German solar industry faces subsidy cut: minister

Yahoo News 19 Jan 10;

BERLIN (AFP) – Germany, the world's biggest market for solar cells, is poised to slash its subsidies for solar power by as much as 17 percent, Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Tuesday.

"I envisage an order of magnitude of 16 to 17 percent," Bruederle said at an energy conference in Berlin.

Electricity produced by solar power in Germany is sold at a minimum price guaranteed by the government to help producers compete with firms using fossil fuels and nuclear power that can produce power much more cheaply.

This guaranteed price has already been reduced gradually -- the subsidy was already cut by 10 percent from January 1 this year -- but pressure has grown on the government to accelerate the process.

Experts say the subsidy fails to spur competition in the industry, which represents less than one percent of the total electricity production in Germany, Europe's top economy.

The solar sector itself has said it is prepared to accept a cut in the subsidy, but that anything above 10 percent would be intolerable.

After years of dazzling results, Germany's solar industry has succumbed to the gloom enveloping the broader economy, with competition from Asia also taking the shine off the sector.

The world's top solar cell maker, Q-Cells, saw its turnover plunge by over 40 percent in the first nine months of 2009.

German Minister In Favor Of Slashing Solar Tariffs
Christoph Steitz, PlanetArk 20 Jan 10;

BERLIN - Slashing feed-in tariffs for the solar industry by 16-17 percent is feasible, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the sector which is still hoping for smaller cuts.

"Regarding the photovoltaic (industry), cuts of 16-17 percent can be made. This is my opinion, this is not yet the position of the government," Bruederle said.

Shares in German solar companies extended losses on the news, with Q-Cells, SolarWorld, Conergy, SMA Solar and Phoenix Solar down 1.2-3.8 percent by 1024 GMT.

The OekoDAX, a composite of Germany's biggest renewable companies, fell 2.5 percent.

"It looks as if there really will be a cut in tariffs and investors are nervous," said a Frankfurt-based trader.

Bruederle's comments came less than a week after Reuters cited sources as saying that such cuts were envisaged for April, sending solar stocks around the globe lower on fears that demand in Germany -- the world's biggest solar market -- would fall.

Markets have been awaiting plans by the German government to cut the industry's feed-in tariffs -- prices utilities pay generators of renewable energy -- which are now considered as being too high, but so far hoped for cuts of about 5-10 percent.

A double-digit reduction in solar feed-in tariffs in the middle of 2010 would ruin many German firms and end Germany's worldwide leadership in solar technology, Germany's BSW solar industry association said on Friday.

Investors' appetite for shares in the once fast growing solar sector has been curbed already by oversupply of cells and modules as well as tight credit conditions, which have thrown the sector into a prolonged crisis.

(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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House Blasts Indonesia Climate Change Summit Results

Jakarta Globe 19 Jan 10;

Adding to public criticism of the Indonesian delegation’s achievements at the December Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, the House of Representatives on Monday said it was not satisfied with the delegation’s report.

The Copenhagen summit was deemed a failure by environmentalists, including Indonesian green groups, because its final outcome — the Copenhagen Accord — was not a binding agreement, nor was it ratified by all parties.

Members of the delegation have praised the country’s contribution to the accord, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s demands for a stronger commitment from all countries to reduce carbon emissions, significant funding from developed countries and the continuation of the Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) scheme.

Satya W. Yudha, a Golkar lawmaker who is a member of House Commission VII overseeing environmental issues, said the Indonesian delegation should have consulted with the House before engaging in international negotiations because they could have important consequences.

“The government should not work alone in these kinds of issues, they need to cooperate with the legislature because we could help lobby the other countries’ parliaments, such as in Southeast Asia, to push developed countries to get deeper emission cuts,” Satya said.

As a result, he added, there were no specific indicators to determine the negotiations as a failure or a success for Indonesian interests.

“The legislature needs to be involved because we could use our networks in other developing countries so that we can push developed countries to really commit to set up emission targets,” Satya said.

The Commission invited a number of major Indonesia environmental groups, who had been critical of the outcome of the talks in Copenhagen, to the hearing to discuss the performance of the Indonesian delegation. The groups included the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Ahmad Farial Husein, deputy chair of the Commission from the United Development Party (PPP), said the House was unsatisfied with the delegation’s report because there was no specific breakdown on how emission cuts would be achieved.

“We have set the target of a 26 percent cut in emissions but we have never been informed officially from the government how they will achieve that,” he said.

Rachmat Witoelar, head of the Indonesian delegation to the Copenhagen meeting, blamed the failure on the host country, Denmark, and a grouping of countries known as ALBA, a Venezuelan-inspired club of five socialist Latin American nations.

Climate Council Budget Questioned by Lawmaker
Fidelis E Satriastanti, Jakarta Globe 19 Jan 10;

A day after the House of Representatives criticized the nation’s achievements at the December climate change summit in Copenhagen, a lawmaker on Tuesday questioned the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change.

“The president has the right to form any kind of council to help him do his job, however, we should be informed if it concerns the use of the state budget,” said Effendi Simbolon, deputy chair of House Commission VII, which oversees environmental issues. “We’ve heard about this council but we weren’t aware they were using the state budget.”

The council, also known as the DNPI, was established in 2008 through a presidential decree and is responsible for tackling climate change in the country. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acts as head of the body, which includes as its members the head of the Climatology, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BKMG) and 17 ministers whose areas of responsibility include the environment, fisheries, forestry, finance, foreign affairs, home affairs and health.

Effendi, who is also a member of the budgetary committee, said he did not know about the state budget allocation for the DNPI and said the committee planned to summon the council to explain the issue.

Arief Yuwono, secretary of the State Ministry of Environment, told the Jakarta Globe that the budget allocation for the council was on the right track and that the situation was already being communicated to the budgetary committee.

“When the council was being formed in 2008, the budget for that year had already been established. However, based on procedures, in a situation like this we can propose a new budget for emergency use, known as Post 99, which is under the direct supervision of the Finance Ministry,” Arief said.

He said to disburse the money, the fledgling council was placed under the State Ministry of Environment, given the executive head of the council and the environment minister were the same person, Rachmat Witoelar.

“However, for this year, the Council has already been allocated Rp 30 billion [$3.24 million] from the state budget. It will be used for council activities, such as sending delegations to international [climate change] negotiations,” he said.

Rhino Subagyo, executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, said the DNPI could be a leader for climate change policies in the country and a strong presence at the international level.

“However, the council is still institutionally weak because it is only based on a presidential decree and its responsibilities and functions have not been clearly elaborated on. While it’s not a full ministry or even a state ministry, last year its budget was still being supported by the State Ministry of Environment,” he said. “As a result, it was not being fully supported, either from the budget and other institutions, even though its role is crucial.”

Rhino said the DNPI should be re-evaluated but not to weaken it but to make it stronger.

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Climate body admits glacier error

Richard Black, BBC News 19 Jan 10;

The vice-chairman of the UN's climate science panel has admitted it made a mistake in asserting that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) included the date in its 2007 assessment of climate impacts.

A number of scientists have recently disputed the 2035 figure, and Jean-Pascal van Ypersele told BBC News that it was an error and would be reviewed.

But he said it did not change the broad picture of man-made climate change.

The issue, which BBC News first reported on 05 December, has reverberated around climate websites in recent days.



Some commentators maintain that taken together with the contents of e-mails stolen last year from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, it undermines the credibility of climate science.

Dr van Ypersele said this was not the case.

"I don't see how one mistake in a 3,000-page report can damage the credibility of the overall report," he said.

"Some people will attempt to use it to damage the credibility of the IPCC; but if we can uncover it, and explain it and change it, it should strengthen the IPCC's credibility, showing that we are ready to learn from our mistakes."

Grey area

The claim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 appears to have originated in a 1999 interview with Indian glaciologist Syed Hasnain, published in New Scientist magazine.

The figure then surfaced in a 2005 report by environmental group WWF - a report that is cited in the IPCC's 2007 assessment, known as AR4.

An alternative genesis lies in the misreading of a 1996 study that gave the date as 2350.

AR 4 asserted: "Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world... the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high."

Dr van Ypersele said the episode meant that the panel's reviewing procedures would have to be tightened.

Slow reaction?

The row erupted in India late last year in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate summit, with opposing factions in the government giving radically different narratives of what was happening to Himalayan ice.

In December, it emerged that four leading glaciologists had prepared a letter for publication in the journal Science arguing that a complete melt by 2035 was physically impossible.

"You just can't accomplish it," Jeffrey Kargel from the University of Arizona told BBC News at the time.

"If you think about the thicknesses of the ice - 200-300m thicknesses, in some cases up to 400m thick - and if you're losing ice at the rate of a metre a year, or let's say double it to two metres a year, you're not going to get rid of 200m of ice in a quarter of a century."

The row continues in India, with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh calling this week for the IPCC to explain "how it reached the 2035 figure, which created such a scare".

Meanwhile, in an interview with the news agency AFP, Georg Kaser from the University of Innsbruck in Austria - who led a different portion of the AR4 process - said he had warned that the 2035 figure was wrong in 2006, before AR4's publication.

"It is so wrong that it is not even worth discussing," he told AFP in an interview.

He said that people working on the Asia chapter "did not react".

He suggested that some of the IPCC's working practices should be revised by the time work begins on its next landmark report, due in 2013.

But its overall conclusion that global warming is "unequivocal" remains beyond reproach, he said.

IPCC chief defends panel in Himalaya glacier flap
W.g. Dunlop Yahoo News 19 Jan 10;

ABU DHABI (AFP) – The chairman of the UN's panel of climate scientists defended his Nobel-winning group on Tuesday against criticism that it had erroneously forecast an early disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers.

A section of a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the probability of glaciers in the Himalayas "disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high."

IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri, addressing reporters at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, said that even if the remarks on Himalayan glaciers is incorrect, it does not undermine evidence supporting the existence of climate change.

"Theoretically, let's say we slipped up on one number, I don't think it takes anything away from the overwhelming scientific evidence of what's happening with the climate of this earth," he said.

"I've never used that figure in any of my talks, because I think it's not for the IPCC to make predictions of outcomes or dates. We always give ranges, and that's scientifically the way to do it. We always give ... scenarios of what might happen."

Pachauri, whose panel was harshly criticised by India's environment minister, said the IPCC will respond to the criticism by the end of the week.

"Before the end of the week, we will certainly come to a position and make it known. We are looking into the source of that information, the veracity of it and what it is that the IPCC should say on the subject."

In New Delhi, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh was quoted on Tuesday by the Hindustan Times as saying "the IPCC claim that glaciers will vanish by 2035 was not based on an iota of scientific evidence.

"The IPCC has to do a lot of answering on how it reached the 2035 figure, which created such a scare."

Ramesh said he felt "vindicated" after repeatedly challenging the IPCC's work on glaciers. He believes there is no "conclusive scientific evidence" linking global warming to the melting of glaciers.

At the weekend, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that the reference to 2035 came from the green campaign group WWF, which in turn took it from an interview given by an Indian glaciologist to New Scientist magazine in 1999.

There is no evidence that the claim was published in a peer-reviewed journal, a cornerstone of scientific credibility, it said.

Responding to a question, Pachauri said he feels he is being attacked personally over the potential flaw.

But he put a positive spin on the situation, saying: "You know, you can't attack the science, so attack the chair of the IPCC."

The IPCC is already under attack over hacked email exchanges which skeptics say reflected attempts to skew the evidence for global warming.

The new row has boosted climate skeptics, who have questioned scientific evidence behind global warming in the past and are on a roll after a scandal last month dubbed "climategate."

Indian minister slams UN body on glacier research
Yahoo News 19 Jan 10;

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India's environment minister slammed the UN's top climate body in comments published Tuesday, claiming its doomsday warning about Himalayan glaciers was not based on "scientific evidence."

The controversy focuses on a reference in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) landmark 2007 report that said the chances of Himalayan glaciers "disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high."

"The IPCC claim that glaciers will vanish by 2035 was not based on an iota of scientific evidence," minister Jairam Ramesh told the Hindustan Times.

"The IPCC has to do a lot of answering on how it reached the 2035 figure, which created such a scare."

On Monday, the IPCC's chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, told AFP that the panel would review the 2035 figure.

Ramesh said he felt "vindicated" after repeatedly challenging the IPCC's work on glaciers. He believes there is no "conclusive scientific evidence" linking global warming to the melting of glaciers.

In November, Ramesh backed a study by Indian scientists which supported his view, prompting Pachauri to label his support "arrogant."

The Nobel-winning IPCC is already under attack over hacked email exchanges which skeptics say reflected attempts to skew the evidence for global warming.

The new row has boosted climate skeptics, who have questioned scientific evidence behind global warming in the past and are on a roll after a scandal last month dubbed "climategate."

Emails from scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia, a top centre for climate research, were leaked and seized on by sceptics as evidence that experts twisted data in order to dramatise global warming.

Ramesh conceded to the Hindustan Times that "most glaciers are in a poor state," but said they were receding at different rates and a few were even advancing.

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Binding climate deal 'reachable this year': UN

Yahoo News 19 Jan 10;

ABU DHABI (AFP) – Countries could reach a binding agreement on climate change in Mexico City this year after failing to do so in Copenhagen, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said Tuesday.

"I think we have a very short period of time in which the world has to get its act together. And if that happens, then certainly Mexico could produce a binding agreement," Rajendra Pachauri told a news conference at the third World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

"It's a daunting, but certainly a doable, prospect," he said, referring to the next summit, planned for later this year in the Mexican capital.

Climate talks in Copenhagen last month ended with a non-binding agreement to reduce rises in global temperatures, a result that has been criticised as insufficient.

But if countries are to reach a binding agreement in Mexico City, "there are a few critical factors which would need a superhuman effort," Pachauri said.

"One of them is commitment from the US," he said.

Countries would also need to take steps such as agreeing on an institutional framework by which funding for developing nations to address climate change could be effectively utilised, he said.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store too said a binding agreement in Mexico City is within reach.

"I agree with (Pachauri). It's doable, but I would add, it's hard. And we have to build on every positive experience with Copenhagen and we have to do everything to limit the negative experiences from Copenhagen," Store told AFP on the sidelines of the summit.

He added that the challenges posed by climate change would not be resolved soon.

"We who are policymakers will deal with climate change every day for the rest of our political lives," he said. "We have to stop thinking that this is something we solve at the next conference ... It's part of an ongoing process."

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Best of our wild blogs: 19 Jan 10

Virgin trip to Changi East
from wonderful creation and colourful clouds blog.

Little Egret swallowing a prawn
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Update on the mass fish deaths at Pasir Ris and Pulau Ubin
from wild shores of singapore

Oriental Magpie Robin takes a termite alate
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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First solar module test labs in Southeast Asia launched

Joyce Hooi, Business Times 19 Jan 10;

THE Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris) announced the inauguration of South-east Asia's first solar module testing and certification laboratories yesterday.

The laboratories are the product of a collaboration between Seris and VDE-ISE Pte Ltd - a joint venture between the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

According to Joachim Luther, the chief executive officer of Seris, these laboratories will serve a dual purpose.

They will be used in performance testing for solar photovoltaic (PV) module certification in collaboration with VDE and ISE, as well as by Seris for its own research and development work on PV module technologies.

'With Seris' know-how in the field of solar energy we are able to offer performance testing of PV modules according to international standards. These tests and certification for the industry will qualify modules for the market,' said Prof Luther.

'Our aims are to increase the durability of industrial modules - which for certified modules is already more than 20 years - and to considerably reduce the cost of PV module encapsulation.'

Module technology currently accounts for about 20 per cent of the cost of solar technology.

Seris is also poised to adapt PV products to the challenges of local conditions through its research, according to Edwin Khew, chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore.

'So far, PV products that have evolved in the market are for temperate climates. However, now, Seris will play a valuable role in applied research and development towards optimising PV components and systems for tropical conditions,' said Mr Khew.

Last month, Seris signed a $2 million research and development contract with Norwegian solar energy firm Renewable Energy Corporation to increase the efficiency of silicon wafer solar cells.

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Singapore not ready for battery recycling rules

Vivian Yeo, ZDNet Asia 18 Jan 10;

SINGAPORE--Mandating take-back facilities for portable batteries is a "very good" move, but one industry observer familiar with the local green movement reckons that consumer recycling mindsets in the country are still lacking for such directives to work.

Responding to a recent development in the United Kingdom where battery sellers will soon be required to provide recycling containers for users to return their batteries, Howard Shaw, executive director of the Singapore Environmental Council (SEC), said battery recycling should be in place to complement efforts to reduce the use of conventional use-and-dispose batteries.

From Feb. 1, all distributors in the U.K. that sell 32kg or more of portable batteries in a year--either in a physical store, online or by mail order--are required to provide a take-back facility free of charge for consumers, according to a document released in December 2009 by the U.K Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The Department said the amount is equivalent to about one pack of four AA batteries a day, and the directive also includes button cells such as those used in watches, and batteries in mobile phones, laptops and electronic appliances.

Batteries are a common problem, Shaw told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview, as toxic waste or fumes would end up in the environment regardless of whether batteries are disposed via landfill or incineration. "No matter how good your technology, a lot of these chemicals [present in the batteries] are not easy to screen out," he pointed out.

However, a similar directive to ensure batteries are properly recycled may not yet be practical in Singapore, he noted. One major challenge here is the lack of infrastructure to recycle batteries, he said, adding that consumer mindset is another obstacle.

"We are still fairly early on in nurturing people's attitudes to participate in voluntary recycling programs," Shaw said. "We've received a lot of queries here at the SEC [asking where to recycle batteries] but the interest level is confined to a very small minority."

Even if the collection of batteries is introduced at retail outlets, incentives such as offering a discount for new batteries, may be necessary to encourage consumers to return used ones, he added.

Enforcement will be challenging as well, he noted. The 32kg requirement, he said, will mean the inclusion of "every petrol station [and] every 7-11" convenience store in Singapore. "Logistically this is going to be a nightmare to operate, and it's going to be tiresome to enforce," he added.

In addition, such measures appear to penalize sellers--not consumers--so it may be limited to some extent in terms of effectiveness, Shaw said. Regulation that targets specifically consumers may eventually be employed in Singapore, he concluded.

User education is a long-term investment, he said, noting that Singapore typically "diligently tracks" such initiatives and may prefer to have "some form of regulation" to spur adoption.

In Japan, for instance, households are required to segregate their trash into different recycling bins, and if the waste is sorted into the wrong bin, no collection will be made, he said. And in certain boroughs of London, users will be issued a fine if authorities find recyclable waste in their mixed waste bins.

"There are so many cases of regulation that [can help] Singapore get where we want to go," Shaw said. "We did it with chewing gum and smoking in public places, and definitely [safeguarding] the environment is more important than chewing gum ending up on pavement."

Asian retailer chips in
Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm Group, which operates retail outlets across Asia including supermarket chain Cold Storage and convenience store cluster Wellcome, said in an e-mail interview the company has availed collection containers for used batteries in its domestic market, despite not being required to provide battery recycling facilities in the jurisdictions it operates in.

"Some of our businesses in Hong Kong do provide collection boxes or recycling bins for customers in collaboration with certain battery brands on a voluntary basis," a spokesperson noted. "We will cooperate fully with the local governments, if such facilities are required, to help reduce pollution to the environment."

The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, which oversees environmental issues in Singapore, did not respond by press time.

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Malaysian Department of Enviroment To Step Up Operation Off Pengerang Waters

Bernama 18 Jan 10;

PASIR GUDANG, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- The Department of Environment's (DOE) special task force has been tasked with stepping up operations against illegal oil dumping and transfer off the Pengerang waters through cooperation with maritime enforcement agencies.

The illegal activities have been rampant in that particular area with countless cases committed by foreign vessels.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environment minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said seven personnel had been assigned to the task force and daily patrols had been conducted with the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

"We are taking special interest in that particular area as there have been multiple cases throughout last year and this year," he told reporters after launching the Environment Seminar here Monday.

Kurup said that the ministry was taking the matter of illegal dumping and transferring of oil in Pengerang seriously.

He cited a recent success where two vessels along with 10 crewmen were detained for illegally transferring 280 bags of solid sludge and 80 barrels of liquid sludge off Pengerang waters last week through a join operation involving the DOE and MMEA.

Meanwhile, on the environmental quality in the Pasir Gudang industrial area and its surroundings, Kurup said he was satisfied with the quality but there was still room for improvement.

-- BERNAMA

Special unit to curb dumping of sludge
Ben Tan, New Straits Times 19 Jan 10;

PASIR GUDANG: The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has stepped up the monitoring of ships to curb illegal oil dumping off Johor's southern coast.
Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said that a dedicated unit, comprising seven members was formed about a year ago, specially trained to be on the lookout for ships that dumped oil and sludge.

"The unit, which is based near Pengerang, is currently working closely with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in monitoring the coast for possible offenders," he said after launching a seminar on the environment here yesterday.

Despite being a small team, he said it was sufficient for the time being as their roles were focused only on the coastal waters off Pengerang.

Asked about the rampant dumping of sludge off the coast of Pengerang, Kurup said the situation was under control.

"We will rehabilitate the coastal areas through cleaning operations and intensified surveillance," he added.

MMEA revealed that dumping of oil and sludge was once rampant off Pengerang.

In addition to dumping, even if a vessel illegally transfers fuel to another ship or conducts illegal cleaning, spillage will occur.

The special unit has been working closely with the MMEA to identify vessels that violate the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

They also participate in joint patrols and operations with MMEA enforcement officers.

Read more!

Indonesian ownership of 92 outermost islands not yet fully secured

Antara 18 Jan 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s ownership of 92 outermost islands has yet to be fully secured, expert in international politics and international relations lecturer of Parahiyangan University Dr Andreas H Pareira said in Jakarta over the weekend.

He was responding to a statement made by the foreign ministry in Jakarta that the 92 outermost islands are completely safe from the claim of other countries, as the Indonesian ownership is guaranteed under international law.

"The safety from foreign claims on the basis of international law is merely a first stage guarantee, not yet a full guarantee," the former House Commission I member said.

In past experience, he said, other countries had different interpretations of international law, which could also happen in the future.

"This can always lead to overlapping claims. We therefore need to be constantly alert and never always rely on international law, our international law experts need to be aggressive in fighting for Indonesia`s ownership of its outermost islands," he pointed out. (*)

Many RI boundaries still without coordinates
Antara 19 Jan 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Member of House Commission I Fayakhun Andriadi had once again criticized Law Nomor 43 of 2008 on state boundaries without border coordinates, which had often confused security guards at the boundaries.

"This is a serious shortcoming of the law, and we from Commission I had been urging the government to make a revision of the law, to make things easier for security guards to carry out their duties in the border regions, " he said in Jakarta Monday.

He made the statement in response to information that the President will soon issue a decree establishina a special body which would manage the development of border regions.(*)

Read more!

Irish Yacht Abandoned on Indonesian Reef

Jakarta Globe 18 Jan 10;

An Irish racing yacht that struck the Gosong Mampango reef will stay there, reports said on Monday.

The 20-meter, 31-ton Cork Clipper was one of 10 yachts taking part in a round-the-world race when it hit the submerged reef off Kalimantan’s west coast early on Thursday morning.

The 16-person crew, hailing from Britain, Ireland, Australia and China, used lifeboats to get to nearby rocks where they were rescued by other racing boats, the Press Association reported.

Marine surveyors and salvage experts have determined the vessel is too badly damaged to be floated off the reef.

“It is with very great sadness that we have to accept that Cork Clipper will remain on the reef as we lose her to the sea,” race organizer Robin Knox Johnston said.

“This is the first loss Clipper has experienced in seven races,” he said. “Clipper accepts the surveyors’ practical opinion and I’d like to thank all of those who have assisted in our rescue efforts over the last couple of days.”

The Web site Sail-World.com criticized the decision, pointing out that there was “no responsibility taken for the fact” that local residents “did not ask for more plastic to be left on their pristine reefs.”

“How can we, as sailors who call the ocean our home, not be held responsible for making some effort to retrieve our rubbish, arguing merely that it is ‘not economic’ to do so?” Sail-World’s Des Ryan wrote.

Read more!

Trembesi tree and climate change: 'snake oil' solution in Indonesia

Reader's Forum Jakarta Post 19 Jan 10;

The Trembesi tree, a native Latin American plant, will help Indonesia cope with climate change as it can absorb 28 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, a minister says. “In the next five years, trembesi trees will absorb huge emissions in Indonesia to tackle the climate change,” Gusti told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono distributed millions of trembesi seedlings (Samanea Saman) to local administrations to be planted in an effort to protect the environment. The launch was held at the State Palace, attended by a number of ministers and governors.

Your comments:

It sounds like another snake oil salesman has been doing the rounds if they think that the trembesi tree (known elsewhere in the world as the rain tree) is going to help solve climate change.

Yes, it is a nice tree as it provides good shade, but not much else, no edible fruits. Because of their aggressive root system and dense shading it is difficult to grow anything else under their very wide canopy, and its roots will readily dry out the surrounding land, including rice paddies.

There are many other useful tree species, including those native to Indonesia, that are perfectly capable of matching the carbon sequestration of the trembesi tree but with added advantage of producing edible fruit and/or valuable timber.

Mahogany and tamarind (pohon asam) are just two well-tried trees in Indonesia that produce valuable timber and fruit respectively. Is this just another one of those one-size-fits-all, “magic bullet” solutions like jatropha and tilapia that was going to be introduced to every habitat in every corner of Indonesia to solve climate change and food protein – irrespective of the suitability to local conditions, local culture or environmental values?

By all means plant trees, but be more imaginative. Trembesi is just another tree and may be nothing more than a distraction from the real issues of climate change. Better still, do more for climate change by stopping the massive illegal logging and deforestation of what is left of our beautiful native forests in Indonesia. Then we would not have to revert to planting introduced trees and believing in any magical powers of the trembesi (rain) tree.

Nairdah
Sydney

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Stop converting peatlands, Indonesian government study recommends

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 18 Jan 10;

A study by the government has recommended a moratorium on peatland conversion if the country wants to meet its pledged emission cuts to tackle climate change.

The study commissioned by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) also proposes a land-swap scheme to relocate existing licenses in the peatlands, but not in other degraded forests.

“Land swaps coupled with a revision of spatial planning to conserve unlicensed peatlands could contribute up to 37 percent in potential emission cuts,” Basah Hernowo, the director of forestry and water resources conservation at Bappenas, told The Jakarta Post at the weekend.

Indonesia has around 21 million hectares of peatlands, mostly in Sumatra with 7.2 million hectares, Kalimantan with 5.8 million hectare and Papua with 8 million hectares. Most of the peatland in Papua is untouched.

The study predicted that peatlands contributed about 1 billion tons of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year, or half of the country’s total emissions.

Under a business-as-usual scenario, the study predicted emissions from peatlands would contribute 1,387 million tons by 2025.

“The utilization of the peatlands probably contributes less than 1 percent of GDP, yet accounts for
almost 50 percent of emissions,” Basah said.

The second phase of the study to assess economic aspects of peatlands will be conducted this year.

A number of plantations, industrial timber concessions (HTI) and forest concession holders (HPH) run business in the peatlands.

The Agriculture Ministry issued a 2009 decree allowing plantations to convert peatlands with a thickness of less than 3 meters.

Many said the decree was contrary to the ministry’s letters to governors in 2007, asking local administrations to stop the conversion of peatlands into oil palm plantations.

“Enforcing the law on existing forest and the plantation concessions operating in the peatlands could yield about 338 million tons in CO2 reduction, or 24 percent by 2025,” he said.

Basah said the rehabilitation of peatlands and preventing fires could also cut about 430 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Indonesia has pledged to abate the country’s emissions by 26 percent by 2020, of which 14 percent will be cut from forest and peatlands.

The study said that emissions from peatlands were dominated by anthropogenic fire emissions, peat oxidation and the removal of above-ground biomass from deforestation and forest degradation.

“The current emissions from the peatlands come mostly from Sumatra and Kalimantan, whereas Papua has extensive shallow peatlands that have the potential to increase Indonesia’s emissions if they are developed in the future,” he said.

Forest campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia Yuyun Indradi, said the study should be made as a basis to cut emissions from peatlands.

“The problem is poor law enforcement against those companies that have already converted the peatlands,” he said.

Greenpeace has protested the destruction of peatlands in Riau, including in Semenanjung Kampar, which they say store around 2 gigatons of carbon, with peat layers of more than 15 meters.

The Bappenas study also recommended the need for effective institutions to overcome overlapping mandates on the management of peat and lowland areas in the country.

It also proposed the need to develop peatland carbon policies to attract financial incentives under the current Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme.

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