Together with Brazil and Congo, Indonesia reiterates reducing emissions in the forestry sector

Indonesia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo reaffirmed cooperation in forest management to reduce emissions.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Bersama Brasil dan Kongo, Indonesia Tegaskan Lagi Penurunan Emisi di Sektor Kehutanan

KOMPAS/SUCIPTO

Fog enveloped several parts of the forest following rainfall in Kampung Mului, Swan Slotung Village, Muara Komam District, Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, on Monday (20/11/2023).

DUBAI, KOMPAS - During the main negotiations of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) on climate change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia reaffirmed its efforts to reduce emissions in the forestry and land use sectors. The management of forests to control climate change also involves cooperation between two countries with the largest tropical forests - Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry, Alue Dohong, stated that Indonesia has experience in reducing emissions in the forestry and land use sector (FOLU), particularly in reducing deforestation. In fact, Indonesia's performance in reducing deforestation has reached its lowest point.

"For this achievement, we should be entitled to receiveresult based payment(result based payment). "In fact, currently Indonesia has received from the Global Climate Fund, then from the Kingdom of Norway, and cooperation with the World Bank," he said in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday (2/12/2023).

Also read: Indonesia Calls for Energy Transition Funding

It was recorded that in 2019, Indonesia's emissions in the FOLU sector reached 922 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions due to forest and land fires. These emissions fell to 183 million tonnes of CO₂e in 2020. Then, in 2021 they rose again to 224 million tonnes of CO₂e and in 2022 they fell to 222 million tonnes of CO₂e. sub>2e.

In order to improve forest management efforts in reducing emissions, Indonesia has also established collaborations with Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These three countries are known to have the largest tropical rainforests in the world and often face deforestation issues.

KOMPAS/PRADIPTA PANDU

Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry, Alue Dohong, visited the Indonesian Pavilion at the 28th Climate Change Conference or COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday (29/11/2023).

The trilateral cooperation between these three countries has previously been established during the COP26 Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021. The cooperation aims to strengthen the influence of the world's three largest tropical forest owners in climate negotiations, including promoting results-based funding for emissions reduction from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+).

According to Alue, the three countries need to build collective strength as tropical forests are one of the natural-based solutions to address climate change. Tropical forests can regulate the Earth's climate by absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Conversely, tropical forests that are burned will release a large amount of carbon.

Alue emphasizes that developed countries should not only ask Indonesia and other countries to protect their tropical forests. However, developed countries also need to commit to providing resource support through global climate financing of $100 billion USD per year.

When observed, the forests most at risk of disappearing in the next five years are located in East and North Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and North Maluku. 90 percent of this deforestation is caused by nickel mining in forest areas.

In a discussion at the Indonesian Pavilion on the first day of COP28, Thursday (30/12/2023), Brazilian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, stated that Brazil has a strong commitment to protect and preserve the Amazon rainforest with a target of zero deforestation.

This commitment has prompted Brazil to welcome the strengthening of forest management cooperation with Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is because Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo also have the same great commitment in preserving the remaining forests.

KOMPAS/PRADIPTA PANDU MUSTIKA

A person crosses one of the rooms in the venue of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) on Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday (30/11/2023). Negotiations at COP28 will take place for two weeks, from November 30th to December 12th, 2023.

"The commitment to stop deforestation in developing countries is not an easy task. That is why President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, is committed to developing funding mechanisms for all countries that have forests so that they can help communities protect their respective forest areas," he said.

Critical note

Meanwhile, according to Auriga Nusantara Timer's Chairman, Manurung, who also attended COP28 in Dubai, the decrease in emissions in the forestry sector is not entirely due to Indonesia's performance. He stated that the decrease in emissions is because there are no more forests that can be cut down or cleared.

"When we look at it, in the next five years, the forests that will be most lost are in East and North Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and North Maluku. 90 percent of deforestation is caused by nickel mining in forested areas," he said.

Also read: Nickel Mining Expansion Triggers 25,000 Hectares of Deforestation

Auriga's analysis shows that nickel mining extraction has caused deforestation of up to 25,000 hectares in the last 20 years. This deforestation has the potential to continue increasing given the large mining concession areas within forest areas, which reach 765,237 hectares and are estimated to add 83 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Timer confirms that efforts to reduce emissions in Indonesia should not only focus on forestry, but also on all sectors, including energy. This is because to date, emission reduction in the forestry sector still has some critical notes.