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RI eligible for adaptation funds, says climate envoy

Indonesia, home to the second-largest total length of coastline after Canada, should be eligible for climate adaptation funds because of its high vulnerability to rising sea levels, an official says

Adianto P. Simamora (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, December 21, 2010

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RI eligible for adaptation funds, says climate envoy

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ndonesia, home to the second-largest total length of coastline after Canada, should be eligible for climate adaptation funds because of its high vulnerability to rising sea levels, an official says.

The President’s special envoy on climate change, Rachmat Witoelar, said rising sea levels could be a major threat to Indonesia because more than 50 percent of the population lived on the country’s 95,185 kilometers of coastline.

“Indonesia is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. We will fight to get the adaptation funds,” he told reporters.

Rachmat argued that Indonesia’s low income per capita and high rate of unemployment were factors that should strengthen Indonesia’s right to the funds.

Many Indonesians are employed in natural-resource based sectors, such as farming and fishing, which are prone to extreme weather changes caused by climate change.

Rich nations agreed to distribute US$30 billion in so-called adaptation funds from 2010-2012 to the nations most vulnerable to climate change, to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.

They also said they would increase the fund allocation every year until it had reached $100 billion per year by 2020.

The Cancun agreement said the eligible countries would be the least-developed nations, including small-island states and African countries.

There are no specific perquisites as to which nations might be eligible.

“We will monitor discussions that define the term vulnerable,” Rachmat said.

A 2009 study by the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry that covered seven provinces showed that sea levels were increasing by 8 millimeters per year on average.

The seven measured areas were Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Semarang, Jepara, Batam, Kupang, Biak and Sorong.

A computer simulation created by National Development Planning Agency said a rise of sea levels of 0.6 centimeters per year would inundate 14,468 square kilometers of Java and Bali and 24,268 kilometers of Sumatra by 2030.

It said the same sea level rise would eliminate 174,461 hectares of rice paddy in Java and 8,095 hectares of rice paddy in Bali by 2050.

Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said his office would focus on adaptation measures to prepare local people to adapt to climate change.

The office said it would hold pilot projects in Lombok and Sumatra to study the impacts of climate change.

“We will seek a breakthrough through bilateral ties to get funding for adaptation programs, as multilateral talks seem to be running slow in terms of agreeing on adaptation issues,” he told reporters.

Gusti said that a number of countries such as South Korea and Switzerland had expressed interest and readiness to help Indonesia conduct adaptation projects.

Minister Gusti and Rachmat held a joint press conference to explain the results of the Cancun climate talks. Both claimed the Cancun agreement would benefit Indonesia.

It is not clear whether the government has translated the Cancun agreement into a national action plan focusing on adaptation.

The Cancun agreement says participating countries should set up a national-level institutional arrangement to enhance the works of adaptation actions from planning to implementation.

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