring provinces of Central Java, West Java and Banten. In Central Java, water crisis also hit thousands of residents, among others in the districts of Klaten, Tegal and Sleman. Some 3,000 residents in Kalinyamat Kulon village, Margadana subdistrict, Tagal city are also facing water scarcities for household needs such as for cooking, bathing and other needs. "We all have to purchase water from residents who have artesian wells for cooking, washing and bathing. Some others still used wells which still had muddy water," Subroto, head of RT 08 RW 02 neighborhood of Kalinyamat village said. Besides in East and Central Java, water crisis is also affecting locals in West Java. Head of Sukabumi's Environment Office, Rudi Djuansyah said drought now had caused the water volumes of rivers and wells to drop drastically. "The water volumes of 27 rivers that ran through Sukabumi areas dropped drastically by about 40 percent," Rudi. The volume of River Cimandiri water, for example, declined by 15 cubic meters per second. The decline in the water volumes in Sukabumi had caused the drop of irrigation water for agriculture and fisheries. Fishery and agriculture production will be affected, Rudi said. According to Prabowo, the scarcities of water were also caused by the increased usage of water during the dry spell for agriculture which needed constant water supplies but on the other hand the water stock was declining. The drought has affected rice fields in the country. Although it has affected 95,891 hectares of rice fields in various regions, yet it is still considered within the normal level. Of the total, about 3,713 hectares have failed to produce harvestable yields. Agriculture Minister Suswono said the number was still lower than last year. He said besides drought, floods and insects had so far also been the causes of harvest failures. During the past eight months in 2011, the number of rice fields affected by floods was recorded at 115,851 hectares and 16,471 hectares of them had failed to produce a harvest. The number of rice fields affected by plant organisms in the period reached 577,015 hectares and 35,454 hectares of them had failed to produce harvest because of that. In all total rice fields that failed to produce harvest from January to August 2011 reached 55,638 hectares. "It is still below the average areas in the past five years recorded at around 100,000 hectares a year," the minister said. He said the government had provided Rp374 billion to help farmers who had failed to harvest. Therefore, it is expected that this year's drought would not bringing worse impacts, though several parts of the country have experienced minor impacts. After all, rain has also begun to fall in a number of regions. Western Sumatra, namely areas from Aceh, North Sumatra until Riau provinces, will begin to receive rain at the end of this month or in the middle of October. In the meantime, the eastern areas of Sumatra, like West Sumatra, South Sumatra and Lampung, will enter the rainy season at the end of October or early in November. Provinces in Java, from Banten, West Java, Central Java and East Java, are expected to enter the rainy season at the end of October or early November, according to the BMKG.***4*** |
Minggu, 18 September 2011
NO FUEL OIL PRICE HIKES BUT TIGHT CONTROL ON CONSUMPTION
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 18 (ANTARA) - The government is unlikely to raise fuel oil prices in 2012 but will tightly control subsidized fuel oil consumption through an arrangement so that it will not exceed the quota set at 40 million kiloliters. Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the government had no plan to raise fuel oil prices in 2012 on consideration of possible adverse fiscal and macro impacts as well of impact on the real sector. "We are almost always not able to make an increase rate which matches prediction on how far it will have impacts on inflation, people's purchasing power and wave inflation," Hatta said. So, the government will not be in a hurry to make a decision on fuel oil price hikes, he said. Yet, the government will implement control program on subsidized fuel oil consumption so that it would not exceed the set target and put further burden on the state budget. Therefore, the government will soon implement a policy on the arrangement of subsidized fuel oil consumption, according to Hatta. "The policy on the arrangement must be implemented so that the quota of subsidized fuel oils set at 40 million kiloliters for 2012 would (not be exceeded) be achieved," the minister told a hearing with the House Commission VII on energy and mineral resources this week. The House of Representatives (DPR) and the government have agreed to set the quota of subsidized fuel oils for 2012 at 40 million kiloliters. Hatta said the government was prepared to meet the quota of subsidized fuel oils at 40 million kiloliters for 2012 by implementing a control program. It would involve regional governments to ensure that fuel oil consumption next year would accord with the quota. Dito Ganinduto of the Golkar faction asked the government to meet the quota of subsidized fuel oils at 40 million kiloliters consistently. "We don't want to see any further increase in the quota of subsidized fuels in the revised state budget as what happened in the previous years," he said. Regarding the subsidized fuel oil quota in 2011, Sohibul Iman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction said that additional quota had caused an increased subsidy that had to be borne by the state budget. He said that the initial quota of 38.5 million kiloliters or equivalent to Rp95.9 trillion had been raised in the 2011 revised budget to 40.5 kiloliters, or equivalent to Rp117 trillion, yet now it was further raised to 41.8 million kiloliters. This would put further burden on the state budget. Sohibul said that actually the allocation of subsidized fuel oils so far had missed the target so that the government should implement a more strategic policy. "We all agree that the allocation of subsidized fuel oils is missing its target because the poor segment of society enjoys less of the subsidy," he said. Therefore, Sohibul suggested that the government take more strategic steps in overcoming the subsidy wrong target and would not put the burden on the state budget. Earlier, state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina President Director Karen Agustiawan said Pertamina had predicted subsidized fuel oil consumption this year would exceed the quota set in the revised budget. This was due to consumption increase in line with the average increase in vehicles by about 14.73 percent per annum. For 2012, Pertamina has also previously predicted fuel oil consumption will reach 43.882 million kiloliters if a consumption arrangement policy is not implemented. The Pertamina prediction is 3.882 million kiloliters or 9.7 percent higher than the government's proposal at 40 million kiloliters in the 2012 draft state budget. Of the 43.882 million kiloliters, 26.912 million kiloliters of premium gasoline, 15.27 million kiloliters of diesel oil and 1.7 million kiloliters of kerosene. Yet, in a working meeting this week, the government and the House Commission VII on energy affairs agreed the quota of 40 million kiloliters as set in draft 2012 state budget. Hatta said that the government was convinced it was able to maintain the 2012 quota, by implementing a consumption controlling program. The fact that the quota for subsidized fuels in 2011 had to be increased was because there was no consumption arrangement. "Therefore we are optimistic that the amount of quota that we have agreed for 2012 would be reached, namely 40 million kiloliters in accordance with the financial notes. The amount could be maintained as far as subsidized fuel consumption is arranged through a policy," the minister said. After all, he said, the increasing number of vehicles and the economic growth have also been taken into account when the 40 million kiloliters figure was set.***5*** |
Sabtu, 17 September 2011
MONAS TO PRESENT JAK-JAPAN MATSURI FESTIVAL
| by Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) - Like a thunder-bolt piercing the skies in the Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta, the National Monument (Monas) stands firmly as if it tirelessly watched the endless hustle and bustle of the Indonesian capital city. As it is a historical monument, the Jakarta administration and the Japanese government have decided to hold at the Monas Square a week-long 2011 Jak-Japanese Matsuri, a festival held to observe the Japanese recent tsunami and to foster relations between the peoples of Japan and Indonesia. Monas has since witnessed different events, starting from political movements such as the communist aborted coup attempt in 1965 and the reforms movement in 1998 up to different functions, arts and cultural festivals. Having a function as a tourism spot, Monas has been visited by local and foreign tourists, and now it is to host the 2011 Jak-Japan Matsuri, a festival which is expected to further cement the friendship of the peoples of Indonesia and Japan. The government of Jakarta and the Japanese embassy in Jakarta is cooperating to realize the festival at the Monas square which will last from September 18 to September 25, 2011. "The Jak-Japan Matsuri festival can be expected to overcome problems being faced by both nations in the fields of politics, environment and food resilience," Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said over the weekend. The festival is also a reflection of thanks over the cooperation between the Japanese people and their Indonesian friends in assisting the earthquake victims in Japan last March. The role of the Indonesian government and residents in helping the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan in late March received high appreciation from the Japanese government. As a form of their gratitude as well as to improve relationship and cooperation between Japan and Indonesia, the event of 2011 Jak-Japan Matsuri will be held on September 18-25, 2011. The opening will be held in a hotel in Central Jakarta, while the event series until closing will be held in Monas. "Hopefully the citizens will love this event, in order to improve the friendship between Japan and Indonesia," Kenichi Kuroda, Chief Organizer of 2011 Jak-Japan Matsuri, was quoted by BritaJakarta.com, the official site of the Jakarta government, as saying. In the meantime, Yoshimori Katori as the Japan Ambassador to Indonesia expressed that this event was also to show their gratitude toward Indonesia's assistance during the disasters period. "We want to express our gratitude toward the Indonesian people, especially Mr. and Mrs. President (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife) who have visited Japan and at that time showed empathy to the Japanese, especially the tsunami victims. That is a remarkable thing for us," he stated. Governor Fauzi said the 2011 Jak-Japan Matsuri festival was a reflection of friendship between the residents of Jakarta and the Tokyo city while showing "our appreciation" towards the Japanese arts and culture. The event will perform Japanese musical drama and traditional musical performance as well as introduce Japanese cultures, such as Japanese tea and friendship sports competition. Therefore, Fauzi Bowo welcome the event which is predicted to attract citizens' attention. After all, according to him, there are many Japanese communities in Jakarta. "We will prove that Jakarta is a good host for activities held in the capital city. Jakarta residents are always giving appreciation toward various Japanese arts and cultures," he said. The governor expressed his hope that the event can strengthen the friendship of the two countries and reinforcing cooperation in solving problems that may be faced by both nations. "We should strengthen our cooperation to solve problems in the sectors of politic, environment and food security," he added. He also urged Jakarta residents to be a good host by maintaining public order and security, so that the visitors can feel comfortable and safe. "Let's prove that Jakarta can be a good city and host for upcoming events which will be held in Jakarta," he asserted. The event will last from September 18 to September 25 with opening ceremony at Hotel Nikko and closing one at the Monas square. The Ismail Marzuki cultural and arts center, the Japanese Cultural Center and Bung Karno Sports Stadium will also serve as a place for the performance of musical drama, traditional music, friendship soccer match, photo exhibition and culinary workshop.***4*** |
Jumat, 16 September 2011
PARK(ING) DAY SEEKS TO CLEAR SIDEWAKS FOR PUBLIC INTERACTION
 By Andi AbdussalamJakarta, Sept 16, (ANTARA) - Clad in orange and yellow shirts, a group of activists sat on benches or stood around a table sipping different drinks, including tea, just after sunrise at Jalan Sabang, Central Jakarta, on Friday morning, September 16, 2011. Some were standing around while others chatted with each other on the need for a green environment and open spaces for the public to interact. They gathered in a sidewalk space in front of the Tiam Oey coffee shop, a space which on that morning looked beautiful, though it used to be packed with vehicles parked by visitors. The Friday morning gathering of the activists was a special event for Jalan Sabang, a hawker street in Central Jakarta which is popular among both domestic and foreign tourists. The Jakarta Globe carried a story last November that portrayed Jalan Sabang as a center of delicious food. Located near Sarinah department store, one of the oldest malls in Jakarta, Jalan Sabang is busy at any time of the day or night. And while the craving for tasty and affordable food can sometimes cause traffic jams there, many swear by what is on offer. At night, this area is packed with people having dinner or simply having some snack at the food stalls that line both sides of the street. Thus, packed sidewalks present an unpleasant scene where one would count him or herself blessed if he or she could immediately get a space for parking. Yet, this unruly parking situation on sidewalks has seemed to be a matter of the past. Since recently, the pavement and sidewalks of Jalan Sabang have been looking neat and contrasted that of the past. Culinary areas are relocated, yet it seemed the areas are to be taken over by cars being parked. The local government is trying to put parking at Sabang in order. Perhaps that was why, the activist of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) chose Jalan Sabang as a place to launch their first campaign in Indonesia, on Friday, September 16, 2011. "We are campaigning for the return of public spaces so far used for parking to the people to gather, interact, chat and meet one and another," Stevanus Albertus Ayal, transportation specialist of ITDP, told ANTARA during the campaign on Friday. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy works with cities worldwide to bring about sustainable transport solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of urban life. In Indonesia, ITDP Indonesia, together with The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and GEF, is giving technical assistance for the local government of Jakarta in order to increase the usage of TransJakarta buses, through 'Bus Rapid Transit and Pedestrian Improvements in Jakarta' project. ITDP Indonesia is working on 3 major issues: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) and Transport Demand Management (TDM). But that Friday morning, the ITDP campaign was giving a stress on the importance of open public spaces for people to interact. According to Stevanus, the campaign is popularly known as the Park(ing) Day campaign. In 2010, the ITDP had organized Park(ing) Day campaigns in 183 cities in 30 countries and in 6 continents. In Indonesia, the campaign was held for the first time in Jakarta on Friday, September 16, 2011. The location was in Jalan Sabang Central Jakarta, in front of Tiam Oey coffee shop. Stevanus said Jalan Sabang had been chosen as the place for the first campaign because it is an area in Central Jakarta which had its own attractiveness to both local and foreign tourists as a night and day culinary spot, besides as a busy commercial district. However, soon after the culinary areas of Sabang are relocated, its sidewalks and road shoulders turned to become 'parking lots'. A survey conducted by the ITDP Indonesia indicated that about 300 private cars were parked there per hour on the sidewalks which covered some 4,039 square m. Of the total spaces of Jalan Sabang, about 78 percent were used by vehicles while those for pedestrians and public spaces were only 22 percent. "Therefore, ITDP Indonesia has called on the Jakarta residents to take part in the Park(ing) Day campaign in Jalan Sabang on September 16, 2011. They are requested to stop over at the public space we have made available in front of Tiam Oey coffee shop. We also suggest that residents should conduct the same activities in their surrounding," Stevanus said. He said that the aim of the program was to provide education for the public and for urban policy makers on the importance of public spaces. By gathering together in a public place, the people would see and feel the impact of a change in the sidewalk spaces. And the important thing is that the campaign would be supported by the public. Thus, the people as individuals and as communities would be able to see and enjoy public spaces to get together, interact, relax and chat with one and another.***6*** |
Kamis, 15 September 2011
WORLD YOUTHS TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENT IN BANDUNG
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 15 (ANTARA) - Some 1,300 children and youths aged 15 to 25 years from 120 countries will gather in the West Java city of Bandung to plant trees, create a world city forest and come up with ideas on sustainable development. The youths will plant the trees in Bandung city's Babakan Siliwangi, a 4-hectare-wide area formerly known as a culinary hub while attending the Tunza Indonesia, an international children and youth conference on the environment to be held in the West Java provincial capital on September 27 - October 1, 2011. "We have to be grateful for the trust given to us to host the international environment conference," Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said here on Thursday. The conference will be held at the Bandung Ganesha Cultural Hall. The international children and youth conference on the environment is a bi-annual event. This conference is expected to produce a declaration, 'the Bandung Declaration' and to serve an input for the United Nations Conference on sustainable development in Rio + 20. The Tunza conference will include a tree planting program and the creation of a grand park, the Juanda grand forest park in the Babakan Siliwangi area which will be declared as a World City Forest and is expected to serve as a monument that will remind people of the importance of the environment sustainability. "In the World Urban Forest program, children participating in the Tunza Conference will plant trees on September 27," Wahyu Marjaka, a member of the Tunza Conference's organizing committee. The tree planting activity by the conference participants would be done one day before the meeting's closing. "Each tree will be given a label with the name of the participant who planted the tree," Wahyu said. "In addition, in the future after the nuclear power plant project is completed, we will try to make the nuclear power plant land into urban forest as well. But this is still a plan " Wahyu added. The land area of four hectares is planned to be planted with different types of trees that would be provided by Tunza committee. "Later, about 800 trees will be planted. However we are providing about 2,500 trees since the target audience is actually over two thousand," Wahyu said. "We have to make three points of success in organizing the conference, namely success as host, success as organizer and success in the outcome of the conference where the event would provide advantage for the surrounding people. Bandung has been chosen as host of the of the conference because while the city of Bandung has been widely known it is also expected to improve further the conditions of its environment. In the meantime, in an effort to enliven the international environment event, Indonesia's Environment Ministry is preparing a 350-hour cycling trip from Bali, the Indonesia tourist resort island, to Bandung on the occasion of the Tunza Conference. "These efforts can contribute to the achievement of the 26-percent carbon dioxide emission reduction target. We want to fight the wasting of energy with the environmentally friendly activity of cycling," the ministry's spokesperson Dodo Sambodo said after a ceremony to launch an "Indonesia Cycling" campaign in Kuta. Indonesia has been entrusted to host this conference, and Tunza can be a tool for Indonesia to conduct environmental diplomacy. "With the Tunza conference themed 'Reshaping our Future through a Green Economy and Sustainable Lifestyle.' we hope to contribute to the efforts of making the green economy a lifestyle," Wahyu said.***6*** |
Rabu, 14 September 2011
RI'S REFORESTATION PROGRAM TO ABSORB 47.6 BLN TONS OF CARBON GASES
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Sept 14 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is resuming its reforestation program this year, having set itself the target of planting at least 1.7 billion trees capable of absorbing about 47.6 billion tons of carbon gases. As part of its efforts to cut its gas emissions by 26 percent in 2020, the Indonesian government since 2007 has been launching a tree planting drive to rehabilitate its damaged forests, green its denuded lands and provide homes to billions of tons of carbon sinks. Indonesia has designated 37.5 million hectares of its 130 million hectares of forests as homes for carbon sinks as part of its emission reduction project through the global Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) scheme. A total of 40 million hectares are former production forests, half of which have been damaged or are in critical condition. The damaged forests are expected to be rehabilitated with consistent and continued tree planting programs. Like in 2010, this year's planting target is also set at 1.7 billion trees. "The target is the same as last year in which 90 percent of the number would grow," Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on Wednesday. Right now the country had 1.7 billion seeds consisting of 600 million from the ministry, 500 million from state forestry companies and 600 million from timber estate companies. For this program, the forestry ministry set aside a fund of Rp3 trillion. The planting of trees in the 1,7 billion tree planting program was started on February 1, 2011 and would be completed on January 31, 2012. However, the number of trees that have been planted this year is still unknown as the project is still going on. By January 31, 2011 the number of trees planted under the 2010 reforestation program had exceeded the annual target of 1 billion trees, he said. According to the minister each of the trees planted is able to absorb 28 tons of carbon gases per annum. Thus, if the 1.7 billion trees are successfully planted and grown they will be able to serve as home to 47.6 billion tons of carbon sinks. "One tree is able to absorb 28 tons of CO2 gas and hold 100 liters of water a year," the minister said. The planting of trees is also crucial to human beings who breathe 10 tons of oxygen for free per annum and use about 10 liters of water a day, Minister Zulkifli said. He said that each person should at least plant trees at a rate equal to the span of his or her life. "So, if a person has a span of life of 60 years, he or she had better plant at least 60 trees," he said. The minister said he tirelessly reminded the people of the importance of tree planting movement in the frame work of preventing the emergence of critical environment and of creating the image of Indonesia Green. Therefore, he also asked the people to pay attention to the critical environment in their surroundings which were marked by the absence of birds and butterflies or fireflies which were used to be found around the house. He said that these animals had high sensitivities to the various conditions of living environment such as high pollution, water contamination and scarcity of trees. Butterflies and fireflies could only live in an environment which had a perfect ecosystem. Regarding forest fires in the current drought which begins to trigger forest fires minister Zulkifli called on the people to change their habit of burning in opening up farmland that could boost land and forest fire. "Some farmers burn their agricultural land when they begin to open up farms and burn them again when they finish tilling them. This habit must be terminated," the minister said during a function on the planting program of one billion trees. Director General for Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA) Darori said that the number of hot spots in Indonesia at present reached 8,082, but this was categorically small if compared with those in Myanmar and other ASEAN countries. He said that hot spots in Myanmar were recorded at 24,767, Cambodia 12,557, Laos 11,076 and Thailand 10,031 hot spots. Hot spots in Indonesia are still found in six provinces which are prone to fires. The number of hot spot is the highest in Riau with 2.59 locations, West Kalimantan 809, North Sumatra 600, Central Kalimantan 543, Jambi 455 and South Kalimantan 259. In order to put up forest fires, the government has sent a forest fire operation team to South Sumatra, Riau and Central Kalimantan provinces. "The forest fire operation team will be working for three months," People's Welfare Coordinating Minister Agung Laksono said when he saw of the departure of the team at Halim Perdanakusuma airport recently. The government and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency are working out an integrated action plan (RAT) on the handling of haze as a result of forest and land fires. The ministries of forestry, environment, agriculture and other relevant institutions have worked out programs to reduce the risks of land and forest fires, he said. "Land and forest fires are main threat to Indonesia, particularly during the dry season. Forest and land fires caused different kinds of losses," Agung said. The Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) also continues to carry out researches and technology development in order to overcome land and forest fires. It is designing a weather modification technology (TMC), a man-made rain aimed at helping overcome water crisis caused by climate and weather factors.***4*** |