Indonesia pursues wind power

UPI, July 5, 2012

UPI File Photo/Pat Benic

JAKARTA, July 5 (UPI) -- Indonesia is investing in wind power to cut its import bills of fossil fuels.

State utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara Director Nur Pamudji said his company is eager to see the country's second large-scale wind farm begin operations by the end of 2013.

UPC Renewables Indonesia and Binatek Reka Energi are constructing the $100 million, 50-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Samas in Yogyakarta, which will house 16 to 33 turbines.

Pamudji said, "This will be Indonesia's second wind farm after the one in Sukabumi. It will be the largest. UPC Renewables will study the investment plan and come up with a price. Then we will sign power-purchase agreement," the Jakarta Globe reported Wednesday.

Pamudji added PLN is interested in purchasing electricity from the UPC Renewables Samas wind farm because it would save billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on costlier fuel imports.

Binatek Reka Energi Director Erwin Jahja said, "This wind power project is safe for the community and will help Indonesia achieve its target for the use of clean energy."

Public cars to get free gas converter kits: Govt

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/09/2012

The government plans to distribute free natural gas converter kits to public transportation vehicles as part of the subsidized fuel limitation program, said Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa on Monday.

"We have not decided the scheme for private cars yet but numerous possibilities of incentives are on the table. For instance, we can subsidize the loan interest [for those who buy the kits through credit]," Hatta told reporters at the Presidential Office.

State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia is reportedly prepared to produce the kits and supply them to support the conversion program.

The government has announced the plan to limit the use of subsidized fuel by private cars on the islands of Java and Bali, starting in April.

The government has begun campaigning on the plan this week.

The Finance Ministry said the government has allocated Rp 900 billion (US$ 99 million) for the fuel-to-gas conversion program.

Part of the funds will also be used to support the development of new gas stations.

Hatta said that the government would prioritize the construction of new gas stations along the route of public transportation.

"Our target is to produce the kits and construct as many gas stations as possible," he said.

Government told to switch from coal to cleaner energy

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon | Fri, 07/09/2010 10:36 AM

International environment group Greenpeace has urged the Indonesian government to immediately stop using coal as an energy source for industry and power generation due to its detrimental impacts on the environment and people’s health and welfare.

Southeast Asia Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Arif Fiyanto said that coal also exacerbated the impacts of climate change.

“We have to push for the use of alternative energies, which are cleaner and renewable to replace coal and other fossil fuels,” Arif Fiyanto recently told The Jakarta Post in Cirebon, West Java.

Greenpeace was in Cirebon from July 3 to 5 as part of its activities to establish the Anti-coal Asian Community Network and campaigning for clean and renewable energy. The campaign was jointly supported by Cirebon’s Kanoman sultanate palace and a local environment group.

The police later dispersed the campaign and detained 15 of its activists, including 13 foreign nationals, for questioning before they were deported by the immigration office, which cited visa violations.

The activists come from China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Arif said that coal use should be immediately stopped to prevent huge losses in the future.

The biggest actual threat experienced by the Indonesian and international communities is climate change and global warming from the impacts of unclean energy use, such as coal. One negative impact on the socio-economic living of communities in East Kalimantan and Cirebon, West Java, is from excessive coal use and mining.

“There is proof that coal use has not contributed to people’s socio-economic standing. In East Kalimantan and Cirebon, people’s welfare has instead worsened since the presence of coal mines and coal power stations, as many people have lost their sources of livelihood,” said Arif.

“The government should instead immediately stop using coal and replace it with alternative cleaner energy sources.”

He said it would not be difficult for Indonesia to replace unclean energy sources.

“Potential energy sources, such as the sun, wind, waves and geothermal are abundant, but have not been exploited,” said Arif, adding that the clean energy sources could produce energy with economic value.

“Indonesia has the world’s biggest geothermal reserves, 40 percent of the global supply. Geothermal energy would have high economic value if it is exploited well,” Arif said. 

In order to switch to cleaner and renewable energy, he said the government needed strong political will.

Indonesia going green

Antara News, by Andi Abdussalam, Saturday, June 12, 2010 12:23 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - In an effort to create a clean and healthy environment and overcome climate change, the Indonesian government is implementing a green concept and called on various businesses to apply it as part of their attempt to achieve their emission reduction program by 26 percent by 2020.

"Development efforts in Indonesia must implement the Green Development or Green Economy concepts which are in essence friendliness to the environment," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Radjasa said over the weekend.

He said Indonesia`s development efforts are facing three big challenges, namely food and energy sufficiency and provision of efficient energy supplies but to meet all these, development efforts must be carried out based on a green concept to balance economic growth with environmental conservation.

"Therefore, the Green Economy concept is suitable for application in Indonesia`s development projects," he said.

The minister made the remarks after attending the topping off of Grand Royal Panghegar Apartment which implemented the Green Economy concept in Bandung, West Java. On the occasion Hatta expressed his appreciation to the Grand Royal Pangegar owner for having implemented the concept.

"I will report it to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, about this," he said.

President Yudhoyono said on Thursday the government must prioritize green economic development strategy which is environment friendly in order to prevent ecosystem degradation that demands big rehabilitation cost. It must implement triple-track-plus-one economic strategy, namely pro growth, pro job, pro poor, plus pro environment.

Therefore, Indonesia will continue to develop a green economic concept in an effort to improve the welfare of its people and overcome the threat of climate change. "The green economy has become a kind of new economic ideology in the world in the 21st century," the President said.

Green economy is needed because the world today is facing a great challenge from climate change the impact of which is already being felt with the emergence of a number of crises in the world such as food, energy and water crises.

"Green economy is a life style in the world and in Indonesia, a system which does not exploit to the full extent the energy and natural resources," he said.

He said the environmental aspect must not be forgotten in the economic development, or otherwise the rehabilitation works to improve the damaged environment might reach 20 percent of the GDP.

"There is an interesting article, which writes that economic-driven national development which ignoring the environment, in the long term, will cost 20 percent of the GDP for rehabilitating damaged environment. We should be aware of that," he said.

Therefore, the green concept must be applied in carrying out various development programs, including the tourism, property development and the real sectors besides other sectors such as transportation.

Many business sectors have responded to the green concept. In the tourism sector, some hotels and aviation have implemented it.

The Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) has the "Green Energy" program to reduce gas emissions from airplanes. Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said he supported the Green Energy campaign in the transportation sector, especially in air transportation, as it would help mitigate the impact of global warming.

"By applying the Green Energy concept, gas emission in Indonesia could be cut by up to 26 percent by 2020," Numberi said when talking on the sidelines of an INACA meeting. Every airline operator should contribute to the success of the program, he said.

INACA Chairman Emirsyah Satar, concurrently president director of Garuda Indonesia airways, said Garuda has officially become one of 15 airlines in the world that have joined the carbon offsetting effort. Aviation industry growth in Indonesia is now the third highest in the world after China and India, according to Satar.

Indonesia`s plan to reduce gas emissions by 26 percent until 2020 will cost around Rp400 trillion. "We hope not all of the funds will have to come from the government. The figure is dynamic or can still change," the secretary of the state minister for national development planning, Sjahrial Loetan, said meanwhile.

Some hotels have also followed suit. The Bali Hotels Association (BHA), a group of over 100 star-rated hotels in Bali held an environment workshop at Kuta`s Hard Rock Hotel, as a part of series to provide a new concept of green for everyone.

"The workshop contributes to BHA`s endeavors to furthermore educate and train its employees as part of its social responsibility to provide a better and cleaner future for all local communities", Gareth Warne, BHA Director of Environment, and GM of Nusa Lembongan Resort & Sail Sensations Catamaran, said in Denpasar, recently.

During eight lectures over 100 participants had been informed of practical hands on solutions on saving energy, water management, recycling, carbon offset, and green corporate social responsibility programs.

In the property sector, the office of the Ministry of People`s Housing is drawing a regulation on incentives for developers which support the green property development concept. "We are preparing it as part of our commitment to facing the global climate change challenge," Iskandar Saleh, secretary to the Minister for People?s Housing, said.

The government is also planning to provide certification for the buildings or housings built by developers who are able to apply the eco-green or green property concept.

In this case, the Jakarta Garden City (JGC) is determined to build 9,000 houses within 10-15 years ahead with the green property concept.

"We have strong determination to develop these houses with the green property concept in line with the appreciation we received from the international real estate federation (FIABCI) in Bali recently," said President Director of JGC Lim Seng Bin.

In the telecommunications sector, Telkomsel has also gone green. Telkomsel is a telecommunications operator which has the biggest number of go-green base transceiver stations (BTS), or 132 bts in Southeast Asia.

"Of the 132 units of BTS, some 20 BTS are already developed with the go-green concept, of which 14 BTS are using solar cells and six others using fuel cells," Regional General Manager Network Operation of Telkomsel for North Sumatra Moelqy Furqan said.

Bali to turn garbage into fertilizer

Antara News, Saturday, April 24, 2010 15:41 WIB

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Bali provincial administration is exploring ways to turn garbage into non-organic fertilizer in a bid to promote environmental cleanliness on the island of paradise.

"In the 2010 amended regional budget (APBD) the local government will allocate funds to build three garbage management factories," Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said at a meeting with various public elements here on Saturday.

The governor said the first phase of small scale garbage management factories would be built around the area of Besakih temple in Karangasem, Goa Lawah in Klungkung, and Kintamani Batur temple in Bangli.

The environmentally-friendly factories at the three locations are expected to manage and turn the garbage in those areas into non-organic fertilizer.

"We want to turn the garbage there to have economic value for the local people," the governor said in the company of his deputy Aan Puspayoga.

On the occasion, Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the garbage management into non-organic fertilizer was in line with the local government target to make Bali a green province.

"If such a pioneer project yields a good result, the number of small scale garbage management factory will be increased," the governor said.

US Embassy Makes Indonesians Go Online for Visa Applications

Jakarta Globe, Putri Prameshwari, April 14, 2010

The United States Embassy in Jakarta will adopt a greener approach to visa applications by going paperless next month, an official said Wednesday.

Jeffrey Tunis, consul general of the embassy in Jakarta, said that starting May 1, all visa applications must be submitted online instead of printed out and brought to the embassy.

“We have entered the Internet age,” he said, adding that the application process will be easier if done online.

The new form, DS 160, will be available to download on the embassy’s Web site, he said. After filing online, applicants must wait for approval from the consular office for an interview.

Robert Hawkins, the embassy’s vice consul, warned people to be aware of illegal agents offering quick visas. He said they often tricked applicants into using forged documents, which in the end were not approved.

“Around 5 percent of applicants are still caught using false documents,” he said, adding that the embassy approves an average of 60,000 applications per year.

Of that number, 40,000 are for business and tourism purposes, 8,000 are for seamen, and 2,000 for students.

He also said that approximately 80 percent of those applying for business and tourism visas here are granted entrance to the United States.

Tunis said that the number had been decreasing since Sept. 11, 2001, with a further downturn during the global financial crisis beginning in 2008.

“We used to get around 80,000 before that,” he said, “nowadays, people don’t travel as much.”

He said that the process of getting a visa is more complicated since the attack on the World Trade Center in New York. However, he encouraged more Indonesians to apply.

“If an applicant has all the required documents, the application should not take longer than two days,” he said.

Tunis also said that people with certain Muslim names should not worry about being denied a visa, as many fear.

“All names will be scanned with our database,” he said.

However, he said, people with certain names will go through additional scanning.

Related Article:

Visa application declined? Too bad

China to build electric bicycle factory in East Kalimantan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 04/13/2010 7:08 PM

Chinese electric bicycle producer Zhejiang LVJIA Vehicle Industry Co. Ltd has planned to build a factory in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said Tuesday after signing a memorandum of understanding together with Zhejiang manager Taizhou Zhejiang that his province had allocated 50 hectares of land for the factory construction.

"The electric bicycle is without fuel, it fits East Kalimantan Green program," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The electric bicycle would be sold at US$600 a unit

Come clean

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/26/2010 5:35 PM | Jakarta

Come clean: Jakarta government employees hang two containers carrying 20 cubic meters of garbage in front of the National Monument in Central Jakarta. The display marked the launch of jakartabersih.com to promote a clean city by Governor Fauzi Bowo on Friday. - JP/Indah Setiawati

Govt prepares Rp 1.2t for railway revitalization

Eny Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/26/2010 11:10 AM

The government has prepared budget of Rp 1.2 trillion (US$131.6 million) to relocate squatters living next to three major railway stations in Jakarta, with some to be returned to their regions of origin, in a bid to restore the facilities.

The government has chosen three stations — Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta, Kota in West Jakarta and Senen in Central Jakarta — in its pilot project to clean up slum areas around the stations. As of last year, around 4,000 families resided at the stations.

Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono told a press briefing on Thursday that the budget for the moves would come from the 2010 and 2011 state budget allocations. This money would mainly be used to build low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) for the squatters and to construct fences and parks around the stations.

It was not immediately clear when the apartment development projects would begin, nor the locations, but Agung said “we expect the relocation and revitalization programs at those stations will be completed by 2011. If they are successful we will continue in other provinces.”

Deputy Governor Prijanto said the city administration would begin the relocation only once the construction of the low-cost rental apartments was complete.

Prijanto said his office had allocated Rp 10 billion to build roads along the railway routes. “These roads will be five meters away from the tracks and will enable fire trucks to enter the area if there are fires.”

Another Rp 2 billion would be spent to build parks and waste facilities at the stations, he said.

Also present at press briefing were Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, Social Services Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufrie and State Public Housing Minister Suharso Monoarfa.

Around 1,000 mahogany seedlings were planted around the three stations during the event.

“The stations [had no squatters] when we visited them last year. But now, we see the squatters have returned,” Agung said, adding that optimal efforts were needed to address the problem.

Agung said his office would coordinate with the Social Affairs Ministry, Public Works Ministry, State Public Housing Ministry and city administration to organize the slum areas.

“Those who possess Jakarta identity cards will keep on staying at the capital. But some of those lacking ID will be returned to their regions of origin,” he said.

State railway company (PT KA) Greater Jakarta spokesman Sugeng Priyono said the directorate general for railway affairs at the Transportation Ministry should build a three-meter-high fence around railway stations to prevent squatters from occupying the areas.

Sugeng said evicting the squatters was a complicated procedure that required synergy between various departments.

“In this case, the railway company will help facilitate transport costs to return the squatters free of charge,” he said.

"One billion Indonesian trees for world` launched

Antara News, Monday, March 22, 2010 15:21 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has launched a more massive tree planting program called "One Billion Indonesian Trees for the World", according to the forestry ministry.

The new program was kicked off following successes in previous programs such as `Indonesian Contemporaneously Planting Action` (2007 and 2008), `Women`s Movement of Tree Planting and Caring` (2007), `Indonesian Tree Planting Day launching` and `the National Planting Month (2008)`, and `One Man One Tree`, the forestry ministry said in a statement received by ANTARA here on Monday.

The government has allocated a DIPA BA budget for procurement of 36 million seedlings this year and hopes to get 300 million more from the private sector, state companies, NGOs, regional governments and other donors.

Additional 320 million seedlings are expected to be received from Community and Rural Forest program, 300 million from Forest and River Basin Rehabilitation program, and 50 million from People`s Forest Partnership program.

The "One Billion Indonesian Trees for the World" program is also aimed at improving the welfare of the people especially those living near forest areas, according to the forestry ministry.

The ministry urged the Indonesian people to participate in the program.

"In the next five to 10 years, the Indonesian people will enjoy the beauty of a green Indonesia with prosperous and disaster-free people," the statement said.

Car rally tours architectural landmarks for greener Jakarta

Eny Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/08/2010 10:04 AM

Ride on: Members of Mercedes-Benz Club Indonesia convoy in "Mercedes-Benz Rally Batavia: Tribute to Indonesia" on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta on Sunday. The convoy also planted 3,000 trees along Jl. Sedyatmo and the East and West Flood Canals. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

More than 150 vintage car connoisseurs joined the Rally Batavia II on Sunday to visit some the city’s historical spots and to witness the planting of 3,000 trees as part of efforts to make Jakarta greener.

Participants drove vintage and classic Mercedes-Benz models from 1953 to 2009 during the event, that also marked the 40th anniversary of the German carmaker’s presence in Indonesia.

“The rally was fun. We got to see places that we did not know before,” Yuniadi H. Hartono, one of the participants, said.

He added the event had also given him and other participants a chance to share with underprivileged children at the Darussa’adah Islamic Foundation by donating school equipment.

The rally began at City Hall and ended at Pintu Satu, Senayan.

During the five-hour rally, participants passed through old sites, such as the Schouburg building (now the Jakarta Arts Playhouse), Gedong Joang 45 and the National Gallery in Central Jakarta.

Apart from passing by the architectural landmarks, participants also witnessed the planting of a trembesi (rain tree) by Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo along Jl. Sultan Agung, South Jakarta.

Around 300 rain trees with heights of between 5 to 6 meters were planted. The same number of trees were planted along the Sedyatmo toll road while more than 2,000 trees were planted in the East Flood Canal area.

The president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, Rudi Borgenheimer, said the number of trees planted was the symbol of what they had achieved last year.

In 2009, the company sold 2,884 units.

“We want to continue [doing this activity] next year as part of our corporate social responsibility [CSR] program,” Borgenheimer said.

The governor said after the planting that the city parks and cemeteries agency would look after the trees.

“Some auto firms like Honda and Toyota Astra have given their support for the planting activity. I hope there will be more corporations doing the same,” Fauzi said.

South Jakarta Mayor Sahrul Effendi said that a similar planting activity would be conducted by other companies in Tebet this month.

“Apart from companies, we expect residents to plant trees around their neighborhoods,” Sahrul said.

The city administration is encouraging the public and companies to plant trees to add green space and minimize the risks of possible floods.

In 1965, more than 35 percent of Jakarta was made up of green areas, but this has been shrinking ever since. Currently, green areas in Jakarta account for only 9.3 percent of the city’s 661,000 square meters of land, far less than the target of 30 percent set by the 2007 Spatial Planning Law.

Environmental damage in S Kalimantan alarming : minister

Antara News, Saturday, November 28, 2009 00:59 WIB | Environment

Banjarmasin (ANTARA News) - Environmental damage in South Kalimatan has reached an alarming level, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said here on Friday.

He said South Kalimantan, known as the "province of one thousand rivers", would some day be hit by big floods if the serious environmental problem was not addressed properly.

"Uncontrolled deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution over the past 15 years are major problems in the province," the environment minister said.

The minister said fires and illegal logging activities in the 2003-2007 period alone had destroyed more than 1.7 million hectares of forest in the province.

He said the extensive forest damage in the province had diminished the water flows in river basins and therefore floods and landslides frequently happened.

In 2007 alone floods hit the province 32 times and in 2008 and 2009 the number continued to increase because of silting up of rivers and illegal logging activities.

Such a condition, according to environment minister, was worsened by the malfunctioning of rivers as a result of domestic and industrial activities.

To overcome the problems, the local government would launch clean-water and blue-sky programs, in addition to the construction of waste water management systems, and rehabilitation of degraded forests.

Airport gets ambassadors in rollerblades

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 02/26/2009 1:58 PM  

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II launched Wednesday an "Airport Ambassador" program to promote a clean airport environment and provide mobile information services for travelers. 

The program will see company officials patrolling the terminals on rollerblades, doing quick clean actions like picking up stray litter and tidying up mats, and helping airport users in need of information. 

The officials will be able to speak English and Indonesian, and will be recognizable by their orange shirts. 

Angkasa Pura spokesman Trisno Heryadi said the program was aimed at educating the public on the importance of a clean airport, as well as providing a value-added service. 

"The airport is the country's gateway, so it's important to ask for public participation to keep it clean," he said. "Also, it will give airline passengers an additional service by providing them with unique assistance while at the airport," 

The ambassadors will start full duties Friday at Terminal 1A and will move to another terminal after a week. 

"We'll evaluate the program over the next three months and may add more ambassadors for more terminals if we find it a success," Trisno added. 

Soekarno-Hatta, the busiest airport in the country, currently serves 34 million passengers a year. (hwa)

Monas gets endangered Merbau trees

The Jakarta Post, Tue, 02/10/2009 2:39 PM  

JAKARTA: The National Monument (Monas) park became the home of Merbau trees Monday, after the Central Jakarta administration planted the endangered trees. 

The Central Jakarta administration planted 10 endangered Merbau and Bulian trees at Monas park after receiving a 100-tree donation from the Forestry Ministry. 

The Merbau once stretched across Southeast Asia as far as the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and some Pacific Islands. 

But after heavy exploitation, the tree can only be found in three countries - Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia.

"A lot of our trees have high economic value and are smuggled *abroad*, but our own children have never seen them," Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban sais as quoted by beritajakarta.com. 

City prepares Rp 24.5b for new look BMW Park, stadium

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/30/2008 6:28 PM  

The Jakarta administration has allocated Rp 24. 5 billion (US$2.2 million) for the refurbishment of Bersih, Manusiawi dan Berwibawa (BMW) Park and its new stadium in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. 

Jakarta youth and sports agency head Ery Basworo on Tuesday told tempointeraktif.com that his office would use the fund to begin the project next year. 

"In the first stage we have set aside Rp 20 billion for the foundations and Rp 4 billion for detailed engineering designs, while the remaining Rp 500 million is for environmental analysis," Ery said, adding that his office needed a total Rp 400 billion to complete the refurbishments and stadium. 

Previously, North Jakarta public order officers tore down hundreds of dwellings on the park site, forcing thousands of illegal squatters to leave. 

The administration had announced plans to restore the 66-hectare park as part of efforts to add some 55,540 square meters to the city's green areas. The plan included the addition of an international sports stadium to the park. (ewd)

Governor kicks off low-cost apartments construction

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 12/24/2008 1:38 PM  

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo kicked off the construction of low-cost rented apartments in Pulogebang of East Jakarta on Wednesday in a bid to provide affordable homes for poor residents, tempointeraktif.com has reported. 

The governor said on Wednesday that the apartments would accomodate residents who wanted to remove from their previous living places, such as under toll bridge and slum areas. 

“I have expected that people who occupy the apartment can keep it well so that it won't turn out to be another slump and dirty area,” he said, adding that the apartment is scheduled to be complete by nexy year. 

Beside Pulogebang, he added, the city administration and developers would construct another apartment in Muara Baru in Pluit of North Jakarta. 

“The apartment will provide homes for people who want to move from their places that are above Pluit dam to the apartment,” he said. (ewd)

ADB lends $500 mln to clean up dirtiest river

The Jakarta Post

The Associated Press, Manila | Fri, 12/05/2008 2:17 PM  

The Asian Development Bank on Friday approved a $500 million loan for cleaning up Indonesia's Citarum River, calling it the world's dirtiest. 

The Manila-based lender said the Citarum basin supports a population of 28 million people, delivers 20 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product, and provides 80 percent of water supply to the capital, Jakarta. 

But rapid urbanization over the last 20 years has seen a rise in untreated household sewage, solid waste and industrial effluents, posing threats to public health and imperiling the livelihood of poor fishing families, the bank said.

The loan package, available over the next 15 years, will support sanitation projects and construction of waste treatment plants in the river basin to provide safe water supply to poor families who use the polluted river for fishing, bathing and laundry. 

"Rapid urbanization, climate change, environmental degradation, public health and food security are all important issues challenging water resources management in Asia and the Pacific region," said Christopher Morris, an ADB senior water resources engineer. 

The loan also will allow the cultivation of an additional 61,700 acres (25,000 hectares) of rice paddy, benefiting 25,000 farming families, he said. 

The river management program also aims to supply water to 200,000 more households in Jakarta. It will ultimately increase Jakarta's water supply by 2.5 percent yearly, and benefit millions by resolving critical water shortages in Bandung, Indonesia's fourth largest city, the bank said.

First Lady to launch tree planting movement

Jakarta  (ANTARA News) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, to be accompanied by Mrs. Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, will plant breadfruit and coconut trees to mark the launch of a tree planting movement for women at Ancol Ocean Park, here, on December 1. 

The theme of last year`s movement was "Plant and Care 10 Million Trees" in an afford to help deal with the global warming. The theme of the 2008 tree planting movement will be "The food resilience of family." 

"Therefore, this year we will plant fruit-bearing and edible trees. Besides planting trees, we will also provide fingerlings to the people," Erna Witoelar, coordinator of the tree planting movement, said here on Thursday. 

The nation-wide movement will focus on planting and caring of edible trees, medicinal trees, and fingerling breeding for daily consumption of the people, according to Erna Witoelar, a former environmental affairs minister. 

"This is to ease the impacts of the current global food and energy crises which have affected the Indonesian people, especially the women," she said. 

To support the tree planting movement, the forestry ministry has provided around five million seedlings of breadfruit, durian, mango and other fruit-bearing trees. 

The fishery and marine ministry provides 30 million of fresh water fingerlings and 500 tons of seaweed seeds. Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry gives 2 million seedlings of horticultural trees and 2.5 million of crops seedlings. 

Witoelar said that the 2008 movement would be used as a momentum to empower the country`s women to help deal with the food and health problems. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to launch the Indonesian Tree Planting Day 2008 on November 28, 2008. 

First Lady Kristiani Herrawati Bambang Yudhoyono has won a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) award for her efforts in encouraging Indonesian women to plant 1 million trees simultaneously across the country last year.

PLANTING A GREENER FUTURE

The Jakarta Post     |  Fri, 11/28/2008 7:57 PM  |  Jakarta

 

  

Volunteers plant a tree in a city park area in Srengseng, West Jakarta, on Friday. Three hundred volunteers participated in a Jakarta urban greenification program by planting 1,000 trees in the forested park. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)