NEWS FOCUS -- EAST JAVA ACCELERATES FLOOD MITIGATION EFFORTS by Fardah

Jakarta, 13/3, 2019 (Antara) - Indonesia is currently transitioning from rainy to the dry season that usually begins in April or May.

However, high precipitation still occurred in several regions and triggered flooding in the provinces of West Java, East Java, Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sumatra, among others.

In East Java Province, floods, triggered by heavy rains and the overflowing of several rivers, had inundated 15 districts, since March 5, 2019.

The 15 flood-affected districts included Madiun, Nganjuk, Ngawi, Magetan, Sidoarjo, Kediri, Bojonegoro, Tuban, Gresik, Pacitan, Trenggalek, Ponorogo, and Lamongan.

In Madiun, the worst affected by flooding were 39 villages in eight sub-districts that were inundated, as the Jeroan River spilled over its bank.

Flooding affected 4,317 households, comprising over 17 thousand people; seriously damaged two homes, three dykes, and two bridges; submerged 253 hectares of rice fields; and swept away tens of cattle, goats, and poultry.

The Caruban-Madiun toll road section, spanning from KM 603+600 to KM 604+000, was also disrupted by the floodwaters for 24 hours this week.

Madiun District Head Ahmad Dawami has declared an emergency status for the period from March 6 to March 19, 2019, following the flooding. The letter, declaring the emergency status, was signed by the Madiun district head on March 6.

"Everyone concentrates on flood victims. The district administration has established disaster command posts in every flood-affected sub-district. Community health centers are also on standby," Dawami stated.

News Focus - CEPA MARKS NEW MILESTONE IN INDONESIAN-AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC TIES

Jakarta, March 11, 2019  (Antara) - The signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) has marked a new chapter in the economic relations between the two countries.

     The IA-CEPA creates a framework for Australia and Indonesia to unlock the vast potential of bilateral economic partnership, fostering economic cooperation between businesses, communities, and individuals.

     On March 4, 2019, the IAPA was officially signed by Indonesian Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment, Simon Birmingham, in Jakarta.

     The agreement had been negotiated since 2010 but was halted until November 2013. Later, in March 2016, the agreement had been reactivated.

      "The signing of this agreement is very valuable. After six years of consideration, it has been signed," Lukita stated, adding that it also reflects the strong economic bond between the two countries.

     The IA-CEPA will erase 100 percent goods tariff rate from Indonesia to Australia, and 94 percent goods tariff rate from Australia to Indonesia.

      By signing the agreement, both Indonesia and Australia will gain benefits, such as The Indonesian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG) market, which is expected to benefit from Australia's cheaper sugar, and Indonesian pesticides, which will be more competitive in Australian market.

     Indonesian Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto considered the signing of the agreement as a new milestone in the Indonesian and Australian bilateral relations.

      "The IA-CEPA will have a positive impact on the Indonesian and Australian economies in the long term," Hartarto noted.

Aceh to promote halal tourism

Jakarta, Feb 28, 2019 (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s western most province of Aceh is the only region in Indonesia that officially applies sharia (Islamic laws) in daily life, so when Aceh is determined to develop and promote halal (permissible according to Islamic laws) tourism industry, it knows exactly what it is.
As the province is rich in culture, arts, biodiversity, nature scenery, which are asset for tourism, the Aceh administration has decided to designate halal tourism as one of its priority products.
"Halal tourism has developed fast in the world. Hence, Aceh must take advantage of halal tourism. Hence, halal tourism should become Aceh`s priority product," Jamaluddin, head of the Aceh tourism and culture office, stated in Banda Aceh, recently.
Since 2014, there has been a boom in the world`s halal tourism market. Of the world`s total 6.8 billion population, at least 1.6 billion are Muslim, and 60 percent of them are under 30 years old. The Muslim travel market accounted for more than $142 billion in 2014.
It is projected that the number of Muslim travelers will reach some 180 million by 2020 and will constitute 11.4 percent of the market, with an expenditure projected to be $212 billion.
Recovering from the 2004 tsunami devastation, Aceh has approximately 803 objects of tourist interest and 774 cultural sites scattered across the province.

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LACKED ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 19, 2019 (Antara) - The second round of presidential election debate, held on Feb 17, 2019, was considered more interesting, but environmental NGOs were disappointed because major environmental issues, such as climate change, were not touched upon by both presidential candidates.

        Incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his challenger Prabowo Subianto discussed five themes, namely food, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, and the environment, chosen by the General Election Commission, during the debate, but they failed to see a common thread of the five themes, as they treated each theme separately.

        Besides, they were seen as lacking substantive plans offered in their debates. 
   During the debate, Subianto vowed to take stern measures against companies that caused environmental damages if he is elected president for the 2019-2024 term.

         "If I am given the mandate to lead the government of the Republic of Indonesia, I will certainly enforce the law. Stern law enforcement is a must against companies that do not implement the regulation," Subianto stated, emphasizing on firm legal enforcement to protect the environment.

         Subianto also promised to tighten the requirements for environmental impacts assessment and stated that there would be no short cuts to obtain project licenses.

            "This is, again, a matter of commitment. I will uphold a clean government that will not be collusive with environmental violators," he added.

            If he is elected president for the 2019-2024 period, he would reorganize the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and separate it into the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Forestry.

            Responding to Subianto's statement, Jokowi remarked that his administration has sanctioned 11 companies involved in forest and land fires in Indonesia. The total sanction amounted to Rp18.3 trillion.

          According to Jokowi, the government has been successful in overcoming forest and peatland fires in the past three years by strengthening the law enforcement.

        He also stated that the current administration had started to clean polluted rivers, including one in Citarum River of West Java.

         Jokowi also vowed to reduce fossil fuel consumption by encouraging the use of more biofuel and green fuel.

            The government has begun production of B20, a blend of 20 percent of biofuel with diesel, and it would proceed with the production of B100, which contains 100 percent of biofuel, he explained.

        Commenting on the substances of the debate, an NGO activist viewed that both candidates failed to make environmental issues a focus of their statements.

         "Both candidates still view the issues of food, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, and the environment as separate issues," Anggalia Putri, manager of knowledge management of the Madani Sustainable Foundation, revealed on Feb 18, 2019.

       They failed to see that the environment correlates with other issues and is even a major engine of the issues, she added.

           Jokowi emphasized on various policies, programs, and projects concerning the five themes of the debate. However, he did not elaborate much on the basic problems and the solutions, according to the NGO activist.

            "The discussions treat the five themes separately, as if they have no correlations with each other," she stated.

            Meanwhile, Subianto used populist words, such as independence, self-reliance, and national ownership versus foreign ownership.

            "But, he did not explain about the concepts on how to achieve food self-reliance and others," she added.

           The two candidates also did not mention about deforestation, forest degradation, and environmental rehabilitation during the debate, she stated.

         Another criticism came from the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), which expressed disappointment with the candidates for failing to mention the climate change impacts and forest issue.

          "It is a bit awful because climate change impacts and forest issues were not mentioned," Yuyun Harmono, campaign manager for climate justice of Walhi, revealed.

            The climate change is in fact an issue that covers every aspect, he noted. It is quite scary, from the climate change context, to learn about the optimism of both candidates over oil palm plantation, he revealed.

            Oil palm plantation and coal mining activities are both major contributors to emission, he remarked.

           If the two candidates still rely on oil palm and coal, it means they do not see the point of climate change, he added.

            They fail to link the economic policy and efforts to control the impacts of climate change, he revealed.

            "What worries me is that the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister has asked the Director General for Climate Change Control to review our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), in order to speed up the target to press the Earth's temperature increase below 1.5 degree Celsius from 2020 to 2019," he explained.

            The ministry has prepared measures for cutting emissions by accelerating mitigation efforts, he explained.

             The ministry has realized that the major contributors to emission are plantation and energy-based factors, he elaborated.

            However, he regretted that the two candidates failed to consider the crucial issue.

           "No one related their economic policy to climate change issue. This is worrying," he stated.  
    The impacts of climate change are apparent in Indonesia, such as rising sea levels, change in precipitation patterns, decrease in agriculture and fishery production, and increase in drought, flooding, and some vector-borne diseases. 
   Meanwhile, Greenpeace Indonesia was concerned by both presidential candidates' emphasis on the use of crude palm oil for developing biofuels, because it potentially contributed to an increasing rate of deforestation. 
    Indonesia is one of the world's largest biodiversity nations and has the world's third largest forest areas. The country has several environmental problems, such as deforestation and marine pollution, due to plastic wastes. 
   The country's forest conversion into oil palm plantation has become a spotlight internationally because Indonesia's forest is considered as the `lung¿ of the Earth for its function to absorb gas emission that has induced climate change. 
   In September 2009, the then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a commitment to reduce gas emissions by 26 percent of business-as-usual levels by 2020. But with international support, Indonesia can reduce emissions by as much as 41 percent.

         Indonesia will hold the simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on April 17, 2019.

    (F001/INE)

JOKOWI, FATHER OF INDONESIAN TOURISM by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 16, 2019 (Antara) - A "Father of Tourism¿ honorary title has been bestowed to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for a series of his initiatives and commitments in developing tourism industry in Indonesia.

        Jokowi received the title from Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) Hariyadi Sukamdani during a gala dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of PHRI, held at the Jakarta Convention Hall, in Jakarta, on Feb 11, 2019.
    Owing to Jokowi's policies, including on visa-free travel, Indonesia received nearly 16 million foreign tourist arrivals during 2018. The rise in tourist arrivals in Indonesia has surpassed the average increase in the regions.    
   During the Jokowi administration, the allocation of tourism budget has also increased, from Rp1.2 trillion in 2014 to Rp2.1 trillion in 2015; Rp3.3 trillion in 2016; Rp3.2 trillion in 2017; Rp3.4 trillion in 2018; and Rp3.8 trillion in 2019.

         "The honorary title was bestowed by PHRI on Mr. Jokowi for his initiatives and commitment to tourism development since he was the mayor of Solo," Sukamdani noted.

        The country's security and stability situation were also good under the administration of Jokowi.

        Infrastructure development projects, such as toll roads, 11 new airports, seaports, and power plants, constructed by Jokowi across Indonesia have directly affected the tourism sector.

         The increase in investment in hotel and restaurant development has reached 78.6 percent as of the first semester of 2018.

         The total number of tourists arriving in Indonesia in 2018 had reached 15.8 million foreign travelers and 265 million domestic visitors, according to Sukamdani.

HOPING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS OFFERED BY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES by Fardah

  Jakarta, Feb 16, 2019 (Antara) - Millions of Indonesian television audience hope that the upcoming second round of presidential election debate will be different from the previous one, which was considered unattractive due to cheat sheets given to presidential candidates several days prior to the debate.

          Incumbent Joko Widodo and rival Prabowo Subianto will meet in the second debate featuring five themes, namely energy, the environment, infrastructure, food, and natural resources.

          The second of the total five debates is scheduled to be held at Sultan Hotel, South Jakarta, on Feb 17, 2019, at 8 p.m. local. The General Election Commission (KPU) has vowed this time not to reveal the questions to the candidates in advance.      
    Unlike the first debate, Jokowi and his rival, Subianto, will face off in the second debate without the vice presidential candidates accompanying them.

         Indonesia will organize simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on April 17, 2019, across the country.

       Of its total population of 260 million people, over 185.6 million are registered as illegible voters in Indonesia.

        The 2019 presidential election is considered by many as a repeat of the bitter 2014 presidential race, wherein Jokowi and Subianto are again set to go head-to-head.

             Seeking a second term, 57-year-old Jokowi has picked Ma'ruf Amin (75), chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), as his partner, while retired general Subianto (67) has chosen Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (49), a successful entrepreneur and former deputy governor of Jakarta, as his running mate.