Minister : Forestry Sector to Become Emissions Net Sinker
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the forestry sector would be a net sinker capable of absorbing up to 0.89 giga tons of CO2 by 2020.
The sector’s capability will contribute to efforts to reduce gas emissions by 14 percent out of a total of 26 percent in 2020, he said here on Wednesday.
He said if forestry activities were carried out based on a “business as usual” practice the sector’s emissions would reach 1.24 giga tons with absorption of carbon reaching 0.71 giga tons.
“But based on a 2010-2020 strategic plan including replanting in 500,000 hectares of land a year, the forestry sector will have the potential to become a sector that could absorb carbon up to 1.31 giga tons,” he said after launching Demonstration Activity – REDD in Indonesia.
The problem is, he said, a total of Rp18.6 trillion will be needed a year to carry out the plan.
“The amount is the total funds needed by the sector while rehabilitation and replanting will need at least Rp4 trillion. Right now our budget is not sufficient. Therefore, we are seeking at least Rp2.5 trillion through a revised budget,” he said.
The head of the forestry ministry’s research and development, Tachir Fathoni, said the plan to plant one billion trees in 2010 would be put into the Reducing Emission Deforestation and Degradation/REDD Plus scheme made ready to replace the Clean Development Mechanism program in 2012.
He said the Indonesian government after the COP 15 in Copenhagen recently continued discussing the mechanism of the REDD Plus including among others preparing demonstration projects in the regions.
“The program of planting minimally one billion trees will be one of the main supporters of tree planting as part of the forestry activity to support gas emission reduction and is included in the REDD Plus scheme,” he said.
He said the DA-REDD in a number of regions was the basis for the understanding and agreement on the REDD mechanism in Indonesia. “We are preparing REDD with DA in among others Jambi, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Java with a hope they would be accepted as an international mechanism for dealing with climate change to replace the CDM produced by the Kyoto Protocol for 2012,” he said.
He admitted the regions used for the DA-REDD understood well the benefit of the program for the region and the state.
In connection with preparing the DA-REDD, the director general of forestry production supervision, Hadi Daryanti, said Indonesia received an aid from the Australian government that had allocated Aus$40 million for the mitigation funding.
That country would increase its commitment by Aus$30 million until 2012.
Other countries supporting gas emission reduction efforts in the country and sustainable forest management are Germany through GTZ totalling 3.5 million euros for three years and through KfW 20 million euros for seven years, Norway through the UN-REDD scheme totalling US$5.64 million for 20 months and TNC totalling 50 to 100 million US dollars, ITTO-Japan US$900 million for 2009-2013 and South Korea US$5 million for 2009-2012.
Hadi however said that the aid from the foreign parties was small compared to the Indonesian efforts in safeguarding its forests including rehabilitating the critical land.
Even the country’s forestry ministry, he said, would be able to carry out the task of reducing emissions by 26 percent by 2020.”We can reduce emissions by 14 percent by ourselves without foreign supports. Forty-one percent of the foreign aid would only be realized in 2050,” he said.
He said the government however had to immediately formulate the verification of carbon amount used nationally. “This is important so that we have a standard calculation and should refer to foreign verifications,” he said.
Tachrir said the forestry ministry’s technical readiness such as for reducing emissions from deforestation, degradation, conservation of forest carbon stock and through sustainable forest management must be consolidated with a standard verification on national carbon calculations.
“So it will be clear how much people in the regions would get if they could maintain their forests by converting the carbon with a nominal value,” he said.
Source : Antara
