T

he Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit in Yogyakarta concluded on Tuesday with a shared commitment to strengthen cooperation between governments, civil society groups, research organizations and the private sector in the region in promoting sustainable development.

Ninety-three forest experts and 900 participants, 200 of whom are from 35 different countries, are attending the meeting that is jointly held under a collaboration between the Indonesian and Australian governments and supported by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

“We also recognized that education, awareness, capacity building, demonstration activities and collaboration with the private sector in generating good outcomes are important aspects for improving our cooperation,” the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s head of research, development and innovation Agus Justianto said.

Agus represented Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar during the second day of the summit and read out Siti’s speech to the participants.

Agus said that Indonesia expected a sustainable and stronger cooperation in exploring opportunities for greater connectivity between parties to share experiences using online platforms.

“Hence, we need to mobilize climate finance to facilitate our efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change through the forestry sector,” he added.

On the sidelines of the summit, Siti held bilateral meetings with a number of Asia Pacific countries, including Fiji, Australia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.

Siti signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fiji’s Minister for Fisheries and Forests, HE Osea Naiqamu, on cooperation in forest management training, bamboo breeding and land rehabilitation.

Fiji, according to a statement from Siti’s office, wanted to improve their human resource’s artistic skill in carving wood, and would invite wood carving artists from Cekik Village in Bali.

Fiji also expressed an intention to breed a kind of bamboo indigenous to Yogyakarta, which according to a recent ministry assessment, is a perfect fit for Fiji’s tropical climate.

While in her meeting with Australian Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg, Siti brought the issue of sustainable peatland management to the table.

Peatland restoration is among four initiatives in the forestry sector expected to contribute to the effort to lower carbon emissions in Indonesia, one of the countries that ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016.

Indonesia aims to restore 90 percent of the targeted 2 million hectares of peatland by 2030, as stated in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document.

In the NDC paper, Indonesia placed the burden on the forestry and land use sectors to contribute 17 percent to the total targeted 29 percent reduction in greenhouse gas output by 2030.

On Tuesday, participants grouped themselves under different panels to discuss seven issues in the forestry sector, including peatland, community forestry as well as forest finance, investment and trade.

“From the policy aspect of restoration and sustainable management of peatland, policy on peatland will influence the sustainability of peatland area. This policy should be transferred into political commitment, coordinating action, policy regulation as well as law enforcement,” representative of the summit’s science committee, Krisfianti Linda Ginoga, read out as the conclusion of the panel discussions.