First, fix the climate action plan

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 06/20/2008 10:34 AM  |  National

The government's action plans for dealing with climate change need revision, as they fail to motivate stakeholders to help cut emissions and do not adequately allow for public participation, experts say.

Environmental expert from the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, Mas Achmad Santosa, said the government apparently failed to consider studies on mitigation and adaptation efforts before issuing the action plans.

"The action plans were made only to meet the deadline and as part of Indonesia's public relations campaign in hosting the climate change conference (in Bali last December)," he said in a discussion at the state environment ministry here Tuesday.

"Only a few stakeholders from inside the government are familiar with and were involved in formulating the action plans."

Mas Achmad said those who stood to suffer the most from the impacts of climate change were not involved in making the action plans.

"The action plans do not explicitly explain the funding sources, technologies or institutions that would be used for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change," he said.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to order revisions to the plans by referring to the Bali action plans and by setting up institutions at the national and regional levels to involve the public."

The 104 pages of action plans were launched by the President on the sidelines of the United Nations climate change conference six months ago. The action plans consist of mitigation and adaptation programs to deal with human-induced climate change.

The mitigation program is designed to prevent the situation getting worse by reducing emissions. It covers sectors such as energy, forestry, fisheries, water resources, infrastructure and health.

The adaptation plans, designed to reduce the impacts of unavoidable climate change, explain how to deal with the impacts of global warming.

For example, according to the action plan for the maritime sector, Indonesia's seas can store up to 245 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The plan also estimates some 61,000 square kilometers of coral reef can absorb 73.5 million tons of CO2 per year. The existing 93,000 hectares of mangrove forest can store 75.4 million tons of CO2 and phytoplankton species can handle some 11 million tons of CO2.

The mitigation action plan recommends the government develop more mangrove forests to help coastal communities fend off rising seas and stronger tropical storms.

Soeryo Adiwibowo of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) said the government should translate the action plans into easy-to-understand language to encourage people to take part in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

"The language used in the action plans is not accessible for the ordinary public, making the climate change issue a matter for scientists. Even within the IPB, there are only a few experts familiar with the action plans," he said.

State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said the government planned to set up a climate change council as one of the efforts to speed up the implementation of the action plans.

"But the government is still open to making revisions," he said.

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