Indonesia to promote forest, ocean at international climate conference in Bali

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 19 Oct 09;

Indonesia will promote the roles of forests and oceans to absorb emissions to tackle human-induced climate change during an international conference on climate change in Bali next week.

About 600 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will gather in Bali from Oct. 26 to Oct. 29 to finalize its fifth assessment report on climate change matters.

“Our delegates will demonstrate the ability of forest and ocean to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,” head of climate change and air pollution at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Advin Aldrian said Sunday.

He predicted that Indonesia’s total emissions would shrink significantly if the CO2 absorbed in forests and oceans were counted.

“We will seek clarification from the IPCC on putting Indonesia as the world’s third largest emitter (after the US and China),” he said.

The IPCC, a world body on climate science matters, was set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Advin said that Indonesia would send 29 delegates to the conference, including the BMKG’s chairwoman Sri Woro Harijono, environmental expert Emil Salim, members of the National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) Agus Purnomo and Amanda Katili Niode, and senior official from the state ministry for the environment, Masnellyarti Hilman, and ocean expert Agus Supangat.

Indonesia, the world’s third largest forest nation with 120 million hectares of rainforest, has long been linked to poor forest management.

Massive forest fires since 1997 have been blamed as the main cause for Indonesia’s position as the third largest emitter in the world.

A study by DNPI shows Indonesia’s emissions were about 2.3 gigatons in 2005 of which 80 percent were from the forestry sector. This could jump to 3.6 gigatons by 2030.

The Guinness Book of World Records also claimed the deforestation rate in Indonesia was the global highest, equivalent to three soccer fields cleared every hour.

Indonesia, however, took the lead in promoting the role of the ocean in dealing with climate change to international forums by hosting the World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado in May.

Indonesia covers 5.8 million square kilometers including land and oceans, with more than 81,000 kilometers of coastline and millions of people living in coastal areas.

Advin said that Indonesian delegation would reveal a series of research results dealing with ability of forests and oceans to absorb CO2 emissions.

“We will also ask the rich nations to assist developing nations by providing technology assistance and capacity building to calculate emissions absorbed in forests and oceans.

The IPPC has warned that the world needs massive emissions cuts to reduce the CO2 concentration to prevent average global temperatures from rising by an additional 2 degrees Celsius.

It is predicted that climate change will increase average global temperatures and bring about changes in weather patterns, causing sea levels to rise, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as storms, floods and drought.

A study by the Asian Development Bank predicted average temperatures could rise by up to 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, which could cause sea levels to rise by up to 70 centimeters.