VP opens renewable energy conference 2012

The Jakarta Post, Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta, July 17 2012

Boediono: (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)

Vice President Boediono kicked off the 2012 Indonesia Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation conference and exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Tuesday.

The event, which was initiated by the Indonesian Renewable Energy Society (METI) and is supported by the government, is open to the public from July 17 to 19.

“The technologies for developing renewable energy have been advancing rapidly. They have also become much more economic. We are lucky to have such diverse sources of energy ... that we can rely on in the future,” Boediono said at the opening ceremony.

He said it was important to synchronize political, economic and environmental aspects to support the development of the country’s renewable energy and energy conservation policies.

Aside from the conference, as many as 75 international and local companies working in the energy field are participating in the event to showcase their products and achievements in renewable energy innovation. (iwa)

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Clean power asia conference in nusa dua to focus on renewable energy

Antara News, Sat, May 12 2012

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Clean Power Asia Conference (CPA), with an expected 600 professionals and experts in the field of renewable energy and cleaner fossil energy in attendance, is scheduled to be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, on 14-16 May 2012.

"The conference also brings together energy ministers from various countries, regulatory agencies, power companies, investors, and providers of services and technology to discuss the latest developments in Asia related to renewable energy and energy from fossil fuels," said Director of the CPA Program Daria La Valle in a press statement received here on Saturday.

According to Daria, Indonesia has become the model for countries in Asia in the use of electrical energy derived from renewable and clean fossil fuel.

"Indonesia is a country with the greatest potential in Asia for renewable electricity generation by clean fossil fuel," he said.

He noted that Indonesia contains the largest geothermal resources in the world. In addition, he said Indonesia has great potential in the field of bioenergy, solar, and water.

"If this potential is combined, then Indonesia would be a great power source for renewable electrical energy in Asia," he said.

He noted that speakers at the conference include Datuk Loo Took Gee, who served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia; Dr Songpope Polachan, Director General of the Department of Mineral Fuels Thailand Ministry of Energy; and Hatsady Sysoulath, Director General for Promotion of Renewable Energy Agency Ministry of Energy and Mines Laos.

Also speaking will be Dr. Lavansiri the Director, Chairman of the Thailand Energy Regulatory Commission; Dr Kardaya Warnika, Director of New Energy, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation and the Ministry of Mineral Resources; Nur Pamudji, President Director of PT PLN, and Shinta W Kamdani, Vice-Chairman Chamber of Commerce and Industry / Chamber of Commerce.

Others speaking at the conference will be Datuk Mohd Nazri Shahruddin, Vice President Director of Power Plants Malaysia Tenaga Nasional Berhad; Yokihiro Hirabayashi, Deputy Director of International Business Development Department of Japan`s J-Power; Dr Nattakit Parkpoom, Expert Planning Division of Energy Systems Power Plant Thailand EGAT; Heru Dewanto, Commissioner of PT Cirebon Electric Power, and Anupam Datta, Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation GM India.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

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Aceh to host international nurses conference

Antara News, Sat, May 21 2011

Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - Aceh province is to host an international nurses conference next June 16-18, chairman of the local Nurses Association , Saifuddin AR, said here on Saturday.

Under the theme "Clinical Nursery to face the Future", the June conference would bring together nurses from around the world to share their experiences.

He said the event was expected to contribute to the betterment of health services to the people.

"The event is also a chance for Aceh province to show to the participants the current situation in the region," he said adding that up till now, 300 participants namely from Norway, Sweden, Thailand and Malaysia had confirmed their plans to attend the upcoming event.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

Experts advise against building nuke power plants in RI

Antara News, Thu, May 12 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A number of experts at a seminar on the welfare and safety aspects of nuclear power plants have advised against building such facilities in Indonesia.

Dr Ing Negah Sudja, former secretary of the Commission to Prepare the Building of Nuclear Power Plants, said the cost of constructing such a facility in Indonesia would be astronomical and not be economically viable.

Speaking at the seminar organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) here Thursday, he said although fueling a nuclear power plant would be less costly than other types of power generating facilities, "there will be other, very huge expenditures."

Among the other expenditures was the construction cost which would be 3 to 5 times the cost of a coal-fired thermal power plant because of the need for multi-layer safety precautions.

Citing examples, Negah said a contract to build four nuclear power plants with a capacity of 1,400 MW each between the United Arab Emirates and Korea had cost 20.4 billion US dollars. Another contract between Turkey and Russia for the construction of four units with a capacity of 1,200 MW each required 20 billion US dollars in funding.

In addition, the nuclear plants owner had to pay enormous sums for insurance and the safe storage of nuclear waste materials, Negah said.

Prof Rinaldy Dalimi PhD, a member of the National Energy Council (DEN), said Indonesia actually did not need to build nuclear power plants, if the government could correct some basic weakness or mistakes in its energy management policies.

Explaining his view, Rinaldy said Indonesia had very great energy potentials : its crude oil reserves still stood at 86.9 billion barrels, its natural gas reserves at 384.7 TSCF, coal reserves at 104 billion tons, hydro-power reserves at 75.67 GW, geothermal reserves at 27 GW, and biomass reserves at 49.81 GW.

"Regretfully, 75 percent of our coal production and 50 percent of our natural gas output is exported. Although we also import crude oil, a large portion of our own crude production is also exported. This is related to the long-term contracts the government has signed with foreign contractors whereby it has lost control over crude oil and gas production and export," he said.

"So to make our own energy sources capable of meeting our own needs, the government should correct its wrong energy management policies rather than build nuclear power plants." Rinaldy said.

Dr Irwan Kurniawan, head of the Nusantara Business Institute for Management Research and Development, said the world`s uranium reserves of 5.469 million tons were only enough to meet the global need of 65,405 tons per annum for a period of 83.6 more years. But because the world`s need for electricity was growing at 2.7 percent per annum , the uranium reserves would actually be sufficient for only 44 years.

"Meanwhile, Indonesia`s uranium reserves of 53,000 tons are enough to meet the needs of five 1,000-MW nuclear power plants over a period of 25 years. So Indonesia also does not have enough uranium to maintain nuclear power plants for up to 50 years," Irwan said.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

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Yudhoyono Opens International Corruption Conference

Jakarta Globe, May 10, 2011

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Fighting corruption is not just a moral imperative but also a democratic, political, social, and economic obligation, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says.

Yudhoyono made the statement in his opening address at the International Conference on Foreign Bribery in Business Transactions 2011 in Bali on Tuesday.

Present in the conference were Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials and representatives of law enforcement and corruption eradication from the G-20, OECD, APEC and Asian Development Bank, as well as national and foreign observers.

“This gathering is truly a corrupter's worst nightmare! Thank you for taking part in this very important conference, to talk about combating bribery in international business transactions,” Yudhoyono said, adding that fighting graft had been a cornerstone of his administration.

Commenting on bribery cases, the president said the money spent on bribes meant the money was not used to improve roads, schools and hospitals.

“By turning a blind eye to a bribe here and a bribe there, we are compromising the quality of life for ourselves, our parents, our children. We all pay the price. Ultimately, bribery robs all of us of true progress and economic growth,” Yudhoyono said.

He said that even today, systemic corruption continued, and in developing countries, it did so by taking advantage of the global financial network.

The corrupt exploit the international financial network, covering their tracks in foreign jurisdictions, he said, adding that as long as these “safe havens” existed, people would continue to siphon money and send it overseas, he said.

“We cannot keep on supporting this endemic problem,” the president said, adding that the World Bank estimated that bribery accounted for some 3 per cent of the world’s economy, or more than $1 trillion dollars.

He said bribery was prevalent in tax evasion efforts, and it was also rife in the investment sector, particularly foreign investment.

But Yudhoyono said law enforcement agencies were not keeping idle for some 150 companies and individuals, in more than 10 countries have been charged with bribery and duly punished.

“Today, some 250 cases remain under investigation. Yet, these efforts have not been enough.”

Antara

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Global Companies Slated to Go Green At Business Meet

Jakarta Globe, Fidelis E. Satriastanti | April 27, 2011

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More than 200 companies from around the globe are expected to attend a key summit in Jakarta this week, where they will sign a pledge to cut their carbon emissions and adopt eco-friendly practices.

The commitment is one of the highlights of the Business for Environment summit (B4E), led annually by the World Wildlife Fund, which runs from Thursday through Friday. A pre-summit event it held on Wednesday.

The meeting encourages executives and entrepreneurs to help solve pressing environmental issues by creating green economies, protecting biodiversity and reducing their carbon footprints. It also promotes the UN’s forestry conservation program.

Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, deputy chair of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), one the event partners, said the summit was in line with Indonesia’s target to cut emissions by 26 percent by 2020.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is scheduled to address the summit on the second day, has said the country could reduce emissions by 41 percent with international assistance.

“Reaching this is possible,” Shinta said on Tuesday.

“If the companies [agree with the] meeting’s goal, they will be required to help achieve emissions-cutting targets through projects,” she added.

Shinta said the pledges, to be announced by the firms before the summit’s close, would reveal their ideas on the best strategies that they believe would help the environment.

But she said the government should also do its part in encouraging the private sector to adopt more eco-friendly practices in their operations.

“I always say to the government that if we want to do this [cut emissions], then we would have to give these companies incentives,” she said.

“We obviously want to achieve the target, but we need to examine the economic condition,” she said. “We are private enterprises engaged in commercial — not voluntary — activities.”

“This is not a form of corporate social responsibility, so it will need the proper support [from the government],” she added.

Senior officials, including Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy, will participate in the summit.

Shinta said Kadin was preparing a list of recommendations on how the government could encourage companies, particularly those in the banking sector, to go green.

She added that the Indonesian Business Council, a unit of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, would also be launched during the summit.

WWF-Indonesia head Efransjah said firms played a major role in helping conserve resources as well as prevent further environmental damage.

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Yudhoyono Hopes to Impress Foreign Leaders With $280m Bali Convention Center

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana | January 27, 2011

Plans are underway for the construction of a new $280 million convention center in Bali that will serve as the main venue of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held on the island in 2013.

The convention center was requested by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a means of boosting the country’s image on the international stage, Turman Siagian, the head of the planning bureau at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said on Thursday after an APEC planning meeting.

“The president would like to dedicate the very best to increase Indonesia’s image in the eyes of the international community,” he said.

The annual APEC summit is attended by the heads of state of 21 Pacific Rim countries, and is held to promote free trade and cooperation between member states.

Turman said the Bali International Park will be built on a 54-hectare plot of land in Jimbaran, Badung district.

Aside from seating 10,000 people in its assembly hall and 2,500 more in a secondary hall, the facility will also be equipped with a commerce center, an exhibition space and a cultural center.

Heads of state will stay in 21 residential units within the compound during the summit, according to Frans Bambang Siswanto, commissioner of project developer Jimbaran Hijau.

“The budget projection for the Bali International Park is estimated at $280 million,” he said.

Additional facilities will include a hotel, an international standards medical clinic, and art market and gallery, Frans said.

A tower symbolizing peace will be the focal point of the convention center compound.

The project is slated to begin sometime early this year and is targeted for completion by April 2013 in time for the summit.

“After the APEC summit, Bali International Park is designed to be a comprehensive tourist destination that can serve as an alternative to the other tourist spots in Bali,” Frans said.

When asked why the island needed a new convention center, Turman said the Bali International Convention Center in Nussa Dua was no longer suitable for large-scale events as it had only 5,000 seats and lacked the proper amenities for hosting foreign dignitaries.

Aside from the convention center, other infrastructure is also being built, such as a new toll road that will connect Denpasar and Nusa Dua.

Indonesia to host WEF 2011

Antara News, Thursday, January 20, 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is to host the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia on June 12-13, 2011, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said here on Thursday.

"We will take advantage of it because we will also host ASEAN Summit in October this year to put Indonesia in the role of leadership in ASEAN and East Asia region," Mari said.

She said it would be the first for Indonesia to host WEF after its neighbor countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan have ever been trusted to be the organizing committees.

"It will be the first time for us to host the World Economic Forum, and we hope Indonesia will take a leadership role and become the central power in Southeast Asia and East Asian region," Mari said.

The minister said global issues related to commodity prices volatility, food resilience, and energy resilience would be among the topics of discussion at the forum.

"The topics of discussion will be the same as that during WEF in Davos, and it will be a challenge for the government, business world, and private party to step up the industry, investment, and technology -- especially agriculture and climate change technology to face with extreme climate change," Mari said.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Mari said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would lead Indonesia`s delegation in the 41st World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland next January 26-31,2011.

The minister said she would accompany President Yudhoyono to the forum with several senior officials such as Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, Investment Coordinating Board` (BKPM) chair Gita Wirjawan and leaders from national enterprises namely Bank Mandiri, BNI, Garuda Indonesia, Bhumi Resources, Indorama and Gunung Sewu.

KNPI to hold int’l climate change conference

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/10/2011

The National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI) will hold an international youth conference on climate change to involve participants from 120 countries in February.

The event will take place between Feb. 19 and 27 at several venues at Senayan Sports Complex in Central Jakarta. Beside seminars, the event will also take participants on field trips to three national parks: Tanjung Puting in Central Kalimantan, Takabonerate in South Sulawesi and Komodo in East Nusa Tenggara.

Chairman Ahmad Doli Kurnia said that his organization wanted to communicate the issue of climate change to young Indonesians. He said that Indonesians should be the leaders of climate change, because the country had one of the largest forests in the world.

“We are targeting to have 200 to 250 participants. We will involve related stakeholders such as NGOs and youth organizations. We will also involve foreign students or expatriates living in Jakarta to support the event,” he said.

For registration or further information about the event, the public can log on to the official website at iyfcc.org.

TEDx Again Inspires Indonesia With Raft of Innovative Ideas

Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto | December 19, 2010      

Jakarta. Participants of the sixth TEDx Jakarta conference were mesmerized on Sunday by inspiring presentations on a range of topics by a digital inventor, a designer and an educator, among others.

Anies Baswedan, rector of Paramadina University,
 gave an update of Indonesia Mengajar (Indonesia Teaches),
a program that sends young high achievers to isolated
 regions across the archipelago to teach for a year.
(Photo courtesy of DDB Indonesia)    

TEDx Jakarta is a local version of the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference based in California.

The event at Usmar Ismail Hall in Kuningan, South Jakarta, was the second such event for the year, TEDx Jakarta’s co-curator Lalitia Apsari told the Jakarta Globe.

She added that TEDx Jakarta events are held three to four times annually.

On Sunday, Chandra Tresnadi, winner of the 2010 Indonesian ICT award (Inaicta) for his interactive, multiplayer batik Internet game, showed his invention on a large touch-screen display.

“The idea was to create a game that would promote social interaction and participation as well as communication with strangers,” he said.

Chandra also said he wanted to present batik to the public in a very accessible way.

Adi Panuntun, whose video-mapping project at Fatahillah Museum in West Jakarta in March drew 50,000 visitors, was also invited to speak.

“At the time [of the Fatahillah project] I found a challenge in the quest for public space in Jakarta. And since my background is design, I saw [and presented] things differently,” he said.

Back in March, Adi made a documentary about Jakarta and projected it on the facade of the Fatahillah Museum.

“In the film, the museum was the actor. I used the building to tell a story,” he said, adding that he called the technique “video mapping.”

Rene Suhardono, career coach and author of “Your Job is Not Your Career,” urged attendants to reconsider their conceptualization of happiness and passion.

“I would like to challenge everyone here to do 21 different things every day and write or tweet about it,” he said.

Betti Alisjahbana, former chief executive of IBM, talked about ITB Untuk Semua (ITB for All), a scholarship that also offers soft skills courses.

Anies Baswedan, rector of Paramadina University gave an update of Indonesia Mengajar (Indonesia Teaches), a program that sends young high achievers to isolated regions across the archipelago to teach for a year.

“Those on the front-line of education — the teachers — are crucial. That’s why we send these young people, to lead and to inspire,” Anies said.

Also addressing the event was Irma Windi Lubis and a group of 10 children from Sanggar Roda, an organization in East Jakarta, that gives youngsters non-formal education and moral support with the help of music.

The event organizers said they had to work hard to find a diverse group of speakers on various topics, which is the prime characteristic of all TED events.

“There are a lot of inspirational speakers we would like to invite, but aside from big names we also want to introduce those who are less familiar,” Lalitia said.

Arief Aziz, Karina Sigar and Kartika Anindya were longtime fans of TED videos — available on YouTube — and after they found out that TED launched TEDx, they immediately contacted the California committee.

“The first three events [we organized] were held for 80 attendants, where we would watch TED videos together and invited several speakers. But we got requests to hold a bigger event,” Arief told the Globe. The current event is their sixth.

Anton, 27, works in advertising and Sunday marked his first visit to TEDx Jakarta.

“I’ve been subscribing to TED videos since college and was excited to know similar events are held here,” he said, adding that he hoped more speakers from other disciplines would attend.

“An astronomer for instance — topics that are outside of the mainstream,” he added.

Atten Dhaniel, 22, went to TEDx for the first time after his teacher talked about the videos. After attending the third event, he decided to offer his services as a volunteer.

Dhaniel believes TEDx events have great educational value.

“My favorite was the talk on nanotechnology,” he said.

Edison, a business analyst for an oil company in his late 20s, was upbeat about his first TEDx experience.

“The atmosphere is very energizing, young, and creative. I am excited to listen to all speakers,” he said.

Bali hosts 6th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 12/02/2010

Bali was to host a two-day national conference on palm oil in Nusa Dua, starting Thursday.

The so-named Indonesian Palm Oil Conference, this year themed “Sustainable Palm Oil: Benefit to the Socio-Economic Development”, the sixth since 2005, will discuss issues of sustainable oil plantation, price prediction for the short and long term as well as market challenges.

Mona Surya, the conference's committee chairman, said the number of participants this year would be 1,000, up from 872 participants in 2009.

Mona said that among those participants were representatives of 24 countries, including Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Japan, China, Rusia, Thailand and the United States.

“People support this program because Indonesia is now the biggest crude palm oil producer in the world,” Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association chairman Joefly J Bahroeny said as quoted by  Kontan.co.id business news portal.

Kadin hosts EU-Indonesia Business Dialogue

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/29/2010

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and five European business chambers launched the 2-day EU-Indonesia Business Dialogue in Jakarta on Monday to boost trade and investment.

Indonesia and the EU were strategic partners that shared complementary economic interests, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said on Monday.

Senior EU trade relations official Rupert Schlegelmilch said that the EU was Indonesia’s second largest export partner.

“The EU is also a [foreign direct investment] source for Indonesia with around 50 billion euro ($US66.19 billion) and over 700 European companies in the country,” he said.

Leaders of Indonesia companies will meet high-level representatives from European companies to discuss strategic business during the conference.

LPB To Host Int`l Conference on agricultural technology

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 16:25 WIB

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - The Seventh International Conference of the Asian Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture (AFITA) will be held in Bogor, October 4 to 7, 2010.

AFITA President Prof Seishi Ninomiya will official open the conference, according to Prof Kudang Boro Seminar of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

A number of Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Japan, India, China, Korea and Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Malaysia will participate in the four-day seminar.

Individual invitees from Bangladesh, Mongolia, Israel, Pakistan, Laos, Bhutan and Iran will also join the meeting.

The conference will be organized at the IPB`s International Convention Center (IICC).

The upcoming conference will discuss a set of excellent or promising Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based solutions for improving agricultural-based production systems and commerce to achieve their objectives.

The previous AFITA conferences had been organized respectively in Japan (1998), South Korea (2000), China (2002), Thailand (2004), China (2006), and again Japan (2008).

The Asian Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, AFITA was founded in January 24, 1998 in Wakayama City, Japan.

The conference`s participants will discuss issues among other things on: Rural economies and ICT policies for rural development; Extension and knowledge repository services; Agricultural resources data banks and data mining; Remote Sensing and GIS applications for agriculture and precision farming; Agricultural Information System; Decision Support Systems for agriculture and agribusiness, Weather prediction models for profitable agricultural production; ICT applications in natural resources management; and e-governance standards/metadata and data standards in agriculture.

Papua holds workshop on forest conservation

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 15:47 WIB | Environment

Jayapura (ANTARA News) - The Papua provincial forestry office and the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature)-Indonesia Sahul Papua office are organizing a two-day workshop on forest conservation here starting Thursday.

The workshop would discuss identification of high-value conservation areas to support sustainable development in Papua, Benja Mambai, program director of WWF-Indonesia Sahul Papua office, said here Thursday.

Some 26 participants representing the Papua and West Papua provincial administrations, academicians and NGOs are attending the workshop.

Bengkulu to host int`l meeting on earthquake

Antara News, Thursday, September 30, 2010 15:07 WIB

Bengkulu, Sumatra (ANTARA News) - An Asia-Pacific meeting on earthquake will be organized in Bengkulu Province, Sumatra Island, late 2010.

Some 16 Asia and the Pacific countries would participate in the meeting, Nana Sudjana, head of the Bengkulu provincial natural disaster mitigation office, said here Thursday.

Bengkulu is prone to earthquakes. In September 2007, Bengkulu was rocked by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake which killed at least 18 people and injured around 50 others.

The temblor seriously damaged 6,745 houses, and lightly damaged 13,184 others.

The natural disaster also damaged 277 houses of worship, 885 education facilities, 400 government offices, 331 healthcare facilities, 310 roads and bridges and 194 irrigation systems.

Indonesia to host Global Peace Festival of Asia Pacific 2010

English.news.cn, 2010-09-09

JAKARTA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will host the Global Peace Festival of Asia Pacific 2010, a world conference on peace joined by about 400 religious and faith leaders on Oct. 15-18, detikcom online news reported on Thursday.

"The selection of Indonesia as the host country is right as while we have many races, religions, skin colors and others, we can live in peace and harmony," said Patron Head of Global Peace Festival Indonesia Foundation (GPIF) Musdah Mulia.

Mulia hopes that the conference could be followed up with concrete cooperation.

The event will peak on Oct. 17, featuring culture and art performance of various regions in Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.

Religious leaders and public figures will also send peace messages.

Bali to host Asia-Pacific conference on disaster mitigation

Antara News, Monday, September 6, 2010 13:53 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bali is to host an Asia-Pacific Association on Emergency and Disaster Medicine (APCEDM) Conference in 2010, the organization`s chairman Dr Abdul Rajak said here on Monday.

"Of the two other candidates, namely Banda Aceh and Jakarta, the organization`s board of directors choose Bali," he said adding that he could not yet mention the exact date of the conference.

Rajak added the conference would consist of a three-day seminar and one-day simulation to test disaster management at district, province, national and international levels.

Though the conference would mainly focus on post-disaster medical and health care , Rajak said, the coordinating committee would still involve the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in planning the conference.

The Asia-Pacific region is among the most disaster-prone parts of the world. Disasters hitting this region are mostly landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami.

This condition has made governments in the region more and more aware of the need to unite in facing natural disasters.

Last year, the military chiefs of 24 Asia-Pacific countries agreed to enhance cooperation in tackling the effects of natural disasters and epidemic diseases, an Indonesian military official said.

The agreement was reached at the 12th Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) Conference in Hawaii, United States, last October 26-29, 2009, Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Gen Djoko Santoso said.

"Several issues were discussed in the forum, including post-disaster management and ways to tackle epidemic diseases," Djoko said, adding that the three-day meeting also agreed to improve cooperation in anti-piracy operations.

Indonesian scientists to discuss climate change in Germany

The Jakarta Post, Antara, London | Tue, 06/22/2010 5:32 PM

Indonesian scientists and professionals will hold a conference on "Technology cooperation and economic benefit of reduction of green-house gas emissions in Indonesia", in Hamburg, on Nov. 1 and 2, 2010.

The conference would be organized jointly by the Indonesian embassy in Berlin, the Indonesian consulate general in Hamburg, the Association of Indonesian scientists and academicians and the Hamburg chapter of the Indonesian-German Association, Yayat Sugiatnya, Indonesia's acting consular general in Hamburg, told Antara in London, Tuesday.

The conference will focus on three climate change-related topics, namely renewable energy development, increased energy efficiency in the industrial sector and urban waste management to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

Some 25 scientists and professionals from Indonesia and Germany will speak in the conference also aimed at boosting research cooperation between Indonesia and Germany.

According to Yayat, Indonesia has around 28 GW geothermal energy source. Besides, the country also has renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydro energy which have not yet been optimally exploited.

If those energy sources could be used, it would help cut gas emission rate, he said.

He also called for active participation of Indonesian scientists and professionals in Germany to encourage transfer of technology from European countries, Germany in particular, to Indonesia.

Water governance workshop in Bandung

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 06/19/2010 12:07 PM

BANDUNG: Dozens of participants are attending a five-day international workshop on water governance scheduled to be held in Bandung from Monday.

The participants, according to organizing committee member Erita K. Santosa, come from Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The training program is a jointly funded initiative between UNDP Cap-Net, AguaJaring, IHE Indonesia and CKNet INA.

"Improved integrity, transparency, accountability and anti-corruption regarding water leads to better decision-making and more effective and fairer management, allocation and distribution of water resources and services." - JP

RI to host 7th Asian court conference

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/18/2010 10:16 AM

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court will host the 7th Conference of Asian Constitutional Court Judges, which will take general election laws and constitutional practices as its theme, from July 12 to 15.

“A nation cannot restrain nor avoid the establishment of democracy and both law and human rights enforcement,” Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud M.D. said Thursday.

He explained that nations needed to discuss each country’s past experiences with electoral systems and constitutional practices, then to find future plans to facilitate development.

Twenty-five countries are expected to participate at the conference, including Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Timor Leste and Uzbekistan. The conference will also invite non-Asian countries: Austria, Germany, Turkey, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Egypt and Morocco.

“At the conference, we will discuss elections issues and shortcomings of electoral courts in each country,” Mahfud said.

Mahfud said in terms of settling election disputes, Indonesia’s experience was considered exemplary by other countries.

“The Indonesian Constitutional Court has resolved 640 electoral disputes in the 2009 presidential and regional elections peacefully,” he said. Of these cases, the court delivered rulings in 70 cases that consequently changed the election results, Mahfud said.

He claimed that a peaceful settlement of electoral disputes through courts was rare in other countries.

Mahfud explained that Indonesia’s elections proved that laws could be drafted to settle any disagreement. He said he believed the Constitutional Court contributed to the country’s democracy.

However, Mahfud admitted there were still incidents of electoral violations, such as vote buying, unfair nomination processes and nepotism.

Eight Asian countries at the conference will also establish the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalents Institutions by signing the Jakarta Declaration, Court secretary-general Janedjri M. Gaffar said.

The eight countries are the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as host Indonesia.

The objectives of the association are to protect human rights, promote democracy and supervise the implementation of the law, as well as overseeing the independence of constitutional courts and other similar judicial institutions.

“I hope the formation of the association can improve our role,” Mahfud said. (ipa)