[Updated 11/5/09]
Indonesia’s forestry minister says the emerging UN carbon market system to encourage forest preservation doesn't suit his country. Minister M.S. Kaban says a simpler, cheaper and more practical system is needed in the disparate island chain for '
REDD', or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.
The United Nations is currently leading the REDD initiative to develop a global carbon trading mechanism that would see rich countries pay developing countries in the tropics to preserve their forests. The scheme would create an alternative income for forest communities currently relying on clearing forests for their livelihood.
Reducing deforestation of tropical rainforests is considered a vital component of the fight against global warming with greenhouse emissions from clearing forests thought responsible for 20 per cent of worldwide annual totals. Logging and burning of Indonesia’s 75 million hectares of rainforest is estimated to be contributing 6 per cent of global emissions alone.
Indonesia was among the
five nations recently granted $18 million in UN pilot funding for REDD capacity building. It was was due to release its own national rules for REDD late in 2008 but the release was delayed due to legal and financial complexities.
“Indonesia needs an alternative scheme for carbon trading and we must begin work on creating this now,” Kaban said. “We must find a simpler, less-expensive scheme that can save our forests while still benefiting the people,” the Jakarta Globe reports.
Kaban said Indonesia supports the REDD concept but the expense and complexity associated with implementation made it unworkable in Indonesia. He supported continued development of the voluntary carbon market to promote avoided deforestation locally.
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which is headquartered in Java, supports REDD carbon trading system but acknowledges there would need to be significant legal and administrative reforms in Indonesia for it to work. CIFOR director Frances Seymour said the government would need to develop a more transparent forest management system, as well as better coordination between national and regional governments, their agencies, and local communities.
WWF Indonesia says Indonesia would be best advised to take part in an official REDD mechanism if it is agreed at UN climate negotiations. Fitrian Ardiansyah, program director for climate and energy at the national WWF office says tighter regulation under a compliance market would mean greater price stability and higher prices overall than the voluntary market. He said it could mean the difference between €1 per tonne of carbon and €10 per tonne, a big factor in whether the incentive to protect forests is large enough for REDD to succeed on a wide scale.
Jakarta Globe 15-16/4/09
Related stories:
Update: Indonesia firms up REDD rulesREDD funds approved for pilot nationsREDD rules delayed in IndonesiaLift REDD returns to beat palm oilForests: Climate ally could turn enemyEvents:
REDD and Combating Illegal Logging