FOOD ESTATE PROJECTS MUST NOT CONTRIBUTE TO DEFORESTATION, WARN EXPERTS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 28/3/2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government last year started developing a food estate project in Pulang Pisau district, Central Kalimantan province to ensure national food security and resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

While it is currently spread over 30 thousand hectares of land, the size of the food estate will be extended over the next two years.

 

Now, the food estate project has been expanded to several other regions such as North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), South Sumatra, Papua, and Riau.

 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on February 23, 2021 reviewed the implementation of a food estate project in Central Sumba district, NTT. Currently spread over five thousand hectares comprising three thousand hectares of rice and two thousand hectares of corn fields, the estate will be eventually expanded to 10 thousand hectares to comprise 5,600 hectares of rice and 4,400 hectares of corn fields.

 

During his visit, Widodo said he is optimistic the food estate will encourage rice farmers in Central Sumba to harvest rice twice a year, and corn and soybean once a year.

 

"As per data I have received, 34 percent of the residents in Central Sumba live in poverty and farmers harvest rice only once a year. We want them to harvest rice twice a year and corn or soybean once a year," Widodo said.

 

To scale up the irrigation system for farming, the government has built a number of reservoirs and dams in NTT, an arid province that often bears the brunt of water shortages.

KALIMANTAN FOREST TO REMAIN INTACT DESPITE CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

Selasa, 27 Ags 2019 20:07

Daerah : Jakarta

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration has assured that the development of the capital city will not damage the environment and vowed that East Kalimantan forests will remain intact.

This comes after the government announced that parts of North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kertanegara Districts in East Kalimantan Province would be the location for the country’s new capital expected to be inaugurated in 2024, the year when Jokowi’s second term will end.

President Jokowi told the media August 26, 2019 that the two districts were selected, as they faced the least risks from natural disasters, including floods, earthquake, tsunamis, forest fires, and landslides.

Moreover, they are strategically located in the heart of Indonesia and near Balikpapan and Samarinda that are developed cities. Hence, basic infrastructure and facilities already exist. Besides, the government owns 180 thousand hectares of land there.

The decision to move from Jakarta was based on a three-year study conducted by the government.

"The results of the studies concluded that the ideal location for a new capital city will be part of North Penajam Paser District and part of Kutai Kartanegara District in East Kalimantan," President Jokowi, who has been re-elected for the 2019-2024 term, noted.

The work is expected to start in 2021 and cost up to Rp466 trillion (US$32.3 billion) to be covered by the State Budget (Rp74.44 trillion), Public-Private Partnership scheme (Rp265.2 trillion), and private investment (Rp127.3 trillion).

Relocating the capital city in Kalimantan has triggered debates on both sides. The island, also known as Borneo, is considered “the lung of the world” as it is home to vast forests that help absorb CO2.

RELOCATING INDONESIA'S CAPITAL TO KALIMANTAN, "THE WORLD'S LUNG" by Fardah

Jumat, 23 Ags 2019 22:24

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on August 16, 2019, officially announced his plan to move Indonesia’s capital city to Kalimantan Island and asked for the Parliament’s permission for that purpose.
On August 22, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Sofyan Djalil spoke of East Kalimantan as the most likely location for the new capital city. However, Jokowi later denied the assertion and said that studies are still on to decide the location.
In May 2019, Jokowi visited Kalimantan to look for a location for his plan and one of the options was Bukit Soeharto (Soeharto Hill) Forest Park located in Samboja Sub-district, Kutai Kartanegara district, East Kalimantan Province. Between 200,000 and 300,000 hectares are needed to host the new capital city.
Pros and cons emerged in the public regarding Kalimantan also known as Borneo, as the host of the capital city to replace Jakarta. Several young people recently interviewed by TVOne expressed their objection. They specifically mentioned that Kalimantan has so far served as "the lungs of the world", and the massive development needed to build a new capital city would destroy a part of the island's forests.
Located near Balikpapan City, Bukit Soeharto Forest Park hosts the Wanariset Samboja Orangutan Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Center, as well as an education forest managed by the University of Mulawarman.
Balikpapan also has the Sungai (River) Wain Protected Forest (HLSW) which has extraordinary biodiversity including endangered fauna such as sambar deer, orangutans (Pongo pygmaues), sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), and nearly 200 species of birds.
Surrounding Balikpapan, there are also many primary forests, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs on its coastal area.

PROTECTION OF FORESTS REMAINS A GLOBAL CHALLENGE by Fardah

Jakarta, May 11, 2017 (Antara) - Forests are essential to life on Earth, as they are a valuable natural resource that house various flora and fauna, provide wood, and also help to conserve soil and water and fight climate change.

          As forests transcend borders, their protection not only becomes the responsibility of one country but also the entire world.

          Efforts to protect, preserve, and restore forests were discussed by delegates from 27 countries during the First Asia Bonn Challenge High-Level Round-table Meeting held in Palembang, South Sumatra, on May 9-10.  
     The delegates also identified ways to collaborate to undertake forest landscape restoration (FLR) efforts to support the Bonn Challenge.

          The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of the world's deforested and degraded land areas by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.

          Underlying the Bonn Challenge is the FLR approach, which aims to restore ecological integrity at the same time as improving human well-being through multifunctional landscapes.

          It is overseen by the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as its Secretariat.

GOVT EXTENDS FOREST CLEARANCE MORATORIUM, VOWS TO LISTEN TO NGOs By Fardah

     Jakarta, May 20,2015 (Antara) -- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has extended the moratorium on granting new concessions over forest and peatland areas by two years, after it expired on May 13.

        The news about the extension of the moratorium was released by the Cabinet Secretariat after President Jokowi received Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya at the State Palace in Jakarta recently.          
   Indonesia's forests, which is the third largest in the world after those in Brazil and Congo, holds some of the world's most diverse ecosystems---from endangered orangutans and rhinos to Rafflesias, the biggest flowers on earth.

        The extended moratorium on forest clearance is crucial to help realize the country's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Indonesia by 26 percent by 2020 and by 40 percent with international support.    

FOREST PRESERVATION CRUCIAL FOR SURVIVAL OF ORANG RIMBA by Fardah

Jakarta, April 22 (Antara) - Forest and Sumatra's Orang Rimba tribe are inseparable, and they could not survive without each other.

         For the semi-nomadic tribal community living in Jambi's forest, losing forest means losing home, therefore Orang Jambi tribal members have the interest of preserving forest area.

         Recognizing the importance of both forest and Orang Rimba tribe, Norwegian Prime Minister  Erna Solberg was willing to walk far into a muddy tick forest to meet the tribal community in Senamat Ulu traditional forest area, Bungo District, Jambi Province, central Sumatra, on April 15, 2015.    
    The lady prime minister, who was accompanied by Indonesia's environmental affairs and forestry minister, Siti Nurbaya, had a dialog with some members of the tribes and listened attentively to what they said.

         During the dialog with Norwegian prime minister, members of the Orang Rimba tribe recalled the starvation they had suffered as they could not hunt or harvest forest products since most of the forest area within their range had vanished.

Year Ender - 2013, HISTORICAL YEAR FOR INDONESIA'S FOREST PROTECTION by Fardah

  Jakarta, Dec 31, 2013 (Antara) - During the past one year, the Indonesian government has made several historic policies and breakthroughs for the preservation of its forest, the world's third largest after the Amazon in Brazil and Congo's forest, if they are implemented properly.

          Indonesia has over the past year among other things established Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Agency;   extended forest moratorium for another two years to prevent new clearing of primary forests and peat lands; and signed the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade - Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) with  (EU)  to fight illegal timber trade.

Year-Ender -INDONESIA'S REDD+ AGENCY SET TO BE IN FULL SWING by Fardah

    Jakarta, Dec 28, 2013 (Antara) - A new agency to protect Indonesia's rainforests is ready to begin work to implement a first of its kind environmental program.

         President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed Presidential Regulation No. 62/2013 on August 31, 2013, entitled Managing Body for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), concluding a process that took more than two years.

RI-EU FORESTRY AGREEMENT BREAKTHROUGH AGAINST ILLEGAL TIMBER by Fardah

     Jakarta, Oct 21, 2013 (Antara) - The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade - Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) was signed by Indonesia and the European Union (EU) following six years of negotiations involving government officials, civil society, and the private sector.

         Indonesia is the first Asian country and the largest timber exporter to enter into such an agreement, which aims to ensure that all Indonesian timber entering the EU market is produced legally and has passed all legal verification channels with the EU.  

NEW REDD+ AGENCY ESTABLISHED, TO HELP IMPROVE FOREST MANAGEMENT By Fardah

     Jakarta, Sept 20, 2013 (Antara) - To demonstrate its commitment towards reducing gas emissions, the Indonesian government has recently established a new agency to implement the "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Plus" (REDD+) programme.

 
The REDD+ Managing Agency has been set up based on the Presidential Regulation No. 62 Year 2013 on Managing Agency for the Reduction of Emission from Deforestation and Degradation of Forest and Peatlands, which was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 31, 2013.

MORATORIUM EXTENSION NEEDED FOR BETTER FOREST GOVERNANCE by Fardah

    Jakarta, May 14, 2013 (Antara) - A tag of war between environmental groups and forest industrialists have resumed as Indonesia's regulation on a two-year moratorium on new licenses for forest clearing in primary natural forests and peat lands, will expire on May 20, 2013.

         The presidential instruction no.10 /2011 on forest moratorium  itself had to go through a long and winding road before it was finally issued in May 2011 following pros and cons regarding the policy.

         Strong lobbies of forestry businessmen had reportedly forced the government to delay the regulation release for several times.

INDONESIA'S FOREST MORATORIUM NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED, EXPANDED: EXPERT

     by Fardah and A. Fitriyanti  
    Jakarta, May 6 (Antara) - Indonesia's forest moratorium should be extended and expanded in order to be effective in further reducing gas emissions and deforestation rate, according to an expert.

         "The greenhouse gas emission reduction Indonesia reached 8.3 percent. It's a lot, but it could be expanded by among other things reviewing the existing concessions," Jonah Busch of the World Resources Institute (WRI), said here on Monday.

INDONESIA URGED TO EXTEND, STRENGTHEN MORATORIUM ON DEFORESTATION by Fardah

      Jakarta, April 28, 2013 (Antara) - A number of non-governmental organizations have urged the Indonesian government to extend two-year moratorium on deforestation which will expire in May 2013, to protect the country's remaining forests and peat lands.

         In May 2011, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed long-waited  Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011 on Moratorium on New Logging Concessions for Primary Forests and Peat lands, after a prolonged tug of war between environmentalists and business lobbyists.

         Under the moratorium, no new licenses for logging concessions in parts of the country's primary forests and peat lands can be issued.

HEART OF BORNEO DESIGNATED AS "WORLD'S LUNGS" by Fardah

     Jakarta, Feb 17, 2012 (ANTARA) - Kalimantan Island or also known as Borneo is host to a vast area of the country`s remaining tropical rainforests where various endemic flora and fauna can be found. 

      Rainforests in the Heart of Borneo also have a crucial function as the lungs of the world because they produce oxygen needed to help overcome the impact of climate change.

Year-ender: DEFORESTATION MORATORIUM, REDD+ DECREES IN PLACE FOR FORESTS PRESERVATION by Fardah

      Jakarta, Dec 5, 2011 (ANTARA) - Hosting the world's third largest forest area, Indonesia  badly needs a legal basis to protect and preserve its remaining tropical forests that are often referred to  the "world's lung."
    Indonesia has a very high deforestation rate at 1.1 million hectares per year, and has been accused as the world's third-largest gas emitter.  

C KALIMANTAN HOSTS REDD+ PILOT PROJECT by Fardah

     Jakarta, Sept 22, 2011 (ANTARA) - Central Kalimantan Province which still has a vast area of virgin forests has been selected to host a REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus) pilot project , a program designed to preserve forest ecosystems and tackling climate change.
       The initial pilot project was launched by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan and Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Gregory Laurence Moriarty in Kapuas District, Central Kalimantan Province, last September 15, 2011.

Forest Eleven Countries Acknowledge Communities` Role In Conservation by Fardah

     Jakarta , June 11, 2011 (ANTARA News) - Forest Eleven (F-11) member countries possessing tropical forests have reaffirmed the importance of the communities` role in forest conservation.
      "Communities have proven to be able to manage forest sustainably" although they use different models and approaches, representatives of the F-11 member countries stated in the last day of their three-day meeting at Senggigi tourist resort, West Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Friday (June 10, 2011).

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY FOCUSES ON FORESTS by Fardah

  Jakarta, June 6, 2011 (ANTARA) - The government organized an  Indonesian Environment Week expo in Jakarta June 1-5 to mark World Environment Day (WED) 2011 which was observed globally on June 5.        

     The Indonesian Environment Week 2011 had 180 stands displaying among other things recycled goods and environmentally friendly products.

LONG-AWAITED DECREE ON DEFORESTATION MORATORIUM DRAWS MIXED RESPONSES FROM NGOs by Fardah

       Jakarta, May 20, 2011 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally signed the long-awaited Presidential Instruction on deforestation moratorium to help curb the climate change impacts and preserve the remaining tropical forests and biodiversity in it.

      The news on the two-year moratorium decree was revealed to the press by Agus Purnomo , a presidential aide for climate change affairs, here Thursday (May 19).

FORESTRY MINISTER PLEDGES PRO-PEOPLE, PRO-GROWTH POLICIES by Fardah

      Jakarta, April 27, 2011 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has joined the world in celebrating the International Year of Forest 2011 as declared by The United Nations General Assembly to celebrate people`s action to sustainably manage the world`s forests.
      The International Forest Year 2011`s theme is "Forests for People".