Germany to aid Indonesia fight deforestation

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- The government of Germany on Friday agreed to aid Indonesia with its Forest and Climate Change program (ForClime), local media reported.

ForClime, which is targeting to decrease the CO2 emission rate from deforestation and forest degradation by 300 to 400 thousand tons during a seven-year period, will be carried out through two cooperations: Technical Cooperation via GIZ with a 6.75 million euro ($9.64 million) fund and Financial Cooperation through KfW with a 20 million euro ($28.57 million) fund, Indonesia's forestry ministry told Antara news agency.

The bilateral negotiation begun in October 2007, and in addition to cutting greenhouse gas emission from the forestry sector, ForClime is also aimed at improving the living condition of rural people in Indonesia.

As the world's third largest forest area - behind Brazil and Congo - Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently signed a Presidential Instruction on deforestation moratorium to fight climate change impacts and preserve the remaining tropical forests and its biodiversity.

According to Indonesia's forestry ministry 2010 report, the Southeast Asian country has around 130 million hectares of forests, including 64.2 million hectares of primary forests, and 24.5 million hectares of peat lands.