Developing countries demand compensation over deforestation<\/p>\n
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Developing countries with vast forest areas such as Indonesia are
\nseeking financial compensation from developed countries for their
\nefforts to halt deforestation.<\/p>\n
The argument goes that stopping the deforestation process
\nwould greatly contribute to the developed nations' carbon dioxide
\n(CO2) reduction efforts.<\/p>\n
This idea was proposed last week by delegates from Papua New
\nGuinea and Costa Rica at the ongoing United Nations environmental
\nconference in Montreal, Canada, said Pelangi, an Indonesian
\nenvironmental non-governmental organization, which sent three
\nrepresentatives to the conference.<\/p>\n
According to the proposal, the compensation mechanism could be
\nsimilar to the one adopted by the Kyoto Protocol, signed by most
\ndeveloped nations, which obliges them to reduce the planet's
\ngreenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent between 2008 and 2012.
\nUnder the treaty's carbon emission trade mechanism, developed
\nnations can claim the CO2 reductions made by developing nations
\nin exchange for compensation (between US$1.50 to $5 for every ton
\nof CO2 reduction).<\/p>\n
\"Deforestation contributes to greater carbon emissions and has
\nresulting in carbon concentrating in the atmosphere. Therefore,
\ncurbing deforestation is the same as minimizing carbon emissions,\"
\nthe Pelangi statement said, quoting arguments from proponents of
\nthe new proposal.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta-based Pelangi said that, if approved, the new
\nproposal would benefit Indonesia as it would encourage the cash-
\nstrapped government to be more aggressive in halting the
\ndeforestation process, while at the same time providing direct
\nfinancial benefit.<\/p>\n
\"Since Indonesia has rapid annual deforestation, such a move
\nwould not only curb the problem but also result in compensation at the
\nsame time,\" Pelangi caretaker executive director Kuki Soejachmoen
\ntold The Jakarta Post over the phone from Montreal.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has hundreds of millions of hectares of natural
\nforest, but has an annual deforestation rate of over 2.5
\nmillion hectares, mostly caused by illegal logging, blanket
\nfelling to clear land for new plantations and shifting
\ncultivation.<\/p>\n
\"It (the new proposal) could significantly boost the potential
\nof our carbon emission reduction efforts,\" Kuki added.<\/p>\n
According to the Office of the State Minister for the
\nEnvironment, Indonesia has the potential to reduce between CO2
\nemissions from the energy and industrial sectors by between 125
\nmillion and 300 million tons between 2008 and 2012.<\/p>\n
However, Kuki said that no agreement had been made yet on how
\nthe compensation mechanism would work.<\/p>\n
\"All delegates basically agree to the proposal, but it will
\nnot be (implemented) in the near future,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She also said that the proposal would not be implemented in
\nthe protocol's first commitment period of 2008 to 2012.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, the conference could only agree that
\nevery party can submit their ideas and proposals on the mechanism
\nbefore next March, while finalization will be discussed in 2007,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar
\nsaid that Indonesia faced a real threat of climate change due to
\ngreenhouse gas emissions, and urged the United States of America
\nto do more to lower the emissions.<\/p>\n
\"We are one of the countries most vulnerable because we are an
\narchipelagic and developing nation that is trying to build up its
\neconomy,\" he told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/developing-countries-demand-compensation-over-deforestation-1447893297",
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