Forest Beyond Trees: The change of government leaves environmental policy in limbo, but that won’t stop Indonesia’s REDD+ administrators and legislators from working toward their targets
Adelia Anjani Putri and Abdul Khalik Jakarta Globe 4 Nov 14;
Yogyakarta. Indonesia, under President Joko Widodo and Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, faces an uncertain path going toward sustainable development and striking a balance between economic progress and protection of its forest, land and sea, experts say.
While Joko’s predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, kicked off several environmental policies such as a moratorium on the issuing of new forest-clearing concessions and the establishment of a body to oversee programs under the Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism, the incumbent has not yet made any promises on whether to continue with those initiatives.
He has, however, shown a high degree of awareness the ongoing destruction of the country’s forests and the need to protect them, says Nasir Jamil, a legislator from the opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
“He knows the importance of protecting the forests,” Nasir told the Jakarta Globe during a forest workshop in Yogyakarta last week.
“But we hope he also has a sense of urgency and crisis on the matter.”
Nasir said Joko should continue with Yudhoyono’s programs and put them into practice while pressing forward with his own programs, voicing support of a special task force.
“First of all, we must treat crimes relating to the destruction of forests, including slash-and-burn clearing, illegal logging and misuse of forest permits, as extraordinary crimes like corruption and drug offenses,” he said.
He said the proposed task force overseeing such crimes could be similar to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) or the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
“But Joko should benefit from what Yudhoyono has established, especially the REDD+ executive board. They have the expertise and have done a good job in laying the foundation for further progress in protecting our forests,” he said.
He proposed the House of Representatives pass legislation strengthening REDD+ programs and providing a basis for the formation of the task force.
Reduction target
Four years after the signing of a $1 billion agreement between Indonesia and Norway on REDD+ projects, Indonesia is now ready to move into the second phase of the program, under the direction of its REDD+ Management Agency, or BP REDD+.
REDD+ is a mechanism for sustainable management of forests and the environment, conducted at the global level. Not only does it cover deforestation and forest degradation, REDD+ also pursues other targets such as conservation of forests and carbon stocks, sustainable forest management, and enhancement of forest conditions.
Indonesia is among the countries implementing pilot projects through the REDD+ mechanism. Based on the letter of intent with Norway, the latter will disburse the promised funds only when Indonesia has managed to decrease its carbon dioxide emissions level.
Yudhoyono in 2009 committed Indonesia to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020, or 41 percent with international assistance.
The initial agreement with Norway stated that the program would last three year, from 2010-2013; but due to some developments the program will be continued until 2020.
The first phase of preparing the institutions and necessary tools ran from 2010 to 2012. Indonesia has also developed a one-map initiative, creating a database of licensed forest users, and a new law to protect indigenous lands.
Indonesia is now embarking on the second phase, lasting until 2016. The phase is set to further national engagement and reporting on the pilot projects and disburse additional funding.
In the 2017-2020 period, Indonesia plans to embark on the last phase, which is full implementation across the country.
Conflicting regulations
The initial meetings on the issue were difficult, BP REDD+ chief Heru Prasetyo recalls.
“There were no regulations on climate change or forest restoration,” he told the Globe on the sidelines of the workshop in Yogyakarta.
“The regulations from different ministries were conflicting with each other. That’s how we know what we should do first: set up a legal basis and fix the regulations.
“We also found the Forestry Ministry, the Environment Ministry and other institutions each had their own versions of forest definition and mapping. We needed to renew the knowledge, the institutions and the information system, so that went onto our to-do-list: making a single integrated map of forests and setting up a database of companies with forest-related licenses.”
With a high deforestation rate, environmental issues have become increasingly pressing for Indonesia.
Forest clearing has contributed 63 percent of Indonesia’s annual CO2 emissions, which are increasing every year.
In 2000, the country emitted 1,720 million tons of CO2, a gas that contributes to global warming. That figure increased to 2,120 million tons in 2005 and is projected to reach 2,950 million tons in 2020.
The problem stretches far beyond the clearing of forests, says William Sabandar, the deputy for operations at BP REDD+.
“Take Sumatra as an example,” he said.
“From 1985 to 2012, we lost 53 percent of the forest there. Deforestation is more than just forest or carbon issues, and to handle the problem we have to see the whole picture. In Sumatra, it involves development issues, poverty, indigenous land rights and social conflicts.
“Forest degradation and deforestation will affect biodiversity, water supply, and even marginalization,” William said.
“REDD+ is an opportunity for Indonesia to strive for a better condition to change the development trajectory to a sustainable one. Our development should be able to address all those issues.”
This year, BP REDD+ has been engaged in a 10-point imperative action plan to implement its operational strategy.
“We’ve been monitoring the permit issuance moratorium, handling of forest fires, mapping and increasing the capacity of indigenous forests, supervising forest area licenses, conducting the green village and green school programs, supporting spatial planning, supporting conflict resolution, and setting up a strategic plan to save national parks and protected forests,” William said.
Besides financial and guideline assistance, REDD+ also provides Indonesia with a louder and clearer voice.
“The international world will hear us better and pay more attention now that Indonesia is a part of REDD+, making our strategy a global concern,” William said.
“We’re now moving on REDD+’s guidelines and representing them as well, but we will do it on Indonesia’s own terms.”
Heru said he aimed to make REDD+ more than just a government program.
“It’s more than just a program and regulations. It’s a movement. It has to be a movement so we can include everyone and every sector — art, social, geophysics,” he said.
However, he said public awareness of REDD+ and of the agency administering projects under the mechanism remained poor.
“We admit that REDD+ hasn’t been really explained to the people. We need to transfer the information to a wider audience,” Heru said.
Private sector push
Questions have been raised about the ethics of putting money as the incentive for implementing carbon emissions mitigation programs, particularly at the community level.
REDD+ green economy advisor Ivo Mulder says the discussion of REDD+ should not just revolve around money.
“If we talk about opportunity cost in the short term, the income generated from REDD+ won’t pay as much as a fully operational [oil palm] plantation,” he said.
“Worldwide, our research showed that it takes up to $30 billion per year to decrease deforestation by 50 percent, and as Indonesia has up to 20 percent of the total forest, we can see that $1 billion [promised by Norway] would not cover the need. But we can’t just expect local governments to pay the $30 billion.
“The role of government is increasing, but to our delight, the effort coming from the private sector is increasing in a much bigger scale. Companies like Unilever and Nestle have started to chip in to the process by not ordering supplies from companies that are involved in deforestation.”
The pledged money, though not fully disbursed yet, is also bound to put the government in a bind on some matters.
“There are questions that should be answered by the government: Should REDD money be used for subsidies? Should it be used to stop illegal logging or to increase legal timber production instead?” Mulder said.
As a product of the previous administration, BP REDD+ and its REDD+ programs might face a new challenge — the new people in office and their stance on the issue.
“We’ll continue to hold events to inform them,” Heru promised.
He added he was also eager to see what the new government would do.
“In Brazil, when they first started their anti-deforestation movement, the president took a strong approach,” he said.
“He set up a federal police unit to handle illegal logging, conduct unannounced searches to catch the perpetrators red-handed, and set up supporting policies, including one that denied fund disbursement from the central government to local governments that were still engaged in deforestation.
“The question now is whether Indonesia can do the same. Does the Indonesian government have the guts to do that? Are legislators willing to support it? It’s going to be interesting if the government want to do this.”
Desmond Mahesa, a legislator from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said that REDD+ was a good initiative in general but criticized some points.
“BP REDD+ needs to come and inform us at the House of Representatives so that we can understand the approach and shape our decisions in accordance to it,” he said.
“It’s also important that the agency doesn’t impose policies arrogantly. It has to pay attention to each area’s local wisdom. We don’t want the policies to block people’s opportunity to develop. The public should be involved. The policies have to adjust to their condition.”
Riven House
Rahayu Saraswati, a fellow legislator from Gerindra, also threw her support behind the REDD+ plan and said she was willing to work despite other political priorities in the House.
“For the legislation, we would love to help as it’s also stated in Gerindra’s main visions that we promote environmentally friendly growth,” she said.
“But how are we supposed to function properly when half of the members of the House are not willing to collaborate?” she added, referring to a political squabble that has seen the five parties from the coalition backing Joko announce its own shadow House leadership.
“For us, now we’re already working on some issues even though we don’t have any staff yet,” Rahayu said.
Hermanto, a legislator who has served since 2010 on House Commission IV, which oversees forestry and environmental affairs, said the House would continue to advance efforts to protect the environment.
“In the last period [from 2009 to 2014], we came up with nine laws, including the amended forestry law, to protect forests and push forestry industry stakeholders to obtain optimal result with minimal damage to the environment,” he said.
“The House is still committed to protecting the environment by supervising the regulations issued by local governments. We’ll pursue a balance of forest protection and maintaining public welfare.”
However, Hermanto said he doubted Joko’s administration would make protecting the environment a priority.
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