Jakarta Globe, Fidelis E Satriastanti, May 19, 2011
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| An area of rainforest in a South Sumatran national park, left, and a nearby deforested peatland with two trees still standing. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed a decree banning the conversion of forests for two years. (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad) |
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has finally signed the presidential decree declaring a two-year moratorium on new logging concessions in Indonesia.
The news was confirmed on Thursday afternoon by Agus Purnomo, a presidential staff for climate change.
The moratorium on new concessions in peatland and primary forests is part of a bilateral agreement with Norway, in exchange for which Indonesia will receive $1 billion in funding for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD-plus) activities.
The moratorium was expected to begin on Jan. 1, but was delayed pending the signing of the presidential decree. It is not yet clear when the moratorium would officially go into effect.
Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta has previously said that despite the lack of a decree, the moratorium had been in effect all year.
“We’ve banned clearing of peatland and primary forests since the start of the year,” Gusti said in March. “We’ve already stopped issuing permits. The decree is only to provide legal certainty.”
Deforestation is one of the primary sources greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming. Indonesia, the world’s third-largest emitter, has one of the fastest rates of forest clearing.
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