Members of the Indonesian and Norwegian delegations to the climate summit in Cancun met several times during the final week of negotiations. Representatives of the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative met with the Government of Indonesia’s presidentially appointed REDD+ Task Force, which has been charged with implementation of the Letter of Intent on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Peatland Degradation between the two countries.
Issues discussed included the imminent appointment of a pilot province which will see major investments in a provincial level strategy to tackle drivers of deforestation and degradation of peatlands, establishment of capacity to monitor emissions of greenhouse gases from these sources, and financial mechanisms to enable support according to emissions reductions achieved by the pilot province.
Other issues covered included the national REDD+ Strategy prepared by Bappenas with the support of the UN-REDD Programme and involving a large array of stakeholders including indigenous peoples, civil society and the private sector. The national REDD+ Strategy will be finalized by the REDD+ Task Force in the near future. A REDD+ Agency will be set up at government level in the course of 2011 with special responsibility for all REDD+ and associated land use change policies.
Closely linked to the appointment of a pilot province, a suspension on new forest and peat licenses will be declared in the near future, along with a system for review of existing licenses. Obtaining and streamlining available data and maps on the extent and state of natural forests and peatlands will be key in this regard, as will procedures for monitoring, investigation and prosecution.
The accession to the Partnership by Australia, which has for some years already supported Indonesian efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation of peatlands, was celebrated during a dinner hosted by the Government of Indonesia on the night of the 8th December. Present also with declarations of political support for the Partnership were the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea and Japan.
The announcement by Australia that it would join forces with the REDD+ Partnership established initially by Norway and Indonesia in May this year was formally made during a press conference with Minister Kuntoro Mangkusobroto, Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit as well the REDD+ Task Force of the Government of Indonesia, Minister for environment and International Development Erik Solheim from Norway, as well as Mark Dreyfus, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
Minister Mangkusubroto welcomed Australia’s acceptance to the REDD+ partnership invitation. Mr Solheim and Mr. Dreyfus praised Indonesia’s strong leadership on climate change and its ability to coordinate the support they receive from international donors. Australia has great expertise in measuring and monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and will use this expertise in the partnership.