Fri, May 20 2011 13:51 | 262 Views (ANTARA/FB Anggoro)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already signed a presidential regulation that imposes a moratorium on forest clearing activity, according to Agus Purnomo , a presidential aide for climate change affairs.

"The President has said he signed a presidential regulation declaring a moratorium on forest clearing activity," Agus Purnomo said here Thursday.

Agus, however, could not give more detailed information on the regulation because the document was still in the hands of the cabinet secretary, and he had not yet received a copy of the regulation.

The presidential regulation signed by the head of state was a combination and simplification of two drafts proposed respectively by the forestry ministry and the UN REDD Task Force, Agus said.

The moratorium on new concessions in peatland and primary forests is part of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between Indonesia and Norway, called the Oslo Accord.

Based on the bilateral agreement which was signed in Oslo, Norway, on May 26, 2010, Indonesia will receive $1 billion in funding for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD-plus) activities.

The agreement covers three stages. The first stage started in 2010, the second state in January 2011 until 2014, and the third after 2014.

Activities in the first state included consultation and the drafting of the national strategy for the implementation of REDD+, the establishment of REDD+ institution directly under the supervision of the President.

Other activities were the forming of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) team, which is independent and trustworthy, and the selections of funding instruments and provinces for pilot projects.

The second stage covers activities such as the operation of funding instrument, the launching of the first pilot project province of REDD+, the two-year stop of forest and peat conversion, the setting up of degraded forest area database, the second province pilot project launching and the implementation of MRV.

The third stage will include the continued implementation of REDD+ program and strategy at the national level, the REDD+ program verification, study and monitoring by MRV Team, and sending a report on the emission reduction to the UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

The Norwegian government has pledged to disburse US$200 million for the first and second stages, and US$800 million for the third stage.
(Uu.F001/HAJM)