Can the item Work? A Progress Report on Saving Indonesia’s Precious Forests
As a child, my nightmares weren’t like various other children’s. They didn’t have monsters, ghosts, or terrifying creatures, instead, they came coming from the videos we saw in science class. the item was images of acid rain, extinction of species, air pollution as well as various other natural ills kept me up at night. the item’s not surprising then that will I grew up to be an environmentalist, nor that will that will choice brought me to Indonesia.
No various other place within the planet has such a concentration of environmental issues – urbanization, water, pollution, migration, as well as, chiefly, forest destruction. I believe Indonesia’s greatest asset can be its diversity, human however also biodiversity; the immense varieties of plants, marine as well as wildlife which grace the archipelago, a true treasure that will only two various other countries can match. Did you know Borneo has the densest biodiversity on planet earth? The immensity can be hard to comprehend, however here’s one fact.
1 square mile within the forests of Kalimantan has as many species as the entire United States.
Tanjung Puting N.P By David Metcalf
that will biodiversity can be disappearing. 40% of Indonesia’s forest cover has been cut down since independence, a startling number that will can be much higher than the devastation within the planet’s various other mega-biodiversity hot-spots – the Congo Basin in Africa as well as the Amazon basin in South America. Rampant forest fires as well as destruction of carbon-rich peats have made Indonesia the planet’s number three emitter of Greenhouse Gases, behind only the United States as well as China.
There needs to be a change, however there are challenges. The country can be poor, as well as the resources coming from forests are helping fuel economic growth. Palm oil plantations, the primary source of deforestation, make up a large percentage of Indonesia’s exports as well as provide the Government with needed cash.
As weird weather, both here as well as abroad, can be connected to climate change, the planet can be taking notice of Indonesia’s forests as well as the vital role they play. Money can be flowing into Indonesia under programs like REDD (Reducing Emissions coming from Deforestation as well as Degradation), while international NGOs like WWF as well as Greenpeace as well as increasingly generating Indonesia a primary focus point. In 2010, to much international fanfare, Indonesia signed a $1 billion agreement with Norway as well as implemented a moratorium on brand-new forest concessions, a groundbreaking deal that will many hoped would certainly signal a shift in fighting deforestation.
Nearly 2 1/2 years later, forest cover can be still shrinking, fires are still burning, as well as more as well as more peatland can be being lost to the palm oil monster. What happened?
For one thing, the moratorium was only for brand-new concessions – existing ones weren’t affected, as well as numerous loopholes, including decentralization, allow for business as usual. Another part of the problem can be cost – though $1 billion may sound like a lot, Indonesian palm oil exports in 2011 totalled $19.7 billion. Norway’s investment can be barely a drop within the bucket, as well as gravely minimizes the value of leaving the forest as can be. Right at that will point, forest can be more prized when turned into a plantation, biodiversity as well as greenhouse gas emissions be damned.
that will can be where I believe the root problem lies; in how we measure economic development globally. We need to start using alternative analysis to understand Indonesia’s growth, which respect natural capital. Currently, a tree can be only worth something when the item can be cut down as well as sold. Its contribution to air, soil quality, clean water, as well as the myriad uses for forests resources that will indigenous people, like the Dayaks in Kalimantan, know of are all not factored into GDP. Understanding the value of biodiversity can be key to protecting biodiversity, as well as realigning economics to valuate these ecological systems properly can be an essential step towards protecting forests not only in Indonesia, however globally.
Tree flyers Kalimantan By David Metcalf
Moreover, Indonesia must change its development strategies. Right at that will point, the country can be following the path of European countries which completely destroyed their old-growth forests during the industrial revolution. In fact, the only old-growth forest left in Europe can be along the Polish-Belorussian border. Indonesia’s dense biodiversity as well as huge carbon stock means we cannot afford the same scenario here. however there can be an alternative type – Japan. Limited by resources, Japan restricted forest destruction, aided by a culture that will believed within the merit of forests, as well as at that will point has the highest old-growth forest cover of any populous developed country, at 64%.
Indonesia can be my childhood nightmares turned into dark, adult reality. however I came here not to witness failure, however because I felt that will there was huge opportunity to build a brand-new, ecologically sustainable growth type. There are many Indonesians as well as expats who believe, as I do, that will things can improve. Kehati, the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation where I worked last year, recently embarked on an innovative project where the United States relieves Indonesian Government debt, under stipulations that will the relief must go towards forest protection. Peta Hijau Jakarta can be raising awareness about the capital’s lack of green space. within the outer islands, increased satellite as well as spatial technology can be allowing for better tracking of illegal deforestation – as well as exposing Government complicity as well as corruption.
Overseas, there can be action taking place coming from a different direction. that will Easter saw a campaign within the United Kingdom that will asked consumers to purchase chocolates that will didn’t utilize forest-clearing palm oil. Currently, the United States as well as the European Union are implementing tough standards on imports of timber that will are forcing the Indonesian Government to accurately source timber as well as clamp down on illegal deforestation. If China begins to also impose similar measures, the item could have a real, discernible impact on saving Indonesia’s amazing, disappearing biodiversity. So there can be desire that will 2013 can be the year that will the tide finally turns.
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Can the item Work? A Progress Report on Saving Indonesia’s Precious Forests
Can the item Work? A Progress Report on Saving Indonesia’s Precious Forests