Indonesia’s climate plan: Any hope through the haze?
Yani Saloh, Jakarta | Opinion | Mon, November 23 2015, 4:36 PM
A week before the critical Paris climate talks, Indonesia became the world’s top greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter due to the huge recent forest and peatland fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. Before the fires, Indonesia was already the world’s fifth-largest GHG emitter.
The Paris talks are the last chance for countries to agree on how to tackle GHG emissions beyond 2020. The goal is to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees Celsius. Most countries have already submitted their plans for 2020 onward, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC).
Read full article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/indonesia-s-climate-plan-any-hope-through-haze.html
Indonesia bans peatlands destruction after fires hospitalised 500,000
The president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, has ordered the restoration of burned peatlands and banned their clearance after disastrous fires caused severe pollution and hospitalised roughly 500,000 people in recent weeks.
The ruling is in response to recent fires that polluted skies across Southeast Asia, and released about 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon.
Widodo has banned the clearance and conversion of carbon-dense peatlands across Indonesia through a series of presidential and ministerial instructions issued over the last two-and-a-half weeks.
Read full article: http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/indonesia_bans_peatlands_destruction_after_fires_hospitalised_500000?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=News&utm_medium=rss
Govt to restore damaged peatlands
Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Wed, November 18 2015
The government is gearing up to restore as many as 2 million hectares of peatlands destroyed through decades of mismanaged oil palm plantations.
The Environment and Forestry Ministry said on Tuesday that the government had finished mapping the entire peatland ecosystem in Indonesia, which would serve as the base map of the five-year peatland restoration project.
“If we look at Sumatra, we want to look at where the peatland area is. What are their sizes?
Read full article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/govt-restore-damaged-peatlands.html
After prolonged haze issues, Riau faces floods as rains begin - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/after-prolonged-haze-issues-riau-faces-floods-rains-begin.html#sthash.nf96bgjj.dpuf
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru | Archipelago | Tue, November 17 2015
Riau is now free of haze after continuous downpours for almost two weeks, but floods are looming along with the approaching rainy season. Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Sugarin said the rainy season in Riau would last until the end of the year.
Read full article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/after-prolonged-haze-issues-riau-faces-floods-rains-begin.html
Government Draws Up Blueprint for Restoration of Peat Forests
Jakarta. The Environment and Forestry Ministry plans to complete Indonesia’s landmark blueprint for nationwide restoration of burned peat areas as part of the government’s mitigation and prevention efforts following the worst fires in recent memory.
“My office is taking on the biggest task in forming the framework [for peat restoration] and I will try to finish it in the next two or three days so I can discuss it with the National Development Planning Agency [Bappenas] and the chief economics minister,” Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told reporters at a discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Read full article: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/government-draws-blueprint-restoration-peat-forests/
