RI must brace for debt-for-nature scheme

JAKARTA (JP): An environmentalist has expressed hope that Indonesia will be included in a U.S. "debt-for-nature swap" scheme in which developing countries' debts are written off if they are found to be committed to protecting their rain forests.

Mas Achmad Santosa said the government must prepare for the possibility that the U.S. might offer the program to Indonesia.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday stipulating that developing countries could write off U.S. debts if they were deemed to be committed to protecting their rain forests.

"It's a very good program," said Santosa, an environmental law expert at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law.

"Our government must respond to this quickly," Santosa said.

One way the government could prepare for the scheme is to consistently implement the 50-point International Monetary Fund reform package, especially reforms addressing environmental issues, he said.

"The government should, for instance, show its commitment by sponsoring a law to regulate the use of the country's reforestation fund, rather than just leaving the fund to be regulated by presidential decree," Santosa said.

He said the law was needed to ensure that the reforestation fund was used for environmental purposes only, and that its use be accountable to the Indonesian House of Representatives.

"This would, at least, become the platform for them (the United States) to decide whether we deserve the scheme," Santosa said.

Yesterday, the Agence France Presse reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had overwhelmingly passed a bill on the "debt-for-nature swap" scheme, set to help protect rain forests in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.

The bill provides for as much as US$325 million to facilitate "debt-for-nature swaps" with such countries, it said.

The news agency said the Clinton administration supported the measure, as did a variety of environmental groups. A Senate vote has not yet been scheduled, it said.

The measure is partly modeled after an existing program called the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, which began in 1991 and has thus far resulted in the forgiving of $874 million in U.S. debts owed by seven Latin American countries.

In return, those countries provided $154 million in conservation funds.

During a recent fact-finding visit to Indonesia, Marianne Guerin-McManus, the conservation finance director for Conservation International, said the scheme would not only reduce Indonesia's debt burden but also greatly enhance the country's conservation of natural resources.

The solution, McManus said, would be for Indonesia to swap U.S. debt for a commitment to bolster its conservation efforts.

"Some debt relief is going to have to come through," McManus said. "There has to be some debt forgiveness and we would like to see the opportunity for some to be delivered in rupiah to conservation (efforts)."

Tropical rain forests have especially been important to the world's environment because they absorb carbon dioxide and therefore reduce greenhouse gases.

They are also home to half of the world's known species of plants and animals, which are increasingly becoming extinct in countries where development pressure has resulted in rain forest losses.

Environmentalists estimate that since 1950 half of all tropical forests have been burned or logged.

Santosa said: "This program puts its emphasis on green issues which will have a direct impact on the United States. It will be a mutual symbiosis."

"Especially during this crisis, the government should not miss such a good opportunity," he said. (aan)