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137688
Sun, 08/15/2010 - 07:45
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https://oananews.org//node/137688
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News Focus: POSSIBLE MORATORIUM AT RI-NORWAY MEETING DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS
By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Aug 14 (ANTARA) - Indonesian and Norwegian negotiators will meet in Jakarta next week to discuss the implementation of a bilateral climate deal to combat deforestation in Indonesia but the possibility that a moratorium will be agreed upon at the meeting has drawn mixed reactions.
Elements engaged in mining projects have expressed strong objections to a two year moratorium the two countries may agree on during the meeting, while environmentalists support the idea of a moratorium as a concrete measure to reduce carbon gas emissions.
Supriatna Suhala, executive director of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA), recently said the implementation of new mining projects might be delayed if the moratorium was adopted. Mining ventures such as the BHP coal project in Maruwai could be affected.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, and local partner PT Adaro Energy are developing the Maruwai coal project in East and Central Kalimantan and waiting for forest land-use permits from the government. BHP said their concession held 774 million tons of undeveloped metallurgical and thermal coal.
Supriatna added that the moratorium might also affect the existing companies that need to expand their concessions. "There are some companies whose forest land-use permits will expire within two years. They may have to stop operating," he added.
The moratorium was still under discussion and the association had submitted their views to the Forestry Ministry, Supriatna said.
In late May, the government signed an agreement with Norway to implement a two-year moratorium on forest conversions to reduce carbon emissions. In exchange, Indonesia would receive a US$1 billion grant to reduce deforestation.
The government is preparing a presidential decree to implement the agreement.
In the meantime, Indonesia Mining Association (IMA) executive director Priyo Pribadi Soemarno said he was more concerned about the draft presidential decree than the agreement with Norway .
"The agreement only says the moratorium is aimed at reducing emission by halting forest use permits for natural forests and peat forests. We fully support this as most mining operations in Indonesia are outside natural forests and peat lands," Priyo said.
He added that the draft raised more concerns as there was an article stating that the government would review previously-granted concessions.
"This reflects an effort to withdraw what has been given and this will have a bad effect on investment," Priyo said.
Even without the moratorium, many mining projects, such as the $500 million zinc and black tin project of Dairy Prima and the Elang copper project of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, have been in limbo for years due to permit problems, he said.
Both projects are stuck because the permits have not been granted yet by the government.
Priyo said that eight projects were in a similar situation. "Around $14 billion in potential investment in these projects have been delayed due to this problem," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta post.
Masnellyarti Hilman, a deputy minister for nature conservation enhancement and environmental degradation control at the Environment Ministry said that the conflict between mining activities and environmental issues have always been one sided.
"We always talk about the mining sector's contribution to the state budget, but we never discuss how much the government has to spend for disasters caused by environmental damage," she said.
In response to a possible moratorium, conservationists from around the world really hope for the issuance of a concrete steps like a moratorium.
Conservationists concluded their meeting in Bali with a declaration of support for Indonesia to limit logging by a moratorium, which they said should be implemented immediately.
The Bali Declaration urged the government to go a step further and restrict the expansion of plantations to areas without standing forests.
The declaration "is written [with] positive [intentions]," ATBC Conservation Committee co-chair William Laurance said.
"We really try to emphasize a lot of positive issues in Indonesia and consider many challenges in Indonesia and in other tropical countries."
A conservation project as ambitious as Indonesia's would face many challenges, he said, adding that obviously, there was going to be some industries that were not going to be happy about it.
"There has already been opposition to the proposed moratorium on concessions for oil palm and wood and pulp plantations. We are arguing that the moratorium was absolutely crucial and also that the government should resist" the opposition.
The Bali Declaration also called for a re-evaluation of all logging permits issued before the moratorium was put into place.
"The numbers are a little unclear, but we are talking about at least 10 million hectares of existing concessions. We are hoping the government of Indonesia would re-evaluate the concessions sooner rather than later."
The financial deal with Norway could add impetus to the wider conservation effort. "But the money will be clearly linked to outcomes, and my understanding is that Norway will not pay that money unless there is clear progress," Laurance said.
The money is "on the table, but there has to be this clear demonstration of progress in terms of reducing deforestation and having a transparent forestry monitoring system."
John Kress, the ATBCs executive director and chairman of the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian Institution, said the Bali Declaration carried more weight than similar statements by environmental NGOs because it was based on expert studies.
"I think that the difference here... this is a group of objective scientists," he said adding that therefore such concrete steps as a logging moratorium was the solution.
"We are trying to do the most objective work, what needs to be done to maintain the environment. We have already tried to translate science in the most understandable statements for the general public, based on what we do as scientific investigators, and that's the big difference," he said.
"We are scientists and our greatest strength is our credibility," Kress added.
Jakarta, Aug 14 (ANTARA) - Indonesian and Norwegian negotiators will meet in Jakarta next week to discuss the implementation of a bilateral climate deal to combat deforestation in Indonesia but the possibility that a moratorium will be agreed upon at the meeting has drawn mixed reactions.
Elements engaged in mining projects have expressed strong objections to a two year moratorium the two countries may agree on during the meeting, while environmentalists support the idea of a moratorium as a concrete measure to reduce carbon gas emissions.
Supriatna Suhala, executive director of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA), recently said the implementation of new mining projects might be delayed if the moratorium was adopted. Mining ventures such as the BHP coal project in Maruwai could be affected.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, and local partner PT Adaro Energy are developing the Maruwai coal project in East and Central Kalimantan and waiting for forest land-use permits from the government. BHP said their concession held 774 million tons of undeveloped metallurgical and thermal coal.
Supriatna added that the moratorium might also affect the existing companies that need to expand their concessions. "There are some companies whose forest land-use permits will expire within two years. They may have to stop operating," he added.
The moratorium was still under discussion and the association had submitted their views to the Forestry Ministry, Supriatna said.
In late May, the government signed an agreement with Norway to implement a two-year moratorium on forest conversions to reduce carbon emissions. In exchange, Indonesia would receive a US$1 billion grant to reduce deforestation.
The government is preparing a presidential decree to implement the agreement.
In the meantime, Indonesia Mining Association (IMA) executive director Priyo Pribadi Soemarno said he was more concerned about the draft presidential decree than the agreement with Norway .
"The agreement only says the moratorium is aimed at reducing emission by halting forest use permits for natural forests and peat forests. We fully support this as most mining operations in Indonesia are outside natural forests and peat lands," Priyo said.
He added that the draft raised more concerns as there was an article stating that the government would review previously-granted concessions.
"This reflects an effort to withdraw what has been given and this will have a bad effect on investment," Priyo said.
Even without the moratorium, many mining projects, such as the $500 million zinc and black tin project of Dairy Prima and the Elang copper project of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, have been in limbo for years due to permit problems, he said.
Both projects are stuck because the permits have not been granted yet by the government.
Priyo said that eight projects were in a similar situation. "Around $14 billion in potential investment in these projects have been delayed due to this problem," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta post.
Masnellyarti Hilman, a deputy minister for nature conservation enhancement and environmental degradation control at the Environment Ministry said that the conflict between mining activities and environmental issues have always been one sided.
"We always talk about the mining sector's contribution to the state budget, but we never discuss how much the government has to spend for disasters caused by environmental damage," she said.
In response to a possible moratorium, conservationists from around the world really hope for the issuance of a concrete steps like a moratorium.
Conservationists concluded their meeting in Bali with a declaration of support for Indonesia to limit logging by a moratorium, which they said should be implemented immediately.
The Bali Declaration urged the government to go a step further and restrict the expansion of plantations to areas without standing forests.
The declaration "is written [with] positive [intentions]," ATBC Conservation Committee co-chair William Laurance said.
"We really try to emphasize a lot of positive issues in Indonesia and consider many challenges in Indonesia and in other tropical countries."
A conservation project as ambitious as Indonesia's would face many challenges, he said, adding that obviously, there was going to be some industries that were not going to be happy about it.
"There has already been opposition to the proposed moratorium on concessions for oil palm and wood and pulp plantations. We are arguing that the moratorium was absolutely crucial and also that the government should resist" the opposition.
The Bali Declaration also called for a re-evaluation of all logging permits issued before the moratorium was put into place.
"The numbers are a little unclear, but we are talking about at least 10 million hectares of existing concessions. We are hoping the government of Indonesia would re-evaluate the concessions sooner rather than later."
The financial deal with Norway could add impetus to the wider conservation effort. "But the money will be clearly linked to outcomes, and my understanding is that Norway will not pay that money unless there is clear progress," Laurance said.
The money is "on the table, but there has to be this clear demonstration of progress in terms of reducing deforestation and having a transparent forestry monitoring system."
John Kress, the ATBCs executive director and chairman of the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian Institution, said the Bali Declaration carried more weight than similar statements by environmental NGOs because it was based on expert studies.
"I think that the difference here... this is a group of objective scientists," he said adding that therefore such concrete steps as a logging moratorium was the solution.
"We are trying to do the most objective work, what needs to be done to maintain the environment. We have already tried to translate science in the most understandable statements for the general public, based on what we do as scientific investigators, and that's the big difference," he said.
"We are scientists and our greatest strength is our credibility," Kress added.
