Green groups say Indonesia deforestation

ban 'weak'
Published on May 3, 2012

In this photograph taken on Aug 5, 2010 during an aerial inspection organised by Greenpeace
shows two excavators cutting down trees over peat land forest located at the pulp wood
concession site of Bina Duta Laksana in Kerumutan area in Riau province on Sumatra island. A
coalition of green groups in Indonesia on Thursday criticised a moratorium on deforestation as
'weak', saying the year-long ban still excludes large tracts of the country's carbon-rich forests. -PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA (AFP) - A coalition of green groups in Indonesia on Thursday criticised a

moratorium on deforestation as 'weak', saying the year-long ban still excludes large
tracts of the country's carbon-rich forests.
Greenpeace, which is leading the coalition, said government maps that mark
protected areas exclude 3.5 million ha of peat land - biodiverse swamp-like forests
that hold rich carbon reserves.
Greenpeace said the government must review all existing logging permits on the
country's natural forests and peat land, and improve governance based on an
accurate set of maps.

'The government cannot hope to improve forest governance and ensure the
effectiveness of the moratorium without taking these crucial steps,' Greenpeace
South-east Asia political campaigner, Mr Yuyun Indradi said in a statement.
An earlier review of the maps by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that the
moratorium leaves almost 50 per cent of Indonesia's 100 million ha of natural forest
and peat land unprotected.
'The current moratorium is weak and does very little in effect to protect the forests,'
said Mr Deddy Ratih, a forest campaign manager for Friends of the Earth Indonesia.
The two-year moratorium came into effect last year as the centrepiece of a deal with
Norway, which pledged US$1 billion (S$1.2 billion) to Indonesia under a United
Nations-backed scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation.
That deal was part of a larger commitment made by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono in 2009 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from levels that year by 26
per cent by 2020, or 41 per cent with international support.
The coalition charged that the moratorium - which was originally supposed to include
all natural forests - had been watered down to protect just older primary forests and
peatland because of pressure from big business.
Indonesia is often cited as the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, due
mainly to rampant deforestation by the palm oil, mining and paper industries.

China must act urgently to curb emissions:

World Bank
Published on May 3, 2012

The China Central Television (CCTV) tower is hardly visible as fog covers most of Beijing on March
17, 2012. China must act urgently on multiple fronts if it is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from
its rapidly expanding cities and hit government targets for curbing carbon intensity, a new report
from the World Bank said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China must act urgently on multiple fronts if it is to cut

greenhouse gas emissions from its rapidly expanding cities and hit government
targets for curbing carbon intensity, a new report from the World Bank said on
Thursday.
Cities generate an estimated 70 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gases and
with China set to increase its number of urban residents by 350 million over the next
20 years, the Bank says the case for urgent action is strong.
'For the 12th Five-Year Plan period, a 17 percent reduction target for carbon intensity
has been set,' World Bank country director for China, Mr Klaus Rohland, wrote in a
foreward to the 588-page report.
'Addressing cities' emissions will be a crucial element of this planned reduction.'

China has set a goal of reducing the economy's carbon intensity by 40-45 per cent in
2020 compared with 2005, while the Five-Year Plan covers the period from 20112015.
The report, titled Sustainable Low-Carbon City Development In China, says industry
and power generation each contribute as much as 40 per cent of city emissions. The
remaining 20 per cent of the carbon footprint is left by transport, buildings and
waste.
The Bank called for energy-efficient buildings and industries, transport systems
offering alternatives to cars, and better management of water and waste, making
five key recommendations to achieve low-carbon city development.
'A few key complementary actions - on the land and municipal finance agenda, on
facilitating coordination across different governmental entities - could help to
empower city governments to effectively implement low-carbon action plans,' said
Mr Shomik Mehindratta, a co-editor of the report, said in the World Bank statement.
The report said it did not set out to be a compendium of best practice, but a
collection of material building on analytical work and real investment project
experiences.
To that end, the final chapter of the report is given over to an analysis of the financial
instruments the World Bank has available to support the building of low-carbon cities
in China.
The Bank said 67 per cent of projects in its existing China lending portfolio had
environmental, climate change, or low-carbon objectives.
'In the Chinese context, where the financial architecture to support low-carbon
investments is still evolving, the expertise the World Bank has developed and its
ability to blend different instruments to finance low-carbon projects represent a
unique opportunity,' the report said.
An update to the report is planned over the next 18 to 24 months to update the
findings and lessons presented, as well as experience from the implementation of
pilot schemes.