REDD - pushing the PLUS (+)

Indonesia hopes to renegotiate its US$1 billion deal with Norway on reducing carbon emissions by curbing deforestation, hoping Norway will accept tree planting as an eligible part of the program.

“We hope REDD+ activities could be applied in the Indonesia-Norway climate deal,” Hadi Daryanto, director general of forest production at the Forestry Ministry, told The Jakarta Post Saturday.

To boost its afforestation programme, the Taraba Government is to raise 20 million seedlings by 2015.
Mr Timothy Kataps, the Commissioner for  Environment and Urban Development, announced this on Thursday in Lankavir  during the official launching of the 2010 Tree Planting Campaign.

Experts from various institutions including Forestry and Environment, Community Forest Organizations, Timber Re-export Association and other relevant stakeholders Tuesday gathered at Baobab Beach Hotel in Kololi to address the issue of deforestation and climate change by planting one million trees for sustainable management of forest resources, as they noted that the country’s forest is seriously facing increasing exploitation due to population growth. The event was organized by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.

It must be realised that while population growth and poverty do threaten forests, their destruction is more seriously determined by institutional and economic policies. Institutional failure can occur due to pro-degradation land use development policies or if there is a lack of regulation of resource use or corruption