Thursday 27 September 2012

CALCULATION OF VOLUME OF FOREST BIOMASS BECOMING A BASIS OF FORESTRY MINISTER POLICY



Assumption of volume of forest biomass recently plays a strategic role in the arrangement of government’s policy. Emission rate and carbon absorption will become a consideration of Forestry Minister’s decision in converting forest to other uses, such as plantation and mining. Forestry Ministry Secretary General, Hadi Daeyanto, stated this matter.

The Forestry Ministry is continuously trying various alternatives to prepare for a credible and verifiable national carbon calculation system. One of them is by arranging a monograph of a number of algometric models to assume the capacity of tree biomass on types of tropical forest ecosystems in Indonesia.

Hadi was optimistic that carbon assumption through monographic instrument can achieve accuracy of designation of emission rate. By doing this, the government could optimize Indonesia’s role in reducing world’s glasshouse gases. The role has actually been set forth in Presidential Regulation No. 61/201 on glasshouse gas national action plan. The government has committed to reduce glasshouse gas emission by 26% in 2020 by itself, and by 41% through international support.

In addition to that, carbon absorption will continue to increase if in the future a carbon market in the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) mechanism has been formed. And, the Forestry Ministry could also acquire an indicator of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption from natural forests and could determine policy on change of forest function. The monograph will be used as a reference in arrangement of policy, for example, land conversion to plantation, he said.

The Forestry Ministry sets to absorb 1.24 giga tons of Co2 through 500,000 hectare planting a year. Increase in carbon stock will also increase economic potency of carbon in the next couple of years. Carbon potency in Indonesian forests is estimated to reach 250 tons per hectare with profit projection at around Rp 20 millions per hectare. The government is currently promoting carbon reference value to be priced at USD 8/ton.

But, carbon trade system by business-to-business not yet obtained a baseline-to-business not yet obtained a baseline agreed at the international level. The reason is that the discussion of REDD+ mechanism is stagnant as it has not been done intensively so that carbon market trade in overseas intensively so that carbon market trade in overseas could not yet be mapped. Until now, Indonesia is still active in some international conferences on mitigation and climate change. Besides participating actively in UNFCC forum, Indonesia is continuously promoting sustainable forest conservation and management business through collaboration of measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) systems.

Hadi said that his party has issued Regulation of Forestry Minister No. 20/2012 on Forest Carbon Management. In this regulation, there are 14 forestry practitioners who are entitled to receive income from carbon trade. Among them are holders of logging (HPH) concessions, industrial forests (HTI) concessions, community plantation forest (HTR) concessions, conservation forest practitioners, and traditional forest practitioners.

Allocation of utilization of forest carbon for the state will be set forth in Amendment of Government Regulation No. 59/1998, he said. According to him, forest carbon management can be in the form of carbon storage or absorption from state forests or community forests. Carbon management activities consist of seed growing, planting, biodiversity protection, and conservation forest management.

Heru Prasetyo, Deputy I for Planning and International Relations of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Control and Supervision (UKP4) said that his party accepted the Forestry Ministry attempt in recalculating annual carbon emission and absorption rate. Carbon in not expected to be a substitute, but a complementary project, he said.

Business News - August 10, 2012 

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