$88m Grant to Indonesia Tackle Climate Change

Fidelis E Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 9 Aug 10;

Indonesia. Indonesia has received $88 million from an international fund to help it fight climate change.

The grant from the Global Environment Facility, a partnership that backs environmental programs, will be allocated between now and July 2014.

“The GEF priorities are actually biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation and persistent organic pollutants, but Indonesia will allocate most of its share to climate change mitigation, in accordance with national policy priorities,” said Wahyu Marjaka, head of multilateral cooperation at the State Ministry for the Environment.

“This year, the government plans to allocate $48 million toward climate change mitigation and $24 million towards biodiversity, with the rest going to other programs.”

Wahyu said the ministry had already received 10 proposals worth a combined $23 million.

“Those eligible to apply for the fund include universities, NGOs, communities and even those in the private sector,” he said. “Their proposals will be assessed by the government before getting approval from the GEF’s Washington office.”

One of the projects vying for funding is a $10 million joint venture to generate electricity from tidal movements, proposed by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Energy Ministry’s Directorate of Electricity and Energy Use, and the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

“It’s aimed at harnessing renewable energy in coastal areas in the east of the country,” Wahyu said.

“It’s supposed to generate around 5 megawatts per district, and if there’s if a surplus, then smaller villages will get the electricity for free.”

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said there was a worrying lack of proposals for projects to tackle forest fires, which are blamed for playing a part in making Indonesia the world’s third-biggest carbon emitter.

“In the meantime, we hope for more such funding from the GEF and others to make up for the lack of significant progress on climate change negotiations,” Gusti said.

The fund had previously given the nation $40 million for a four-year program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

However, $17 million of the money was never used because no major programs, which were eligible for more than $1 million each, were proposed.

The rest was used for 23 small projects, each eligible for at least $50,000.