Low Carbon News in Indonesia in January 2015
Indonesia Must Boost Disaster Prevention Efforts: Experts
Officials estimate that natural disasters incur losses of as much as Rp 30 trillion ($2.3 billion) on average
By Jakarta Globe on 07:44 am Jan 19, 2015
Officials estimate natural disasters incur losses of up to Rp 30 trillion ($2.3 billion) on average, while disaster relief funds available for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) total only Rp 3 trillion per year. The BNPB said as many as 270 districts and municipalities in Indonesia, a majority of which are on the islands of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, are prone to landslides. These areas are home to 124 million people — about half the country’s population. According to a 2012 study sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund, BNBP and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), 99 percent of Indonesia’s population of 250 million people lives in an area with “very high risk” of natural disasters, meaning at least one natural disaster has occurred in the area in the past five years.
Experts have agreed that with global warming and climate change disrupting weather patterns, including by triggering more frequent and heavier rainfall, the prevalence of natural disasters might continue to increase, posing even more threats to Indonesia. Geologist Haryadi Permana of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPI, and Gede Suantika, an official with the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) both agreed that the country need to boost its preventive measures to avoid more victims and damages. “We must intensify warnings against disasters ahead of rainy months,” Gede said.
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/indonesia-must-boost-disaster-prevention-efforts-experts/
Village saves world from climate change
The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Sat, January 17 2015, 11:35 AM
Having declared their region climate-caring in November 2014, farmers in Terong village, Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, have backed up their words with actions by not cutting down trees in the area before time. Arupa director Dwi Nugroho said his organization had helped Terong forest farmers establish a farmers’ group, Jasema, in 2012, with 554 members and a combined space of 321 hectares. Arupa trained the farmers to manage the forest sustainably, understand global warming and climate change and calculate carbon absorption. The farmers’ group was later granted a timber-legality verification system (SVLK). According to research conducted jointly by Arupa and the farmers between 2011 and 2014, every hectare of trees in domestic yards in the subdistrict could absorb 14 tons of carbon annually. The trees in the fields, meanwhile, could absorb 10.87 tons of carbon per hectare per year.
In 2014, Arupa and the ICCTF planted 4,725 teakwood trees, 3,780 of which are expected to survive for the next 20 years and could absorb a total of 493,960 tons of carbon or some 24,698 tons annually. Jasema farmers’ group chairman Sugiyono said early logging caused financial losses to farmers. Providing an example, he said that a sonokeling tree of less than a meter diameter was sold for Rp 100,000 (US$8) to Rp 300,000, whereas given time to grow, it could fetch millions of rupiah.
Link:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/17/village-saves-world-climate-change.html
Green project helps emission reduction efforts in Papua
The Jakarta Post, Jayapura | Mon, January 19 2015, 6:56 PM
A European Union (EU) funded green project called “The Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation by Civil Society on Land-use Planning for Low Emissions Development Strategy (ParCiMon)” has helped local residents in Mulima village, Libarek district, Jayawijaya regency, Papua, to better understand the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by teaching them how to calculate carbon stocks and learn what activities can help reduce emissions. “We, local residents, have asked facilitators of the program to teach us how to calculate carbon emissions in our area and we will later disseminate this knowledge to younger generations in this village,” said Titus Himan, one of ParCiMon working group members, on Friday.
In Jayawijaya regency, ParCiMon through its local partner World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) Indonesia has developed 10 emission reduction strategies. Local communities, for instance, can participate to prevent declines in carbon stocks by maintaining protected forests and Lorentz National Park conservation areas in line with their functions. They can also increase carbon stocks by, among other things, maintaining the function of primary and secondary forests, planting ulin (ironwood) trees, cultivating coffee plants and fruit crops as well as planting cassowary trees on idle land, shifting it into secondary forests.
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Firm offers waste management service
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, January 28 2015, 8:36 AM
Jakarta-based private engineering firm PT Basuki Pratama Engineering has offered to cooperate with the administration on waste management. The company’s president director, Sujanto Basuki, said the firm had offered to operate its German machinery for hydrothermal carbonization, which could convert waste into fuel or fertilizer. Sujanto added that the firm could also distribute mobile units to traditional markets or residences for a quicker conversion process. The machine, Sujanto claimed, was able to process both wet or dry garbage, and would not cause pollution.
Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama told reporters at City Hall in Central Jakarta on Tuesday that the city was interested and asked that the firm submit its services to the e-catalog. “Waste management is a big problem in Jakarta, so we are interested [in the cooperation]. We have asked the firm to submit its services to the e-catalog at the LKPP [National Procurement Agency], so we can purchase it,” Ahok said.
Link:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/28/firm-offers-waste-management-service.html