For ADVERTORIAL PURPOSES:
For ADVERTORIAL PURPOSES: EURO DAY - May 8
EU-RI development co-operation
Development co-operation between the EC - as the executive body of the EU - and the government of Indonesia started in 1976. Since then, a stable and continuous relationship has been built, in which Indonesia's own development priorities are central.
The present development co-operation focuses on sustainable management of natural resources, good governance in health, education and public administration.
The present project-portfolio includes 12 projects with a total EC commitment of nearly 160 million euro. In addition there are assistance to support civil society and democracy as well as assistance to uprooted people and humanitarian aid.
Other than the development co-operation funded by the EC, the individual EU Member States have their own bilateral development programs.
Water sector
The three on-going projects focus on flood control/ drainage, the introduction of water-governance capabilities and development of irrigated agriculture.
The flood control/ drainage project foresees the construction of a flood canal along the east side of the city of Semarang in Central Java to help ease the flood-situation in that city and the downstream part of the Penggaron river basin.
The water-governance project is the first donor project aiming to implement in the field the main principles of the newly revised national water-legislation in three river basins, viz. the Seputih-Sekampung basin in Lampung, the Progo-Opak-Oyo basin in Yogyakarta and the Pacitan basin in East Java. The project also foresees in preservation of the catchments and erosion control.
The third project will provide farming communities in two regencies in Northeast Bali with groundwater irrigation facilities, which will allow them to cultivate high yielding crops such as grapes, vegetables, fruit-trees and possibly even essential oil crops.
Forestry sector
Five on-going EC-financed projects focus on management of the natural forest resources and sustainable development.
The Forest Inventory and Monitoring Project is collecting data and developing methodologies and tools to monitor forest dynamics. The analysis carried out represent a basis to support decision-making in natural resources management. The project is covering different regions of Indonesia such as South Sumatra and North Sulawesi.
In Sumatra, the Leuser Ecosystem covers an area of some two million hectares in the provinces of North Sumatra and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, including the Gunung Leuser National Park. It is one of the most diverse expanses of tropical forest left in the world. Some of the world's rarest mammals such as tigers, orangutans, siamangs roam in the forested areas.
The threats to the ecosystem and its biodiversity come from large scale clearance of forest, poaching and extension of roads' network.
The Leuser Development Programme (LDP) aims to create the conditions for the long-term sustainable conservation of the ecosystem in order to support regional development thanks to environmental services provided by the natural resources. LDP has participated in the establishment of National Park's boundaries by tree planting. It is also assisting regencies in establishing spatial plans and supporting sustainable agricultural development in the periphery of the Park. The focus of the last phase of this project is to support and strengthen the non-governmental organization (NGO) established to manage the Leuser National Park, the Leuser International Foundation.
Kalimantan, long since known for its forests' brilliant greens and the abundance and diversity of the wildlife has been heavily affected by large scale logging. Two on-going projects are intended to demonstrate how a tropical forest can be sustainably managed. The Berau Forest Management Project and the South and Central Kalimantan Production Forest Project, are carrying out research and implementing the results in forest concessions. In Berau, the project has developed methods of 'Reduced Impact Logging' to reduce damages during wood harvesting and to attain sustainable management of forest resources. The models and results obtained need to be promoted and introduced in other concessions.
To optimize the effectiveness of the total programme, the Forest Liaison Bureau (FLB) has been established. It looks into processes of decision-making and orientation of policies supports in forest management, and creates and manages a joint database. FLB has a website which provides links to all project websites that are part of the EC-Indonesia Forestry Programme. It can be accessed at http://www.eu-flb.or.id.
In 1997-1998, forest fires have destroyed several millions of hectares of forests (between five to 10) and the risk of similar disaster is still present. Illegal logging has been recognized as another major cause of deforestation and is often linked to over- capacity of wood industry. Two EC-funded projects in the forestry sector will soon start to address these issues. One concerns the establishment of a response center for illegal logging, while the other project, the South Sumatra Forest Fire Management Project, will focus on the introduction of sustainable land use planning which will reduce the risks of land- and forest fires.
Social welfare and health
As part of the Social Safety Net Programme and in response to the economic and financial crisis in Indonesia, the EC has agreed to assist the Indonesian National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) through the Social Safety Net: Contraceptive Supply Project.
Through this project, the EC provides free contraceptive supplies such as oral pills, injectables and implants. These contraceptives are being distributed to low-income families throughout Indonesia.
The project also reviews the existing logistic and distribution system of contraceptives and working closely with BKKBN to come up with a common solution for improvements.
The EC will also support the Government of Indonesia to develop strategies and policy decisions necessary for an integrated and co-ordinated approach to the problems of social protection. The Social Health Insurance Policy Development Project will be implemented through technical assistance to the Task Force for a National Social Security System (Pokja SJSN).
Institutional strengthening
After having supported the government of Indonesia with the General Elections of June 1999 the EC continues its assistance in the field of institutional strengthening and capacity building. Helping the new administration to achieve good governance will contribute as well as speed up the pace of Indonesia's economic recovery.
The main components of the programme are the partnership for governance reform and technical assistance to the Attorney General's office.
The partnership for governance reform supports activities such as seminars, capacity building activities, policy design, media development, research activities, related to areas of priorities such as anti-corruption, decentralization, civil service reform, police reform, legal and judicial reform, electoral reform, parliamentary reform, civil society, communications and media strengthening, and corporate governance.
The technical assistance to the Attorney General's office consists of a technical training programme in the investigation and prosecution of financial crime. In the coming years, the EC will focus on good governance and capacity strengthening in the justice sector.
Civil Society and Democracy
According to the EC, civil society has an important role to play in development effort in Indonesia. Therefore additional to the assistance through government channels and international organizations, the EC also provides its assistance to NGOs through the NGO Co-financing Scheme. This implies that the programme costs are shared between the EC, NGOs and project participants.
Since 1976, the EC has provided assistance to 106 NGO projects in Indonesia with a total of nearly 120 million. The type of assistance covers a variety of sectors including - but not limited to - agriculture, education, small- and micro-enterprise development, housing for low-income earners, health and eco- tourism.
For the EC, democracy, good governance and human rights are inextricably linked and their attainment is instrumental to each other. The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) provides support for activities of international organizations, international, national and local NGOs, aiming at strengthening democratization. In 2000-2001, the EC provided support to five international and Indonesian NGOs for long-term programs in Indonesia. In the coming years, the EIDHR will in Indonesia focus on activities related to strengthening the capacity of civil society, human rights education and training, freedom of expression and independent media, actions concerning elections, the legal system and strengthening institutions, governance, conflict prevention and resolution.
Uprooted People
The EC also provides assistance in order to tackle specific challenges of establishing a link between relief, rehabilitation and development in open conflict and post-conflict situations. It complements humanitarian aid, supported by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and aims at strengthening the development dimension in post-conflict situation. In 2000-2001, the EC has allocated 6 million euro to assist the implementation of durable solutions for East Timorese refugees in Indonesia. The EC has also allocated 2.58 million euro for two NGO-led projects to provide an adequate and timely primary education for all primary school aged children in the North Maluku Province.
Humanitarian front
On the humanitarian front, ECHO - which coordinates EU's humanitarian operations in non-EU countries - has provided since 1997 more than 17 million in emergency and humanitarian relief for Indonesia. The funds were directed to the victims of natural disasters as well as human-made disasters.
At first, the emergency and humanitarian assistance were provided in response to the drought (El Niqo) that affected Indonesia in 1997/98 and to combat the effects of the economic crisis. The areas of the projects were Central Java, Irian Jaya, Lampung, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and East Kalimantan. Following the political instability that started in early 1998 that caused civil unrest, the focus has then shifted to offering relief to the victims of civil unrest and violence such as in Maluku, West Timor, and Kalimantan.
ECHO also support a disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO) that aims to promote and help community based initiatives to overcome the risks of disasters and to enhance the capacity of Indonesian NGOs in disaster management.
ECHO funds are mostly channeled through European NGOs, the Red Cross family (IFRC and ICRC) and United Nations agencies. Some of the European NGOs implement their projects in close collaboration with local counterparts.
Caption for FIRE:
FIRE MANAGEMENT: As one of its activities, the South Central Kalimantan Production Forest Project supplies training on fire fighting and assists in the set up of fire management organizations.