29 January 2010
The UK has joined forces with the Indonesian government to tackle deforestation and prepare Indonesians for the impacts of climate change, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander announced at Davos today.
The partnership will work to bring down carbon emissions by reversing the high rate of deforestation in the country, boost Indonesia’s low carbon economy and lift thousands of people out of poverty.
Indonesia is the third largest global carbon emitter by some estimates, largely as a result of deforestation, forest fires and draining and burning of peat-land. 3,500 hectares of forest are chopped down every day in the country – the equivalent of three football pitches every minute. Nearly a third of the country’s forest cover has been lost in the last twenty years.
The clearing of forests to make way for oil palm plantations is currently one of the biggest contributors to deforestation in Indonesia. The partnership will help to strengthen regulations and create financial incentives to encourage the palm oil industry to grow on already degraded land, rather than natural forest.
Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, said:
“The impacts of unchecked deforestation in Indonesia will be felt across the world for years to come.
“Through this partnership the UK will stand side by side with the Indonesians to help manage their forests, protecting this vital resource for future generations.”
Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent by 2020, or by as much as 41 per cent if the country receives international support. Through the new five year partnership, the UK will help Indonesia to meet the more ambitious target for reducing carbon emissions.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) will provide £50 million towards the partnership to ensure Indonesia’s trees are worth more in the ground than chopped down; its economic development is based on low carbon growth; and the vulnerability of poor Indonesians to climate change is reduced.
The partnership will also help limit the destruction of peatlands in the country. Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning or drying of Indonesia’s peatlands are estimated to be equivalent to the total global emissions from air and sea transport.
The partnership will focus on:
- Providing areas such as Papua and Kalimantan (formerly Borneo) with land use planning and economic advice so that their forests and peatlands can be managed sustainably.
- Providing longer-term access to credit to help businesses offset the additional costs of choosing degraded land, not forests or peat lands, for palm oil production
- Providing analysis and information on the ways forests and peatlands are used to the Indonesian public, helping them to hold their government to account - Helping Indonesians to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change by improving their understanding of the specific impacts in Indonesia and researching how best to protect the Indonesian people, their property and the infrastructure they depend on.
The new funding will form part of the UK’s £1.5 billion contribution to the international ‘Fast Start’ package announced at December’s Copenhagen conference, helping developing countries take action now to reduce emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Indonesia and climate changeIndonesia is one of the principal global emitters of green house gases. Its total emissions in 2005, 2.8 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent, were estimated to equal the combined emissions from the UK, France, Italy and Germany.
The bulk of its emissions arise from land use change, deforestation and forest fires. Deforestation accounts for nearly 40% of Indonesia’s emissions. The 2008 Eliasch Review reported that Indonesia was responsible for over one third of all global emissions from net deforestation in 2000.
Indonesia’s peat deposits cover between 20-27 million hectares – the largest in the world after Russia and Canada. Indonesia’s peatlands contain almost as much carbon as the Amazon basin.
The drying of peatlands following deforestation or drainage generates more greenhouse gases per hectare than any other activity. Emissions from Indonesia’s peatlands through burning or drying are estimated to be equivalent to the total global emissions from air and sea transport.
The World Bank recently reported that Indonesia uses fuel and electricity inefficiently and in excess. Carbon emissions from energy use are predicted to increase by seven times by 2030.
By 2100, estimates suggest that the impact of climate change on Indonesia could be costing the equivalent of 7 percent of GDP.
Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate, most directly because it has long coastlines, with 40 million people living less than 10m above sea level and is highly dependent on agriculture and natural resources.
Climate change will have the greatest impact on the poorest Indonesians: currently over 100 million Indonesians live on less than 2 US$ a day.
Indonesia has one fifth of all the coral reefs in the world. The reefs – the marine biodiversity they support and the fishing communities that depend on them - are threatened by rising in sea temperature and acidity.
Facts on Indonesia’s forests Over the last two decades Indonesia has lost about 30% of its forest land. Forests now cover 60% per cent of Indonesia.
Current rates of deforestation will result in Indonesia losing a further 16 million ha of forest by 2020 or an area just over the size of England and Wales. This would result in an additional 11,000 Mega tonnes of CO2e; or roughly twice the UK’s effort to reduce emissions 26% by 2020.
But
Deforestation rates in Indonesia are declining. The current rate is estimated to be only one third of that recorded in the 1990s (World Bank, 2009).
Between 1990 and 2000, 21 million hectares of forest were lost but 12 million hectares were added. The Ministry of Forestry currently plans to reforest 33 million hectares of degraded land.
The vast majority of deforestation in Indonesia is planned and legal and takes place on land allocated for economic development i.e. mostly for timber harvesting or conversion to agriculture.
Illegal logging, at around 150,000 ha of deforestation annually, accounts for less than 12% of deforestation in Indonesia. 8% of deforestation occurred in protected areas.
Since 2001, oil palm has expanded at a rate of 273,000 ha per year. There are currently around 7 million hectares of established plantations, with plans to double this in 10 years. Refocusing new oil-palm plantations away from areas of natural forest onto already degraded land could help cut Indonesia’s emissions by 30%.
DFID is supporting the Indonesian Governments implementation of a Timber Legality Assurance System, which will include auditing and strengthened export licensing systems. This is the first step toward conclusion of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the EU and Indonesia, which will require all timber imports into the EU to be verified as legal.
DFID support to Indonesia has totalled £75 million over the past three years, including support for tsunami reconstruction, disaster risk reduction, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, decentralisation and improving local government.
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