INVESTORS INTERESTED TO DEVELOP LAKE TOBA by Fardah

   Jakarta, Nov 22, 2017 - The North Sumatran provincial government has set an ambitious target of attracting at least one million foreign tourists to visit Lake Toba by 2019.

         The figure is nearly four folds higher that the number of tourists visiting Lake Toba in 2016, which was only 240 thousand. Until September this year, some 197 thousand tourists had visited the area.

         The target of tourist arrivals this year is set at 300 thousand, and next year it is 500 thousand.

         The target might be achievable, as Lake Toba is not just an ordinary water body but is the largest volcanic lake on Earth.

          Lake Toba and Samosir Island, which is located in the middle of the huge lake, offer a complete tourism package encompassing beautiful scenery, unique Batak culture and traditions, and intriguing history.

         The ancient lake was formed by a steep-walled caldera produced during the Toba volcano's eruption, the largest known volcanic eruption on the planet in the past two million years. The powerful eruption, an extremely rare event, is called a supervolcanic eruption.   
     When viewed from space, the Toba caldera is one of the most striking volcanic craters on Earth, measuring 100 kilometers (km) in length and 30 km in width.

         The local government hopes that the Toba Caldera Geopark would be inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2017.

         Moreover, Lake Toba has been designated by the central government as a priority tourist destination, along with nine other tourist attractions, or popularly called as "10 New Bali."

RELEASED PAPUANS IN DIRE NEED OF EDUCATION AND MEDICAL FACILITIES by Fardah

 Jakarta, Nov 21, 2017 (Antara) - Sarce Rumaropen Beanal, 28, is hopeful that she and her son would have a better life while temporarily staying in Timika sub-district, Mimika District, Papua Province.

         She recalled the ordeals that her family and other fellow villagers had faced over the last several months, including during the hostage-taking incident that occurring for about three weeks in her kampong and several other neighboring villages.

         Beanal said her eight-year-old son Jeferson Beanal was unable to go to school for several months.

         "My son has stopped going to school since a landslide occurred in Utikini last August. Moreover, when the situation in our kampong becomes unsafe due to the shooting incidents, children never go to school again. Hence, we have decided to go to Timika," Beanal noted in Timika on Nov 20, 2017.

          The young mother and son are among 804 of residents of the villages of Banti and Kimbeli, Tembagapura Sub-district, Mimika District, who are currently taking refuge in Timika, because they were in dire need of education and medical facilities, as well as food.

         They joined the evacuation process, organized by the Indonesian security authorities on Nov 19, after they, along with hundreds of others, were released by the officers.

        Some 1,300 people, comprising of over 850 indigenous Papuans and 346 migrant workers, had been held hostages by an armed criminal group (KKB) in several villages in Tembagapura for about three weeks.

            The integrated military and police task force of Indonesia managed to release them and drive away the hostage takers on Nov 17.

W SUMATRA SET FOR NINTH TOUR DE SINGKARAK by Fardah

 Jakarta, Nov 16, 2017 (Antara) - West Sumatra Province is ready for the implementation of the Ninth Tour de Singkarak (TdS) cycling race, which will take place from Nov 18 to 26, 2017. 
    Some 230 cyclists, grouped in 20 domestic and foreign cycling teams from 30 countries, will participate in the sports tourism event.       
    Part of the Union Cycliste Internationale race series, the TdS will involve 18 of the total 19 districts and cities of the province.  
    The TdS, themed "The Biggest Sport Tourism" and part of a tourism promotion initiative, will be divided into nine stages, covering a total distance of 1,150 kilometers.

         The grand start will be from Tanah Datar District and the grand final in Bukittinggi.

             The  first stage is Istano Basa Pagaruyung-Padang covering 109.3 kilometers on Nov 18; the second stage, South Pesisir-Sawahlunto measuring 155.9 kilometers on Nov 19; the third stage, Sijunjung-Dharmasraya spanning 161.3 kilometers on Nov 20; the fourth stage, Solok-Payakumbuh District  reaching 106.4 kilometers on Nov 21; the fifth stage, Solok City-South Solok covering 153.2 kilometers on Nov 22; the sixth stage, Pariaman-West Pasaman measuring 145.7 kilometers on Nov 23; the seventh stage, Limapuluh Kota-Padang Panjang spanning 112 kilometers on Nov 24; the eighth stage, Padangpariaman-Agam reaching 135.2 kilometers on Nov 25; and the ninth stage, Pasaman-Bukittinggi covering 117.2 kilometers on Nov 26.

ROHINGYA CRISIS BECOMES SPOTLIGHT ON SIDELINES OF 31ST ASEAN SUMMIT by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 14, 2017 (Antara)- The international media have reported that a draft of the statement to be issued at the end of the 31st ASEAN Summit held in Manila on Nov 13-14, would not mention the ongoing prolonged humanitarian crisis happening in Myanmar's Rakhine State, home to over one million Rohingya ethnic minority.

         This is not a surprise for ASEAN which follows principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of one another. But, individually and in bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the Manila Summit, Rohingya plight is not totally forgotten.

         During a bilateral meeting held in Manila on Nov 13, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres agreed to the need to immediately address the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State.

         "If it is not solved (immediately), the crisis could affect regional stability and security. A prolonged crisis could trigger radicalism and even terrorism," President Jokowi said.

         Jokowi and Guterres shared a common concern regarding the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, where Rohingya people were prosecuted and discriminated.       
    They called for a speedy solution to the problem and for the signing of a memorandum of understanding on repatriation between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the neighboring country that has some 600 thousand Rohingya refugees.

         In September, Guterres said the situation in Rakhine was best described as ethnic cleansing.  
    During the bilateral meeting, Guterres lauded the Indonesian government and people for helping the prosecuted Rohingya people.

         The Indonesian Government has approached the Myanmar Government to return peace in Rakhine, and sent humanitarian aid for the affected communities both in Rakhine and in the border of Bangladesh.

         The Indonesian government will again send humanitarian aid comprising 30 tons of rice, one ton of sugar, 2,004 packages of instant food, 14 thousand blankets, 20 emergency tents, 10 water tanks, 600 packages of family kits, and 900 packages of clothing to Bangladesh.

INVESTMENT CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO INDONESIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH by Fardah

  Jakarta, Nov 11, 2017 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is optimistic of its economic growth, as the nation has managed to record a seven percent growth in investment this year, the highest over in the past several years.

         The country's economy grew 5.06 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017, driven mainly by the consumption sector, and partly owing to the growing investment rate, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

         "The growth rate of 5.06 percent, perhaps, was not up to expectations, but some areas, in terms of the data, were very interesting. Investment grew seven percent, the highest in the past several years. This is what we want," Head of the National Development Planning Board and Minister for National Development Planning Bambang Brodjonegoro noted while opening the Indonesia Infrastructure Week 2017 in Jakarta on November 8, 2017.

         Moreover, the construction sector grew seven percent, and positive performance was also recorded in the manufacturing sector, which grew more than four percent, though not up to expectations.

         "The investment sector grew seven percent, the manufacturing sector grew four percent, and the construction sector also grew seven percent. This means there has been a lot of investment in the construction sector, either in property or infrastructure. We begin to see that investment in infrastructure is not only from the government but also from the private sector," he noted.

PARTNERSHIP CRUCIAL TO ACHIEVE INDONESIA'S PEATLAND RESTORATION TARGET by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 11 , 2017 (Antara) - Peatland restoration is one of the priorities of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s environmental agenda, which is aimed at partly preventing forest fires and addressing climate change impacts.

        In January last year, Jokowi established a Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), through Presidential Regulation No. 1/2016, in order to coordinate and accelerate the recovery of peatlands.

       Indonesia's peatlands are estimated to cover an area of 20.6 million hectares, or about 10.8 percent of Indonesia's total land area.

        Peatlands help to preserve water resources, mitigate flooding, prevent seawater intrusion, support biodiversity, and control the climate through carbon absorption and storage.   
   According to BRG's target, a total of 2,492,527 hectares of peatlands would be restored within a five-year period, with the completion target set at 30 percent in 2016; 20 percent each in 2017, 2018, and 2019; and 10 percent in 2020.  
     This year, the BRG plans to build some 5,600 canal dams that could wet 400 thousand hectares of peatlands, thereby preventing forest fires.

         The restoration program in that area is carried out in cooperation with the local people trained to build water canals in line with the concept of the BRG to wet the dried peatlands.

         Forests and peatland fires in 2015 affected the health of millions in Sumatra and Kalimantan, in particular, as well as in several neighboring countries. The forest fire disaster has cost Indonesian economy an estimated US$16.1 billion.

        The agency has allocated some Rp152 billion, or some 36 percent of its total budget this year.

        "Some Rp117 billion (of the Rp152 billion) will be channeled to build infrastructure and revitalize the economy, while Rp35 billion will be allocated to strengthen the agency, as well as to boost its capacity and empower the agency," Myrna Safitri, BRG's deputy of education, socialization, participation, and partnership, noted in Jakarta on Nov 1, 2017.

        According to Safitri, the BRG has maintained partnership with some civil groups and the local governments to restore peatlands in several targeted provinces, such as Riau, Jambi, South Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Papua.

       Safitri revealed that the peatland office, along with the civil groups, have built some supporting infrastructure, such as canal partitions and wells in dozens of villages.

        She remarked that the office has launched a pilot project to manage land without setting fire to trees and initiated the development of the local commodity, maritime and livestock businesses, and honey culture.