Environment Preservation – Indonesia Firmly Holds to Paris Agreement
Photo: special
So Example – Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya (center) at the opening of the 3rd Asia Pacific Rainforest Summit (Summit of APRS) in Yogyakarta on Tuesday (24/4). Indonesia is now an example for other countries in the world to manage tropical rain forests.
Serious and simultaneous effort for more than three years to handle forest and land fire and preserve forest in Indonesia has given results and praised by the world.
YOGYAKARTA – The world has now given high appreciation for efforts by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)’s government that are considered successful in forest and land fire control that resulted in the decreasing rate in deforestation. Indonesia now serves as an example for other countries in the world in tropical rainforest management.
“Indonesia has done the best job, bringing the countries in one region to preserve the forests that have come to a critical state and implement the Paris Agreement with full commitment. I personally thank you,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy of Australia, Josh Frydenberg, at the opening of the 3rd Asia Pacific Rainforest Summit/SUMMIT APRS) in Yogyakarta, yesterday. The summit lasted until Wednesday (25/4).
The summit was held to support the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation and forest degradation in the Asia Pacific region. This meeting held a theme of Protecting Forests and People, Supporting Economic Growth. The delegations from approximately 20 Asia Pacific countries with tropical rainforests were present to discuss the direction of the policy of world’s tropical rainforest preservation. Tropical rainforests span 740 million hectares throughout the Asia Pacific region, and give important contribution by providing lives for around 450 million people in the world.
Giving Contribution
Present as host and keynote speaker, the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya. According to Siti, Indonesia’s forests contribute 17.2 percent of the NDC target, which is to reduce 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030.
To achieve this target, the government of President Jokowi has taken various correcting steps in saving the tropical rainforests and hold a full commitment to the Paris Agreement. In the last three years, Indonesia has managed to reduce deforestation from 1.09 million hectares in 2015 to 0.61 million hectares in 2016, and to 0.479 million hectares in 2017. “We are trying to bring it down to 0.45 million hectares in 2020, and to 0.35 million hectares in 2030,” said the Minister Siti.
These targets can be achieved optimistically, due to the multi-party cooperation, from local level to joint cooperation in national level. In order to bring welfare to the people and keep the forest preserved, Indonesia is now intensifying the social forestry program covering an area of 12.7 million hectares. Through this program, there has been established partnership between government and the people with schemes such as Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI), Community Forest (HKm), Village Forest (HD), Indigenous Forest (HA), and Forest Partnership.
Minister Siti Nurbaya, during the summit, held various bilateral meetings with delegates from neighbouring countries. Minister Siti met with Australia’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Amy Khor, as well as the Brunei Darussalam’s Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, Dato Ali Apong.
