RI hopes dim as Bali talks near end

RI hopes dim as Bali talks near end

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

No one in the Indonesian delegation has openly admitted it, but the mood is there: that it is increasingly more difficult to secure aid and stronger commitments from developed countries during negotiations on sustainable development.

"This is the time where I would like you to say a prayer for us," said Slamet Hidayat, an Indonesian delegate in a press briefing on Friday. Negotiations have reached a critical stage."

Discussion over an action plan known as the Chairman's Text, later to be named the Bali Commitment, is entering its fifth day since it formally began on Monday.

Delegates from around the globe have gathered in Bali to produce the final draft of the action plan, which may benefit Indonesia with more aid to tackle poverty, environmental and social problems.

Indonesia has only until Saturday night to push for its demands, Slamet said. On Monday delegates are expected to move on to the political text of the action plan to be signed by heads of states at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa in late August.

Slamet said foreign delegates were complaining that having the meeting in Bali was useless, as they were unable to enjoy the island because of the intensive meetings.

Already behind schedule, and with some of the major issues yet unresolved, the tight deadline is likely to put a strain on negotiators.

For Indonesia, other interests outside that of the Chairman's Text may also influence its position during talks.

"Our interests in this negotiation cannot be separated from the fact that we are hosting it," Slamet said on Thursday. "We have been told by the United Nations to conclude the negotiation on the action plan in Bali; our goal is to do just that."

The Chairman's Text was supposed to be finalized at the last preparatory committee meeting in New York.

Another Indonesian delegate, when asked what would be done if negotiations were not coming to a conclusion, said the government would give up some of its demands.

The Bali Commitment aims to set the tone for the development of the globe over the next 10 years, giving priority to sustainable development as overexploitation of natural resources threatens future generations.

For developing countries a global campaign to reverse this trend could translate into more aid to alleviate poverty and preserve natural resources, which otherwise would not be possible under their limited state budgets.

Indonesia must fork out some 40 percent of its budget on debt payments, leaving little room to invest in sustainable development measures. Widespread poverty and environmental degradation are the consequences.

But chances to secure new financial resources during the talks in Bali are fading, with the Indonesian delegation reporting little progress on these issues.

Three working groups are discussing the Chairman's Text. As of Friday the text was also being discussed at the plenary session, to speed up talks.

Djumala Darmansjah, representing Indonesia at working group II on means of implementation, said discussion was progressing in terms of the number of paragraphs agreed upon.

However requests to include more aid, a new debt payment scheme and greater market access into developed countries in the Chairman's Text, remain unanswered.

Indonesia has proposed that developing countries should be allowed to tap funds of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), called the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), to finance sustainable development programs.

Djumala said that the U.S. delegation only agreed to mention this possibility without actually intending to implement it.

"They (the U.S.) use a very weak formulation by saying they recognize the value of the SDR, while we have formulated it as developing ways of using SDR," he explained.

A second proposal that received a cold response was that of repaying debts through sustainable development programs under a scheme known as debt and sustainable development swaps. The U.S. wants to know more details of this idea."

Djumala said Indonesia stood a better chance with its third unanswered request for greater market access for products of developing countries.

Unilateral sanctions, which developed countries use to restrict market access, are a violation of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rules, said Djumala.

Indonesia, like most developing countries, is represented by Venezuela under the Group of 77 (G-77). The G-77 is the developing countries' negotiation instrument at international forums.

However, Indonesia under the G-77 may have to waive its request for greater commitment from developed countries, as the U.S. showed no sign of backing down.

Debates on whether or not to include time targets in the Chairman's Text have advanced little, despite the EU backing the G-77.

Non-government organizations have expressed concern that without clear time targets, governments would neglect the Bali Commitment. It would then follow the fate of Agenda 21 -- the first action plan on sustainable development agreed on at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A U.S. delegate said the most his government could do was to agree on time targets on social issues such as poverty reduction programs.

Djumala said earlier that the U.S. might compromise by agreeing on the time targets that were already part of an earlier pledge under the UN Millennium Goals in September 2000.

Although this compromise would only require the U.S. to repeat its two-year old pledge, according to Djumala this would be better than nothing.