Korean agency offers $700,000 for green school project

The Jakarta Post, Elly Burhaini Faizal,  Jakarta, Fri, 05/18/2012

Marking its first ever joint cooperation with the Education and Culture Ministry and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is launching a Green School Action Project to help accelerate the development of environmental education in schools in Indonesia.

KOICA Indonesia Office representative, Sungho Choi, said Friday that the Green School Action Project was a collaborative and supportive scheme for the Indonesian government delivered by the KOICA and UNESCO Jakarta office on behalf of the Korean government.

This program is aimed at helping to build the capacity of Indonesian teachers to raise awareness on sustainable development in schools.

“Combating climate change is now the global concern in which joint efforts are essential. No country or region is free from this global issue. It’s highly appropriate for us to invest in education for sustainable development as climate change is not only about changing the environment but it can also lead to poverty,” said Sungho Choi on the sidelines of a three-day regional workshop for “Green Action in East Asia: Centered on Teacher Capacity Building for Climate Change Education”, which began on Friday.

For the project, he said, the KOICA had contributed US$700,000 for building capacity among teachers from 20 pilot schools in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, through education on climate change and sustainable development.

About 160 participants from seven countries, comprising Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, are attending the workshop. Teachers from the 20 pilot schools for the Green School Action Project in Banjarmasin are also taking part in the event.

“Supporting environmental management and sustainable development is one of the core sectors in bilateral cooperation conducted by the KOICA. I sincerely hope that we can continue to closely work on sustainable cooperation and environmental education to address the impacts of climate change,” said Sungho Choi.

Under the Adiwiyata program, which was launched in 2006, the Environment Ministry, in cooperation with the Education and Culture Ministry, has created green school communities that are able to manage and protect the environment partly to support sustainable development programs that the government is currently working on.

“We know that the Indonesian government already has a good program on green schools called Adiwiyata. We hope that the Green School Action Project can add increased values to that work,” said UNESCO Jakarta’s head of education division, Anwar al-Said.

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Indonesia Bids to Host Future Clean Technology Center

Jakarta Globe, March 20, 2012

The surge in wind energy could save 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon
dioxide emissions each year 

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Paris. Plans for a global center to help transfer clean technology to poorer countries have drawn nine bids, including from Indonesia’s National Council on Climate Change, the UN climate forum said on Monday. 

Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) backed the proposal at a meeting in Durban, South Africa last December. 

Bidders to host the center include a 13-member consortium led by the Kenya-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and whose ranks include energy research institutes in India, the United States and Netherlands, the UNFCCC said in a press release. 

Others are the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), a Washington-based international funder of environmental programmes; Costa Rica’s Institute of Technology; and Indonesia’s National Council on Climate Change. 

There is also a bid by the Research Institute of Petrolum Industry (RIPI) in Tehran, which carries out research for Iran’s oil and gas sector. 

Fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to global warming, which scientists say is inflicting worrying changes to the climate system. 

The nine applicants will be whittled down to a shortlist of five next month. 

In May, a UNFCCC expert panel will propose the winner. Final approval rests with the UNFCCC’s annual ministerial-level meeting, taking place in Qatar from November 26 - December 7. 

Agence France-Presse

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UNDP To Finance Wakatobi International Fishery School

Antara News, Fri, July 8 2011

UNDP provides the funds of Rp100 billion for the construction of the Wakatobi International Fishery School, the first of its kind Asia....

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Kendari, SE Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will fully finance the construction of the International Fishery School (SPI) in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, a local official said.

Illustration of a Fisherman
(ANTARA PHOTO/Zabur Karuru)

Wakatobi Mmarine and Fishery Office Chief Hajiu said on Friday that Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad would lay the first corner stone next Saturday, July 16, 2011.

"UNDP provides the funds of Rp100 billion for the construction of the Wakatobi International Fishery School, the first of its kind Asia," Hajiu said.

According to him, Wakatobi district government would only provide 100-hectare plot of land for the construction of the school in two stages, financed by UNDP.

For the first stage he said the local government has prepared a 50-hectare plot of land for school which was to be inaugurated by the maritime affairs and fisheries minister.

"On the 50-hectare plot of land for the first stage, the International Fishery School will be built in addition to other facilities such as students dormitory, and Muslim and Christian houses of worship," Hajiu said.

He said both Muslim and Christian houses of worship were needed because the students and lecturers would be from various countries, especially the six countries at the world`s coral reef triangle area.

According to Hajiu, the the prospective students who wanted to study at the school would undergo tight entry test, especially related to their academic competence on coral reefs conservation.

"In principle, the students who are accepted to study at such as school will be taught and trained in such away to master the knowledge about coral reefs conservation," Hajiu said.

He said the first-corner-stone laying ceremony

would also be attended by Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, Southeast Sulawesi Governor Nur Alam, and a number of other invitees.

Editor: Ade Marboen

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RI calls for increased use of outer space technology

Antara News, Thu, June 2 2011

London (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja has called for the increased use of outer space technology to support development activities in developing nations.

He made the call at a function to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight in outer space and the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) in Vienna recently.

In an emailed statement to the ANTARA correspondent in London on Thursday, third secretary of the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna Luna Amanda Sidqi said the Secretariat Office for Outer Space based in Vienna was organizing a special function to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight in outer space by Yuri Gagarin in April 1961.

In the course of the commemoration, the organizing committee is also holding an outer space technology expo at the Vienna International Center on June 1-30.

Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja went on to say outer space technology had grown rapidly but it had not been optimally used to help developing countries.

The Indonesian delegation to the event touched on developments in the use of outer space technology in Indonesia since the 1970s when the country launched Palapa telecommunication satellite in 1976.

By launching the Palapa satellite, Indonesia was the first developing nation to operate a satellite on its own, the delegation said.

The operation of the satellite had strengthened unity and cohesion of the Indonesian nation which was made up of various ethnic groups, and religious adherents inhabiting thousands of islands in the country.

In addition, it also helped efforts to mitigate the impact of natural disasters which frequently affected the country.

Looking ahead, the delegation said Indonesia needed to benefit from any opportunities to increase the use of outer space-based technology to support sustainable development through tele-education, tele-medicine and to provide information for climate change mitigation efforts.

Indonesia underscored the need of enhanced international cooperation in the use of outer space-based technology for various purposes such as remote sensing and disaster management, the delegation said.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

RI elected to UN Human Rights Council for third time

Antara News, Sat, May 21 2011

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New York (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has been elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period 2011-2014, Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hassan Kleib said here on Saturday.

The election which made Indonesia a member of the council for the third time was held last Friday (May 20) in New York with representatives of 188 out of the UN`s 192 member countries attending.

The meeting was was asked to elect 15 members of the UN Rights Council and, among a number of candidates, Indonesia won the highest number of votes, namely 184.

The 14 other countries elected to the council were Italy, Austria, Chile, Romania, Georgia, Costa Rika, Peru, Nicaragua, Congo, Botswana, Benin, Burkina Faso, India and Kuwait.

Hassan said Indonesia getting the highest number of support from UN members was an indication of the international world`s trust in the development of human rights protection in the country.

"It is also considered a recognition of Indonesia`s active role in initiatives related to the promotion of human rights protection in the Southeast Asia region such as the ratification of ASEAN Charter and the formation of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights," said the ambassador.

Indonesia had been member of UN Rights Council two times before namely in the periods 2006-2007 and 2007-2010. The latest success also add the list of Indonesia`s active role in the UN`s 65th General Assembly Meeting from the period of September 2010-September 2011. Indonesia has been appointed as Vice President of the UN`s 65th General Assembly Meeting, Chairman of Commission on Population and Development, member of Governing Council UNEP and Governing Council UN Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT).

Indonesia is also listed as member of Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), member of Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), executive board member of UN Women, executive board of UNDP/UNFPA and executive board member of UNICEF.

Indonesia is also member of Peace Building Commission (PBC), member of Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), member of Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), member of the Council of Administration of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and member of the Postal Operations Council of the UPU.

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

President SBY wins UN disaster management award

Antara News, Tue, May 10 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will receive a UN award for his outstanding work in the field of disaster management and risk reduction, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said.

"I am pleased and proud that President Yudhoyono will receive a UN award `Global Champion on Disaster Risk Reduction` in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10, 2011," Dipo said in a statement on Monday.

"The UN award is the first of its kind and President Yudhoyono is the first to receive the award in recognition of his leadership in implementing natural disaster mitigation programs," he said.

Dipo said the President had assigned the head of the Natural Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB) to represent him in receiving the award as well as to convey his message to delegates of 160 countries to the Conference on Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. UN Secretary General Ban Kim-moon is slated to open the conference.

"The Indonesian government`s hard work in handling the impact of a tsunami in Aceh at the end of 2004 as well as natural disasters in the rest of Indonesia and its relief assistance to other countries showed the seriousness and awareness of President Yudhoyono as one of the world leaders who pay attention to the challenge and threat of natural disasters," he said.

"I say congratulation to President Yudhoyono. May his hard work encourage other developing countries to pay more attention to natural disaster risk management," he said.

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

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ADB $3 Million Grant to Help Victims of Indonesia's Volcano Eruption

Asian Development Bank (ADB) , 10 December 2010

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending $3 million to assist in aid efforts in the wake of the Mount Merapi volcano eruptions, which destroyed homes and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Central Java province and Yogyakarta Special region in October and November 2010.

ADB's assistance will be used to build temporary shelter, normalization of public facilities (i.e. schools, health care, water and sanitation) and setting up a cash for work scheme for the refugees to clear debris.

More than 300 people were killed and over 400,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of the eruption, according to the Indonesian Agency for Disaster Management. Many evacuees have left the evacuation points to return home after the government downgraded the alert level of the volcano in early December, more than five weeks since it began erupting. The government warned, however, that there was still a danger of volcanic mud flooding homes and properties.

"There are still thousands of families who cannot return to their villages because they were destroyed by the volcanic eruption," said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda. "ADB will do whatever it can to support the government's efforts to provide them with temporary shelters and other essentials they need."

The $3 million grant is being provided under ADB's emergency facility, the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, which provides quick-disbursing grants to help restore essential life-saving services following disasters.

ADB is coordinating its aid efforts with the Government of Indonesia, the United Nations and other development partners.

About ADB

Unicef extends $5 million for post-quake efforts in Sumatra

Antara News, Sunday, October 3, 2010 01:51 WIB

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Children`s Fund (UNICEF) has provided US$5 million in aid to finance post-quake rehabilitation and construction efforts in West Sumatra.

"In the past year we extended Rp45 billion ($5 million) in aid to mitigate the impact of the Sumatra quake," UNICEF spokesperson Lely Djuhari said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday.

An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked the western coast of Sumatra Island on September 30 last year, killing at least 1,117 people, one-third of them children.

The quake also injured tens of thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of buildings particularly in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang and neighboring Padang Pariaman district.

An estimated 1.4 million people, including 700,000 children had been affected by the quake. They had lost their wealth and access to clean water.

A few hours after the quake struck the region, the government launched a one-month emergency response period. UNICEF was committed to supporting the program for six months to meet women and children`s urgent needs and strengthen alertness capacity.

The government has so far allocated more than US$333 million in funds to the post-quake reconstruction efforts in the region.

RI one of Anticorruption Academy founders

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/08/2010 9:16 AM

JAKARTA: Indonesia has become a signatory for the establishment of the United Nations’ International Anticorruption Academy in Vienna, Austria together with 29 countries.

“We hope the government will ratify the agreement soon,” Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Haryono Umar said Tuesday.

He added that the academy would be open to anticorruption practitioners at public as well as private institutions at the local and regional as well as international levels.

Launched on Sept. 2 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the academy is a joint initiative by the Austrian government, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the European Anti-Fraud Office and will come into full operation next year.

It is earmarked as a pioneering institution that aims to overcome current shortcomings in knowledge and practice in the field of anti-corruption.

It will function as an independent center of excellence in the field of anticorruption education, training, networking and cooperation, as well as of academic research, the academy says on its website, www.iaca-info.org. — JP

Indonesia Project Boosts Global Forest CO2 Market

The Jakarta Post, David Fogarty and Sunanda Creagh | August 24, 2010

Forests soak up large amounts of carbon dioxide and scientists say curbing deforestation is a key way to fight climate change. (Bloomberg Photo/Dimas Ardian)        

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Jakarta. An Indonesian project aimed at saving a vast tract of rainforest has passed a milestone seen as a boost in the development of a global market in forest carbon credits.

That market under the UN-backed scheme Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, also known as REDD, could eventually be worth billions of dollars annually and is central to the goal of driving private sector involvement in forest protection.

The Rimba Raya conservation project covers nearly 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) of carbon-rich peat swamp forest in the province of Central Kalimantan.

Forests soak up large amounts of carbon dioxide and scientists say curbing deforestation is a key way to fight climate change.

The project has earned the first-ever approval of an accounting method for measuring the reduction in carbon emissions under REDD and is being developed by InfiniteEARTH, with funding from Shell, Gazprom Market and Trading and the Clinton Foundation.

The Voluntary Carbon Standard programme, also known as VCS, approved the methodology after it passed a mandated double auditing process.

The project itself is now undergoing third-party validation and is likely to become the world’s first VCS-approved REDD project later this year, Gazprom and InfiniteEARTH say.

The step is a boost for other REDD projects and investors wanting certainty on the quality of REDD carbon credits. There are several dozen REDD projects globally, including more than a dozen in Indonesia at various stages of development.

“This is seen as a landmark moment for the carbon market,” Gazprom said in a statement. “Historically REDD projects have suffered due to their exclusion from the Kyoto Protocol,” it said, as well as the absence of a recognised global standard.

The project is expected to reduce 18.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted in the first 10 years and up to 75 million tonnes in the 30-year life of the project.

At about $10 a credit, that means about $750 million over 30 years.

The future sale of carbon offsets from the project will help boost the livelihoods of more than 11,000 people in the area and save rare species including orang-utans and other primates, the statement says.

REDD aims to reward developing countries that save, protect and rehabilitate forests through large-scale projects.

Poorer nations and local forest communities are meant to take a major share of the sale of the carbon credits to rich nations, which can use them to meet mandated emission reduction targets.

REDD is not yet formally part of a broader UN climate pact and potential buyers of the credits have been waiting for an approved global standard for forest CO2 credits to ensure the reductions are real and verifiable.

“The methodology was designed for conservation projects that avoid planned land-use conversion in tropical peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia,” the statement said.

The project itself borders Tanjung Puting national park and the area has been under growing threat from encroaching palm oil plantations.

“It shows small-scale REDD can be done. This is also demonstrating the ability of project-based activities, that they can do that,” said Daniel Murdiyarso, senior scientist at the Centre for International Forestry Research.

Reuters

Government, UN Unveils Partnership Framework

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 10 August, 2010 | 20:49 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The National Development Planning Ministry has unveiled a cooperation system between Indonesia and the United Nations to promote development in Indonesia covering all plans up to the next four years which involve UN agencies.

Vice Development Planning Minister Lukita Dinarsyah said during the launch at his office today (10/8) the framework is related to the bid to push the government to meet the targets of Millenium Development Goals. "UNPDF is a operational plan which cooperation with UN agencies should be based on." Lukita said.

UN Resident Coordinator El-Mostaha Benlamih said in the same occasion that the main focus of the framework is to improve equality on access into resources, public services, and economic opportunities, and to promote effective participation, protection for the poor, and national and local resilience in dealing with climate change.

Through the framework the UN also aims to achieve effective financing by improve coordination between UN agencies

EVANA DEWI

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

Global fund provides rp17.3 billion for AIDS handling in Indonesia

Antara News, Tuesday, June 15, 2010 17:59 WIB

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Global Fund has provided Indonesia with Rp17.31 billion for the handling of infectious diseases in three provinces, an AIDS commission official said.

"The three provinces which have received the assistance from the Global Fund are West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Maluku," National AIDS Commission Secretary Nafsiah Mboi said here on Tuesday.

The funds will be used to handle three types of infectious diseases, namely AIDS, tuberculosis (TBC) and malaria.

She said NTB got an allocation worth Rp5.05 billion, NTT Rp7.19 billion and Maluku Rp7.07 billion.

Nafsiah Mboi said the aim of the assistance was to accelerate the efforts to prevent and handle HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

The funds come on top of those made available in state and regional budgets.

RI made enormous progress upon achieving MDGs, UN official

Antara News, Thursday, May 27, 2010 19:47 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communication and information, Kiyotaka Akasaka, said Indonesia had made an enormous progress at home upon achieving the MDGs target.

"I see that Indonesia has made progress in reducing poverty, upgrade the education sector and women role in the society as well as increasing the rate of child mortality," Akasaka said here on Thursday morning during a press conference after giving a public lecture themed "The UN, MDGs and the Role of Young People in Furthering the Global Agenda" at Atmajaya University Jakarta.

However, he said, further effort was still needed to boost the handling of several sectors namely maternal mortality, eradication of HIV/AIDS, improvement of environmental sustainability an unemployment.

"Indonesia still have five more years to go. I believe this country will be able to achieve the MDGs target and the UN is willing to assist it," he said adding that Indonesia was among countries in the world which support the UN`s program.

At noon, Akasaka is scheduled to meet with Directorate General for Multilateral Economy, Finance and Development from Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Rezlan Izhar Janie, and other high officials from the ministry. They will be discussing about further cooperation in area of public information.

"Indonesian government has already support UN`s program during the past years. We are hoping that the support will continue in th future," said Akasaka.

In the afternoon he will visit the Peacekeeping Training Facility in Cilangkap to participate in a ceremonial event to pay tribute to Indonesia`s contributions to UN Peacekeeping in anticipation of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (May 29).

President to attend climate change and forest conference in Oslo

Antara News, Monday, May 24, 2010 19:59 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to attend an international conference on climate change and forests in Oslo, Norway, on May 26-27, presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said.

The president would leave for the conference upon an invitation from Norway`s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg.

"During the conference attended by 40 delegates representing 50 countries, President Yudhoyono will act as co-chair accompanying Prime Minister Stoltenberg as the host of the conference," Dino said here on Monday adding that some country leaders already confirmed their attendance were from Denmark, Guyana and Gabon.

The spokesman said the conference would specifically discuss about the mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries or famously known as REDD+ program.

"The conference aims to facilitate a voluntarily partnership between advanced and developing countries owning tropical forest area to realize REDD program by providing a US$4-5 billion funding to support the activity," Dino said adding that the meeting was expected to issue a detailed agreement about the mechanism and implementation of REDD+ program.

The meeting in Oslo was a follow up to the previous meeting held in Paris last March, said Dino.

"Though included in the Copenhagen Accord last 2009, REDD+ program is not yet implemented. Therefore, the Oslo meeting is aimed to boost the process in UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)," he said adding that reducing deforestation was important because it contributes one fifth of total greenhouse emission in the world.

During the meeting, President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Stoltenberg are also scheduled to sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) on forestry sector.

The president will leave for Oslo on Tuesday evening and return to Jakarta next May 28.

RI appointed WMO regional president

Antara News, Wednesday, May 5, 2010 19:58 WIB

London (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has been appointed president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for Asia and the Southwest Pacific regions for the period 2010-2014.

Dr. Sri Woro Budiati Harijono, head of the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) was named as the president of WMO for Asia and the Southwest Pacific at the 15th Session of WMO Regional Association V (RA-V) being held in Bali, from April 30 to May 6m, 2010, Muhsin Syihab, first secretary at the Indonesian Permanent Representative Office in Geneva, told ANTARA correspondent in London Wednesday.

Indonesia is a member of the WMO Executive Council (EC) for the 2007-2011 period.

As the new president of WMO RA-V, Dr. Sri Woro Budiati Harijono will maintain Indonesia`s membership in the WMO EC for the 2011-2015 period.

BMKG has been very active in establishing international cooperation, and is now exploring the possibility of forming a Regional Hydrological Training Center in Bandung, according to Dr. Sri Woro.

The WMO RA-V membership consists of 22 countries, namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Britain, the United States and Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international organizations, said earlier Prof. Dr. Emil Salim had been appointed a member of the High Level Task Force of Global Framework for Climate Services (HLTF-GFCS) in the Intergovernmental Meeting of WMO (IGM-WMO) in Geneva, last January.

The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system`s authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth`s atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

WMO has a membership of 189 states and territories (as per December, 2009). It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951 for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.

RI to apply for UN fund to help local farmers

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/21/2010 9:03 AM

Indonesia is eyeing an international fund to help local farmers adapt to climate change as the UN issued its first call for climate change-prone countries to apply for the adaptation fund.

The government said Indonesia would apply for the adaptation fund to help local farmers and people living in coastal areas who were also vulnerable to rising sea levels to deal with climate change.

The National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) said the grant would be used to improve weather predictions and create new varieties of crops resistant to extreme climate changes.

“We are drafting a proposal with concrete programs to apply for the fund,” Armi Susandi, the DNPI deputy chairman of the adaptation working group, said.

The adaptation fund, a self-standing fund established under the Kyoto Protocol, was derived from a 2 percent share of proceeds from carbon trading in developing countries.

The World Bank serves as trustee for the fund.

Developing countries can apply for small-sized projects worth up to US$1 million and regular projects with a total grant of more than $1 million.

The final say on the countries eligible to receive the grant is the fund’s executive board.

“We are making history by granting funds to finance concrete adaptation projects and programs in developing countries, which are based on their national priorities, and may be financed through the ground-breaking direct access modality,” Farrukh Iqbal Khan, the chairman of the Adaptation Fund Board, said in a statement when launching the call for proposals last week.

“We expect to have funds of $400 million available by 2012, which means the Adaptation Fund does not have the resources to fully match the enormous adaptation needs of developing countries, but it is an important step forward.”

Developing countries have repeatedly called on developed nations to provide money for the fund that could be used by developing countries to adapt to climate change.

The head of adaptation at the Environment Ministry, Dadang Hilman, said his office was unaware of the announcement by the UN.

“We will check on it. We also want to crosscheck the countries eligible to apply for the fund,” he said.

Dadang added that any adaptation fund should be focused on tackling water resource problems, including for the agriculture sector.

The government has said that one of the sectors likely to be most affected by delayed rainfall and prolonged periods of drought was agriculture.

The delays in the rainy season caused longer dry spells in many areas across the country, leaving millions of people without water.

Shorter rainy seasons with heavier rainfall have also led to more floods and landslides.

The director of climate and energy at WWF Indonesia, Fitrian Ardiansyah, said that it was time for Indonesia to also play a role in determining the allocation of the adaptation fund.

He said that the management of the fund would also determine the survival of billions of people on the planet.

“Indonesia is vulnerable to the severe impacts of climate change as it still relies on natural resources such as the agriculture, fishery and tourism sectors,” he said.

MEC Eyes Expanded Kalimantan Coal-Rail Project

Jakarta Globe, Reuters & Irvan Tisnabudi, April 15, 2010

MEC Holdings said on Thursday it is interested in expanding its planned railway project in East Kalimantan and wants to find more domestic buyers for its coal.

Based in the United Arab Emirates, MEC plans to invest $5.2 billion in infrastructure, including a smelter, railway and power plant, to support its coal mine.

MEC executive vice chairman Madhu Koneru said there was potential to expand the planned 130 kilometer railway, perhaps to 1,000 km.

“We are focusing on the [current] railway project, and that is long-time construction,” Koneru said, speaking on the sidelines of an infrastructure conference in Jakarta. “Technically, yes, there is potential [to extend the railway]. Commercially, yes, there is potential. We have planned for expanding the railway if it makes logical sense going forward.”

MEC has a license for a 5,000-hectare coal mine in East Kalimantan and has already finished exploration, Koneru said. The mine has nearly 2 billion tons of reserves and about 30 percent of production will go to the domestic market. The rest will be exported to India and China. Koneru said production would start about six to eight months before the railway begins operating.

The main customer for the domestic coal supply will be the planned joint-venture power plant between MEC and Indian state aluminum maker NALCO, which will supply power to their joint-venture alumina smelter, both near the coal mine. The power plant will cost $1.2 billion, with a capacity of 1,400 megawatts.

MEC’s mine is in an undeveloped part of East Kalimantan, with no road or river connections to a port. It will transport its coal by rail.

The $1 billion railway will have a capacity of 70 million tons a year of coal and will connect MEC’s mine to the coastal port in Bengalon, for export of the coal and import of other raw materials, Koneru said. MEC expects the railway to be operational and ready to deliver coal in 2011.

MEC, along with NALCO, also plans to invest $2 billion in the aluminum smelter, producing 500,000 tons a year, according to Mashael Al Naimi, MEC’s head of corporate communications.

NALCO will own 76 percent stake in smelter and MEC will hold the remaining.

Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said a public-private partnership (PPP) was the key to achieving MEC’s East Kalimantan project.

“PPP is key because the government can’t do it alone, and MEC certainly can’t do it either, so both parties need to cooperate for the good of the people,” she said.

Taiwanese Groups Commit to Big Indonesian Projects

Jakarta Globe, Arti Ekawati, April 15, 2010

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, UN official Noeleen Heyzer, center, and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa at an infrastructure conference in Jakarta on Thursday. (Antara Photo/Pandu Dewantara)

Two Taiwanese companies plan to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia’s petrochemical and biofuel industries, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said on Thursday.

He said that Taiwan-based oil and gas firm CPC Corporation planned to build a $2.8 billion petrochemical center in Kalimantan, adding that the company had yet to decide exactly where to establish the project.

“They’re looking for the perfect location for the petrochemical center,” Hatta told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Public Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development 2010.

He said CPC chose Kalimantan because of the availability of raw materials for the petrochemical project and the rapid development in the region.

He added that CPC planned to team up with a local partner, whether a private company or state-owned enterprise such as oil and gas company PT Pertamina, to develop the project. Teaming up with Pertamina would help ensure the supply of the necessary raw materials.

Hatta said that another Taiwanese company is seeking to develop a jatropha plantation to produce biofuel. He said the company has already obtained the necessary license from the local administration to develop a 100,000 hectare jatropha plantation in East Kalimantan. He did not disclose the name of the company nor the size of the planned investment.

Hatta said the Taiwanese investor asked the government to make the plantation area a special economic zone (SEZ), which among other benefits would allow the investor to be exempted from paying duties and taxes when importing equipment and raw materials.

He added that several investors from Japan, South Korea and China had also asked for similar treatment before investing in various business sectors in Indonesia.

“Many investors have expressed an interest in developing businesses here under the SEZ system,” he said.

He said the requests were in line with the government’s plan to develop several SEZs. For instance, the SEZ in East Kalimantan would be focussed on energy-related industries such as biofuels and petrochemicals.

Meanwhile, the SEZ in Sumatra will focus on oleo-chemicals as the region has vast palm oil plantations.

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United Nations to Help Fund REDD Program

Tempo Interactive, Wednesday, 31 March, 2010 | 15:51 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Department of Forestry and the United Nations (UN) agreed to a collaborate on a joint Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) project valued at US$ 5.6 million.

Through this program, the United Nations will help the Indonesian government to prepare the REDD program on a national scale. The Minister of Forestry, Zulkifli Hasan, said that this cooperation is part of the UN program to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing country (UN-REDD) funded by the Norwegian government.

PINGIT ARIA