Walhi withdraw their report to police

"The Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), Aceh chapter, has withdrawn its report about Forestry Minister MS Kaban concerning the construction of a road in the Rawa Singkil sanctuary which had already been notified to the Police Headquarters" visit the title link for more.

Good effort for regional development of Aceh. Thats true we have to protect our critical conservation site, but we also need to develop local people living standard.
It's about ROAD UPGRADING, not a CONSTRUCTION.

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REDD Tricky agreement between US-based Conservation NGOs and Polluting Industry

Reduction Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) my be have a perfect spirit to combat global climate change, but I'm pesimist the REDD scheme is aplicable. Many opportunist are out there as reported by an independent site on 29 May 2009 (click tittle to check)

Some US-based conservation NGO -American Electric Power, Conservation International, Duke Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, El Paso Corporation, National Wildlife Federation, Marriott International, Mercy Corps, Natural Resources Defense Council, PG&E Corporation, Sierra Club, Starbucks Coffee Company, The Nature Conservancy, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Walt Disney Company, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Woods Hole Research Center- have signed agremeent with polluting industry, allowing the industry earn credit if they finance conservation project, at the same time still release CO2.
Some of those NGOs have ever worked, or recently proposing projects, in Aceh; the Conservation International, Mercy Corps.

Based on environmental economics theory on carbon offsetting, it is possible for any interest party, either commercial company or NGO, to buy and sell the credit permit. Thus, a company may keep polluting and pay compensation or an NGOs may buy permit from a company. That’s all a game on global economic activities.

The problems are;
1. there is possibility between transnational company (TNCs) and international NGO to make ‘a black agreement’, cheating.
2. A de jure nationally owned rain forest becomes a global asset. Factually owned by a TNC or international NGO. The ‘new owner’ pays $x while a TNC earns $xxx and being allowed to keep poluting.
3. Around 30-50% of money paid to a nation will be used for managerial fee, most of it runs to overseas. It means a tropical forest country will only get $1/2x. Sadly.

We need a more perfect global agreement on REDD mechanism.

We need a more applicable policy instrument on REDD in Aceh.

Do you have idea?

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PROTECTED AREA Vs ROAD UPGRADING; A BATTLE OF STAKEHOLDERS; a portrait of environmental injustice

The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) of Aceh, District NGOs, Government agencies of Aceh, District student society of South Aceh, Bupati (Head) of South Aceh, South Aceh legislative members were sitting together to discuss the upgrading road plan which will ‘fragment’ the Tripa swamp, of South Aceh. The meeting was led by Governor and it was resulted in a physical fighting between student association member + local NGOs activities vs Walhi officer.

It was a fight between a national NGO and local NGO. A fighting of local communities’ interest vs national NGO’s. In broader scale, fighting of international NGO, represented by the Walhi, vs local communities. It is a conflict of environmental protection vs regional development.

Facts
•The Bulusema was a village but now it becomes a small town. This town is isolated due to the absence of a sufficient transportation access. Part of the town is surrounded by the The Singkil (sanctuary) swamp, one of Aceh protected areas.
•The Minister of Forestry has passed a Ministerial Letter allowing upgrading old road to the town. The endorsement process of this letter took years due to an environmental issue.
•Walhi has reported the Minister to the National Police for being violating to Conservation acts.
•The Bulusema exists administratively prior to the enactment of the swamp as a conservation area.

Questions

Which one should be supported:
The Bulusema and its people or the swamp and its wildlife? International campaign on protecting the degraded sites or regional development?

Both of the issue should be supported. We need to protect the swamp and prosper local people. The existing road was built during the Dutch colonialism era so the swamp defragmentation process is an ancient fact. To achieve those objectives, environmental injustice should be abolished.

Many environmental injustices are happening in Aceh. Many other ‘Bulusema’ exist. Pameu county, of Aceh Tengah district, is an old administrative area since the Dutch era, but the land is being categorized as protected forest because it locates in hilly region. Where is the forest gone….? Go there, you will find a town, a sub-district.

Ketambe, of Aceh Tenggara (southeast) district, a well known site for orangutan rehabilitation and research centre station, there are some old villages. Now the villages are becoming a county. Administratively, the villages change to be a new sub district. Local poor people are not allowed to utilize and converse forest but the orangutan is being supplied with milk. The forest missing, the orangutan population decreasing. Environmental injustice.

International NGOs did a structured campaign encouraging cancelation of upgrading dutch-road in all around Leuser Ecosystem region, known as the Ladia Galaska,. The impact, local people must pay 2-4 times fortheir transportation cost from and to other cities. Local product becomes less competitive while imported product become more expensive. An injustice fact of environmental issue.

Leuser ecosystem is important to reduce the impact rate of global climate change for global sake. Stop the road upgrading. Rarely NGOs talk and campaign on local poverty mitigation. That all environmental injustice.

Maintain the coverage of the Ulumasen Forest! You will earn $7/ha/year but if you let us, NGO and overseas company, manage it for you! Stop degradation! Stop forest conversion! Stop production forest degradation! No palm estate! But they never say that oil palm’s NPV could be worth 30 times higher than that of natural forest.

International NGOs officers in Indonesia are being paid as expatriate, get paid in dollar but expend in rupiah. Local officer being paid in rupiah, costs in rupiah. Environmental NGO’s staff got better living standard than local people in and around forest area. All are environmental injustice.

What about if the Walhi and other NGO’s officer, the expatriate as well, shift their daily life with local poor people, or forest farmer?

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REDD and Aceh Green Commision: Challenges

Since the signing agreement/understanding on carbon trade with some parties, the Aceh Governor, of Indonesia, has become more popular in the world. The agreement bound a partnership with private companies such as Carbon Conservation Ltd (CC) and Merryl Lynch initiating restoring and funding scheme. The CC’s contract focuse in the Ulu Masen Conservation (UMC) region while the Sustainable Forest Management(SFM) ltd. Is applying for an investment right in the Leuser Ecosystem Region.

Something funny in the recent world scheme of carbon trading, more popular called as the Reduction Emission form Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Though the legal implementation will be conducted after 2012, many financial private company, known as Trans National Corporations (TNCs), claim a particular forest region in some nations as their project location. For example, as shown in their website, the SFM claim the Leuser Ecosystem Region (LER), of Indonesia, as their project area while in fact their proposal is still being processed by the Aceh Investment and Promotion Board. Stating the LER as their project area may block other international parties to participate in.

Domestically, the legal status and mandatory indicators of some potentially forested area of Aceh, for instance, the LER, the UMC, and Tripa swamp, is not clear yet to be incorporated as global REDD scheme as shown in Progress REDD table for some potential REDD or CDM in Aceh, of Indonesia. The REDD Proposal for the Ulu Masen Conservation region have passed audit process by smartwood but the management board is not yet formed. A management board for The Leuser Ecosystem exists but other conditional indicators have not been established. The Tripa swamp has project plan proposal but it has no management board.

It is obvious that the REDD philosophy, its potential for caring Aceh forest and the challenges are not yet socialized among provincial environmental stakeholders. Some prospectors, NGOs and government’s departmental leaders simply saw provincial forest as source of money throughout the recently unclear global REDD scheme. Support the REDD idea with avoidance of other socio-economic function of forest land. Other parties are opposing the REDD regarding local people rights (carbon rights), being afraid for the weakening of their institutional power.

To be work well, the Aceh Government need to synchronies’ national Acts and other policy with provincial legislation. Unfortunately, no one provincial legislation have been enacted. Recently, a Governor’s degree is being processed and parallel with the formulating of the Commission of Aceh Green. In accordance with the Department of Forestry (DoF) of Indonesia’s REDD commission, the Aceh Green Commission should be more perfect and more effective as it will be implemented at more specific area.

Do you have any idea? Please read the DoF’s document and share your opinion.. We will discuss it later for our better global environment.

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The Endangered Sumatran Orangutan of Leuser

Have you ever seen an Orangutan…? Where? In a zoo?. Seeing the orangutan in their natural habitat is really amazing. You will be feeling something special when they are trying to continue their live. Sadly, looking for food while most of their natural landscapes have been fragmented.

The Sumatran orangutan is one of endangered species found in Sumatera, of Indonesia. This species naturally live in The Leuser Ecosystem Region (LER). This conservation biosphere is the largest conservation area in Indonesia and representing a complex natural landscape. The region officially covers 1,790,000 hectares of land but other popular references often cited larger, varying from 2.2 to 2.6 million hectares. This region encompasses the Indian Ocean shores almost to the Malacca strait.

Centre of this ecosystem is the Gunung (mount) Leuser National Park (GLNP). The park is located in the districts of Aceh Tenggara, Singkil and Aceh Selatan, of Aceh province, and Langkat district of Sumatera Utara province.
The GLNP has also already been listed as a natural World Heritage Site in 2004.

Some legislations and economic activities policies of this park have been summarized. The legislations did not work properly at local level regarding the needs of local communities and local government’s necessities. This result in habitat degradation of the Sumatera orangutan. Arable land for local socio-economic development of some districts of Aceh is critical as shown in my simple simulated district’s.

In the past, easy to find the orangutan in Ketambe sightseeing and hear the various sound of other birds and mammals. Recently, watching this species freely in their habitat is quite impossible. I was a bit lucky recording them in March 2009 when they were looking for their fruit favorite. How to keep them alive without sadness? Many efforts have been done by some international NGOs such as the Leuser International Foundation, and researchers but nearly a zero result.

Did the NGOs project officers fail on designing their project?

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