| by Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Feb 20 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has the commitment to restore the country's land areas damaged by the land and forest fires in 2015, which burned over 2 million hectares and inflicted financial losses worth Rp220 trillion.
In a bid to accelerate the restoration of burned land, notably peatlands, the government has set up the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) to manage efforts for restoring damaged land areas.Restoration of damaged land within a concession area must be carried out by companies holding the concession permits. The burned lands become the full responsibility of the concessionaires. Hence, corporations which have so far tapped and enjoyed the benefit of the concession forests must carry out restoration of the damaged areas, and the government must take firm actions against those that are negligent. "Weak and less serious law enforcement on violations in the environment sector will result in excessive damage," lawmaker and member of Commission VII on environmental affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), Rofi Munawar, said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday (Feb 17). Moreover, the damages caused to land and forest areas due to fires in 2015 are vast. Forest and plantation fires had affected 2.089 million hectares of area and inflicted financial losses worth Rp220 trillion in 2015. |
Tampilkan postingan dengan label peat. Tampilkan semua postingan
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Senin, 20 Februari 2017
FIRMS MUST BE PUSHED TO RESTORE BURNED LANDS
Jumat, 23 Oktober 2015
RI MIGHT STOP EXPANSION OF PEATLAND EXPLOITATION
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Oct 24 (Antara) - Having been plagued by annual peatland fire-triggered haze that has caused tens of thousands of people to suffer from respiratory infections over the past few months, Indonesia is considering stopping the exploitation of its peatlands.
As a preliminary step, the government will impose a moratorium on the issuance of exploitation permits to companies willing to cultivate peat forest areas. It will also revitalize the peatland that has been exploited and burnt.The policy was raised in a limited cabinet meeting Friday which was chaired by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). The limited cabinet meeting with relevant ministers was held to discuss the haze problem and its impacts plaguing the country over the past three months. During the meeting the President issued instructions on efforts to tackle the on-going haze and its impacts, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, chief public relations officer of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said. "The president stated that the haze disaster arising from forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan is at a dangerous level," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Friday. The president's instructions included an order to the environment and forestry minister to stop issuing licenses for the exploitation of peatland areas and start conducting land revitalization. |
Rabu, 16 September 2009
RI PLAYING ROLE IN HOLDING PEAT CARBON SINKS
By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, May 29 (ANTARA) - Indonesia plays an important role in holding billions of tons peat carbon sinks which, if released, could aggravate global warming and endanger life on earth.
Indonesia is host to 34 billion tons of peat carbon sinks, most of which are to be found in Riau province and Kalimantan. In Kalimantan, which is the world's third largest island, there are 5,769,246 hectares of peat forests with 10.183 billion tons of carbon sinks, Daniel Murdiyarso of the Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR), said in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday.
He was in Bali to deliver a speech at an Asian Forestry Partnership (AFP) meeting which discussed a mechanism to reduce green-house gases from forest destruction and functional change. Greenhouse gases from forest destruction and functional change contribute 20 percent to global warming which at present had reached three degrees Celsius over the last 20 years.
"One can imagine the greater role the Indonesian peat forests can play. Suppose that the Indonesian forest degradation release 2.4 billion tons of carbon per annum, how much it would contribute to green house gases emission," he said.
One of the important issues discussed at the AFP meeting is a payment and supervision scheme for world carbon gas reduction. CIFOR proposes several alternative concepts that could be easily applied in all countries.
The World Bank has set aside funds amounting to US$170 million for developing countries that are ready to cooperate in greenhouse reduction schemes. There are 11 international donors who are ready to finance a greenhouse reduction facility.
Indonesia and eight other countries in Asia and the Pacific, along with 14 African and 15 Latin American nations have expressed their commitment to taking part in the World Bank's financing facility.
Various forums on greenhouse gas emission reduction have discussed several endeavors, including a carbon credit mechanism. The deforestation and gas emission reduction credit scheme could be traded in the international cabon market.
According to Bambang Setiadi, chairman of the Indonesian Peat-land Association, on the sidelines of a workshop on Wild Fire and Carbon Management in Peat Forest in Indonesia, a carbon project could be exchanged for cash payment.
Since 1990, global warming has been admitted by all countries as an important issue that had to be overcome jointly and was included in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
"The spirit imbued in the Kyoto Protocol enables the adoption of a scheme where carbon projects could be exchanged with a payment of an amount in US dollar or in Euro currency for each ton of preserved carbon by developing countries," he once said.
Peat forests hold bigger carbon sinks than other forests. Indonesia has some 27 million hectares of peat lands in Kalimantan, eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, with a combined carbon sinks of between 10,000 and 34,400 billion tons.
Thus, Indonesia badly needs to protect its peat land as otherwise it would release multiple amount of carbon as compared with other forests, which could worsen the green house effect.
That's why, destructive exploitations of peat lands for economic benefit could be exchanged with other schemes, where advanced countries are required to pay less developed nations for helping preserve carbon sinks in their forests.
The schemes could take the form of the Clean Management Mechanism or of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.
Virtually, Indonesia, when it hosted the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in December 2007, has drafted the REDD mechanism.
Host of 120.3 million hectares of forests, Indonesia set aside 37.5 million hectares of its forests for the REDD project. "If one hectare is paid US$10 a year, Indonesia will gain US$3.75 billion every year," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said at that time.
However, Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, a natural resources advocacy non-governmental organization, said the REDD scheme with which Indonesia is expected to get US$3.75 billion incentive a year, belittled the economic value of Indonesian forests.
Indonesian forests held 7,000 megatons of carbon sinks with an economic value of about US$134.5 billion. Advanced countries must pay 134.5 billion dollars if they want to prevent Indonesia from releasing 7,000 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere through deforestation and peat land cultivation.
So, if this scheme works, the government should design how farmers would also enjoy the benefit so that they should not shed too much sweat to toil peat lands for dollars.
Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang, who also spoke to the AFP forum said that his side together with other sides was working hard to recover the ecological functions of forest lands.
So far, vast peat land in Kalimantan have been exploited after their bushes were to plant crops. Planting crops on peat land is much easier than on other types of soil because the planting activity can be carried out soon after bushes have been burnt.***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/S012) 22:35/.... ) (T.A014/A/A014/A/S012) 29-05-2009 23:16:05
Jakarta, May 29 (ANTARA) - Indonesia plays an important role in holding billions of tons peat carbon sinks which, if released, could aggravate global warming and endanger life on earth.
Indonesia is host to 34 billion tons of peat carbon sinks, most of which are to be found in Riau province and Kalimantan. In Kalimantan, which is the world's third largest island, there are 5,769,246 hectares of peat forests with 10.183 billion tons of carbon sinks, Daniel Murdiyarso of the Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR), said in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday.
He was in Bali to deliver a speech at an Asian Forestry Partnership (AFP) meeting which discussed a mechanism to reduce green-house gases from forest destruction and functional change. Greenhouse gases from forest destruction and functional change contribute 20 percent to global warming which at present had reached three degrees Celsius over the last 20 years.
"One can imagine the greater role the Indonesian peat forests can play. Suppose that the Indonesian forest degradation release 2.4 billion tons of carbon per annum, how much it would contribute to green house gases emission," he said.
One of the important issues discussed at the AFP meeting is a payment and supervision scheme for world carbon gas reduction. CIFOR proposes several alternative concepts that could be easily applied in all countries.
The World Bank has set aside funds amounting to US$170 million for developing countries that are ready to cooperate in greenhouse reduction schemes. There are 11 international donors who are ready to finance a greenhouse reduction facility.
Indonesia and eight other countries in Asia and the Pacific, along with 14 African and 15 Latin American nations have expressed their commitment to taking part in the World Bank's financing facility.
Various forums on greenhouse gas emission reduction have discussed several endeavors, including a carbon credit mechanism. The deforestation and gas emission reduction credit scheme could be traded in the international cabon market.
According to Bambang Setiadi, chairman of the Indonesian Peat-land Association, on the sidelines of a workshop on Wild Fire and Carbon Management in Peat Forest in Indonesia, a carbon project could be exchanged for cash payment.
Since 1990, global warming has been admitted by all countries as an important issue that had to be overcome jointly and was included in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
"The spirit imbued in the Kyoto Protocol enables the adoption of a scheme where carbon projects could be exchanged with a payment of an amount in US dollar or in Euro currency for each ton of preserved carbon by developing countries," he once said.
Peat forests hold bigger carbon sinks than other forests. Indonesia has some 27 million hectares of peat lands in Kalimantan, eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, with a combined carbon sinks of between 10,000 and 34,400 billion tons.
Thus, Indonesia badly needs to protect its peat land as otherwise it would release multiple amount of carbon as compared with other forests, which could worsen the green house effect.
That's why, destructive exploitations of peat lands for economic benefit could be exchanged with other schemes, where advanced countries are required to pay less developed nations for helping preserve carbon sinks in their forests.
The schemes could take the form of the Clean Management Mechanism or of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.
Virtually, Indonesia, when it hosted the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in December 2007, has drafted the REDD mechanism.
Host of 120.3 million hectares of forests, Indonesia set aside 37.5 million hectares of its forests for the REDD project. "If one hectare is paid US$10 a year, Indonesia will gain US$3.75 billion every year," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said at that time.
However, Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, a natural resources advocacy non-governmental organization, said the REDD scheme with which Indonesia is expected to get US$3.75 billion incentive a year, belittled the economic value of Indonesian forests.
Indonesian forests held 7,000 megatons of carbon sinks with an economic value of about US$134.5 billion. Advanced countries must pay 134.5 billion dollars if they want to prevent Indonesia from releasing 7,000 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere through deforestation and peat land cultivation.
So, if this scheme works, the government should design how farmers would also enjoy the benefit so that they should not shed too much sweat to toil peat lands for dollars.
Central Kalimantan Governor Teras Narang, who also spoke to the AFP forum said that his side together with other sides was working hard to recover the ecological functions of forest lands.
So far, vast peat land in Kalimantan have been exploited after their bushes were to plant crops. Planting crops on peat land is much easier than on other types of soil because the planting activity can be carried out soon after bushes have been burnt.***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/A/S012) 22:35/.... ) (T.A014/A/A014/A/S012) 29-05-2009 23:16:05
Rabu, 15 April 2009
PEAT FOR DOLLAR, OR DOLLAR FOR PEAT?
By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 7 (ANTARA) - Katte Tolli, a 45-year-old farmer who owns a 5-hectare oil palm plantation in Jambi, Sumatra, was depressed when the crude palm oil (CPO) price plunged last year, while Kholil, 35, who also had a 5-hectare oil palm plantation, could still smile confidently.
"It's only temporary. The price will go up again, sooner or later," Kholil said trying to console his friend as the price of one bunch of fresh oil palm fruit (TBS) nosedived to about Rp300 - Rp400 per kg from over Rp1,000 previously.
Katte Tolli and Kholil are only two of oil palm farmers in Tankit Baru village which sits on a 1,200-hectare peat land enclave. Farmers in the village chose to plant oil palm because not many crops can grow on peat land.
However, planting crops on peat land is much easier than on other types of soil because the planting activity can be carried out soon after bushes have been burnt. Basically, pineapple is the most crop cultivated in the village, but since the prospect of CPO seems to be promising, some farmers begin turning to palm oil plantations.
Those whose plantations have been yielding sell their fruit to collectors who then resell them to big companies for exports. Thus, the dollars go to the investors. It is therefore not surprising if investors also compete to develop oil palm plantation 'to eye dollars from behind palm oil leaves.'
Amid criticism over the fast depletion of its forest areas and wetlands, Indonesia continues to develop plantations conducted by private companies and state-firms. Due to its aggressive oil palm plantation opening, Indonesia takes over Malaysia's rule as the world's biggest CPO producer.
Its crude palm oil production in 2009 is estimated to total 20 million tons, of which 4.5 million to 5 million tons will be consumed at home and the rest exported. If the price in March last year of US$1,200 per ton is taken into account, the country is expected to put US$18 billion into its pocket in earning from CPO exports.
This commercial aspect should not, however, lead the country to exploit its land, especially peat lands. Opening up of peat land or peat forest would dispose water content in it.
Once the water content is disposed from peat land for the interest of oil palm plantations, the land will become try and make it easier to catch fire.
"We should not repeat our past mistakes in opening up one million hectares of peat land for an economic growth reason, or any other reasons because doing so means eliminating water from its sources," Dr Bambang Setiadi, chairman of the Indonesian Peat-land Association, on the sidelines of a workshop on Wild Fire and Carbon Management in Peat Forest in Indonesia, on Thursday.
Peat forests hold bigger carbon sinks than other forests. Indonesia has some 27 million peat lands in Kalimantan, eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, with a combined carbon sinks of between 10,000 and 34,400 giga tons . Thus, Indonesia badly needs to protect its peat land as otherwise it would release multiple amount of carbon as compared with other forests, which could worsen the green house effect.
Moreover, destructive exploitations of peat lands for economic benefit could be exchanged with other schemes, where advanced countries are required to pay less developed nations for helping preserve carbon sinks in their forests.
"The spirit imbued in the Kyoto Protocol enables the adoption of a scheme where carbon projects could be exchanged with a payment of an amount in US dollar or in Euro currency for each ton of preserved carbon by developing countries," Dr Bambang Setiadi, who is also chairman of the National Standardization Agency (BSN), said.
The schemes could take the form of the Clean Management Mechanism or of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.
Virtually, Indonesia, when it hosted the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in December 2007, has drafted the REDD mechanism.
Host of 120.3 million hectares of forests, Indonesia set aside 37.5 million hectares of its forests for the REDD project. "If one hectare is paid US$10 a year, Indonesia will gain US$3.75 billion every year," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said at that time.
However, Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, a natural resources advocacy non-governmental organization, said the REDD scheme with which Indonesia is expected to get US$3.75 billion incentive a year, belittled the economic value of Indonesian forests.
Indonesian forests held 7,000 megatons of carbon sinks with an economic value of about US$134.5 billion.
Advanced countries must pay 134.5 billion dollars if they want to prevent Indonesia from releasing 7,000 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere through deforestation and peat land cultivation.
So, if this scheme works, the government should design how farmers like Tolli and Kholil would also enjoy the benefit so that they should not shed too much sweat to toil peat lands for dollars.
But Kholil only shrugged when told about the scheme. "We can sacrifice our land for money but will they sacrifice their money for peat," Kholil said. ***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/13:05/A/O001) (T.A014/A/A014/A/O001) 07-03-2009 13:38:16
Jakarta, March 7 (ANTARA) - Katte Tolli, a 45-year-old farmer who owns a 5-hectare oil palm plantation in Jambi, Sumatra, was depressed when the crude palm oil (CPO) price plunged last year, while Kholil, 35, who also had a 5-hectare oil palm plantation, could still smile confidently.
"It's only temporary. The price will go up again, sooner or later," Kholil said trying to console his friend as the price of one bunch of fresh oil palm fruit (TBS) nosedived to about Rp300 - Rp400 per kg from over Rp1,000 previously.
Katte Tolli and Kholil are only two of oil palm farmers in Tankit Baru village which sits on a 1,200-hectare peat land enclave. Farmers in the village chose to plant oil palm because not many crops can grow on peat land.
However, planting crops on peat land is much easier than on other types of soil because the planting activity can be carried out soon after bushes have been burnt. Basically, pineapple is the most crop cultivated in the village, but since the prospect of CPO seems to be promising, some farmers begin turning to palm oil plantations.
Those whose plantations have been yielding sell their fruit to collectors who then resell them to big companies for exports. Thus, the dollars go to the investors. It is therefore not surprising if investors also compete to develop oil palm plantation 'to eye dollars from behind palm oil leaves.'
Amid criticism over the fast depletion of its forest areas and wetlands, Indonesia continues to develop plantations conducted by private companies and state-firms. Due to its aggressive oil palm plantation opening, Indonesia takes over Malaysia's rule as the world's biggest CPO producer.
Its crude palm oil production in 2009 is estimated to total 20 million tons, of which 4.5 million to 5 million tons will be consumed at home and the rest exported. If the price in March last year of US$1,200 per ton is taken into account, the country is expected to put US$18 billion into its pocket in earning from CPO exports.
This commercial aspect should not, however, lead the country to exploit its land, especially peat lands. Opening up of peat land or peat forest would dispose water content in it.
Once the water content is disposed from peat land for the interest of oil palm plantations, the land will become try and make it easier to catch fire.
"We should not repeat our past mistakes in opening up one million hectares of peat land for an economic growth reason, or any other reasons because doing so means eliminating water from its sources," Dr Bambang Setiadi, chairman of the Indonesian Peat-land Association, on the sidelines of a workshop on Wild Fire and Carbon Management in Peat Forest in Indonesia, on Thursday.
Peat forests hold bigger carbon sinks than other forests. Indonesia has some 27 million peat lands in Kalimantan, eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, with a combined carbon sinks of between 10,000 and 34,400 giga tons . Thus, Indonesia badly needs to protect its peat land as otherwise it would release multiple amount of carbon as compared with other forests, which could worsen the green house effect.
Moreover, destructive exploitations of peat lands for economic benefit could be exchanged with other schemes, where advanced countries are required to pay less developed nations for helping preserve carbon sinks in their forests.
"The spirit imbued in the Kyoto Protocol enables the adoption of a scheme where carbon projects could be exchanged with a payment of an amount in US dollar or in Euro currency for each ton of preserved carbon by developing countries," Dr Bambang Setiadi, who is also chairman of the National Standardization Agency (BSN), said.
The schemes could take the form of the Clean Management Mechanism or of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.
Virtually, Indonesia, when it hosted the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in December 2007, has drafted the REDD mechanism.
Host of 120.3 million hectares of forests, Indonesia set aside 37.5 million hectares of its forests for the REDD project. "If one hectare is paid US$10 a year, Indonesia will gain US$3.75 billion every year," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said at that time.
However, Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics Indonesia, a natural resources advocacy non-governmental organization, said the REDD scheme with which Indonesia is expected to get US$3.75 billion incentive a year, belittled the economic value of Indonesian forests.
Indonesian forests held 7,000 megatons of carbon sinks with an economic value of about US$134.5 billion.
Advanced countries must pay 134.5 billion dollars if they want to prevent Indonesia from releasing 7,000 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere through deforestation and peat land cultivation.
So, if this scheme works, the government should design how farmers like Tolli and Kholil would also enjoy the benefit so that they should not shed too much sweat to toil peat lands for dollars.
But Kholil only shrugged when told about the scheme. "We can sacrifice our land for money but will they sacrifice their money for peat," Kholil said. ***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/13:05/A/O001) (T.A014/A/A014/A/O001) 07-03-2009 13:38:16
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