(English Version)
LINGKARAN ADVOKASI DAN RISET BORNEO
On January 29, 2020, the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of West Kalimantan Province issued a development plan document entitled "Towards Low Carbon Development in West Kalimantan within the Framework of the West Kalimantan Regional Medium-Term Development Plan 2018-2023". This development document is more focused on the regional work plan of West Kalimantan Province in realizing low carbon development in West Kalimantan. Thus, the West Kalimantan Province Bappeda document is an integral part of the West Kalimantan Provincial Mid-Term Development Plan (RPMJD) for 2018-2023 relating to the environment and climate change sectors.
The development plan document deserves the attention of the Lingkaran Advokasi dan Riset Borneo (Link-AR Borneo), a non-governmental organization, which has been working in several districts in West Kalimantan to promote low carbon development and sustainable palm oil development.
The Link-AR Borneo Press Release this time wants to highlight the development plans of the Province of West Kalimantan in 2018-2023 regarding low carbon development. Low carbon development means development with low levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Low carbon development technically requires that the level of economic growth driven by the use of non-renewable energy sources be suppressed as low as possible, as well as drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2. Therefore, low carbon development has certain conditions that are not easy, namely the country or region which wishes to carry out it must have achieved a stable level of industrial progress and a relatively high level of people's welfare.
In the Kyoto Protocol climate change agreement, these countries are known as Annex 1 countries. Annex 1 countries The Kyoto Protocol is dominated by European countries, both Western and Eastern Europe. Countries included in Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol are industrial countries which became OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operations and Development) countries in 1992, plus countries with transition economies including the Russian Federation, the Baltic States , as well as several Eastern European and Central European countries.
The Kyoto Protocol is the basis for industrialized countries to reduce their combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 percent of 1990 emission levels by the 2008-2012 period. This legally binding commitment places a burden on developed countries, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. In practice, many industrialized countries have failed to implement the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol as an Annex 1 country, citing economic growth, which has caused climate change to be even worse.
These countries are internationally required by the Kyoto Protocol to develop low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or low carbon development. Indonesia is a non-Annex 1 country, meaning that it is not required to build with a low carbon scheme or reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
This means that low-carbon development is only suitable for developed industrial countries where the welfare of the people is already quite high. Low carbon development is not suitable for underdeveloped countries like Indonesia, which is still struggling with the problem of improving people's welfare and increasing economic growth. For West Kalimantan, low carbon development is no longer suitable, because West Kalimantan is still included in the category of provinces that lag behind at the Kalimantan Island level.
The problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions versus economic growth is what at the global level causes why for example the United States does not join international agreements on climate change like the Kyoto Protocol, because it has to sacrifice economic growth. The United States also withdrew from the Paris Agreement, the latest climate change agreement agreed in Paris in December 2015.
In addition, low carbon development also requires a low level of deforestation. As is well known, high rates of deforestation have led to Indonesia's forest areas getting used up. In 2019, according to the 2020-2024 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) document, the area of primary forest cover is only 43 million hectares. Whereas in 2000, the area of primary forest cover was still around 27.7 percent of the total national land area (189.6 million hectares) or around 52.51 million hectares (see page 18).
Technically, the release of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) is indeed a lot resulting from changes in land use, especially the clearing of primary forests and peatlands. The more forests and peatlands are cleared for plantations, mining and timber concessions, the greater the release of greenhouse gases, especially CO2. At the West Kalimantan level, the West Kalimantan Bappeda estimates that greenhouse gas emissions from forestry and peatlands in 2020 will reach 93.82 percent or 533,589,632 tons of CO2-equivalent.
With this high level of greenhouse gas emissions, of course, a strong effort from the West Kalimantan Regional Government (Pemda Kalbar) is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forestry and peatlands. The West Kalimantan Regional Government's work agenda for 2018-2023 such as reducing the extent of damage to forest areas through rehabilitation of forests and critical land is certainly highly valued. But that is not enough.
The West Kalimantan Regional Government must have the courage to carry out a moratorium on palm oil that has been mandated by Presidential Decree 8/2018 on the Palm Moratorium, including imposing severe sanctions such as revoking plantation licenses for oil palm companies that plant oil palm in forest and peatland areas. Link-AR Borneo data in 2018 shows that the Government of West Kalimantan has issued permits for oil palm plantations reaching 4.7 million hectares or 32 percent of the land area has been encumbered with oil palm plantation business licenses. The number of permits for oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan according to Link-AR Borneo data is 454 permits with a total area of 4,710,490 hectares.
If the West Kalimantan Government really intends to carry out low-carbon development, even though Indonesia is not included in the Annex 1 Kyoto Protocol country, then one of the important steps awaited by the public is to fully implement the mandate of Inpres 8/2018 regarding the Palm Moratorium. Which by way of harsh sanctions in the form of revocation of licenses to oil palm companies that violate existing legal rules such as oil palm companies that plant oil palm in forest and peatlands.
Pontianak, February 13th, 2020
Lingkaran Advokasi dan Riset Borneo (Link-AR Borneo)
Eko Zanuardy
Executive Director
Contact Number : +62 812-5468-3793
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