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.