Grab One Billion Dollars of Oslo Moratorium

Government of Indonesia on May 26, 2010 has signed agreement (Letter of Intent / LoI) in Oslo, Norway on a two-year moratorium on natural forest areas and peatlands in Indonesia.Ini means all permits relating to activities in natural forests will be stopped during two years. As for the affected in this regard include the forest industry, oil palm plantation industry, various mines in the woods and so forth.

Letter of Intent between the Government of Indonesia and Norway is a cooperative agreement between the two sides to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and forest degradation. In return, the Norwegian Government pledged one billion U.S. dollars, or about Rp 1 trillion dollars per year from this deal. It's a very tempting offer.

Campaign Director of Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI) Muhammad Teguh Surya in Jakarta, said Walhi moratorium on further deforestation rate is in good faith that need to be appreciated and supported by all parties, because all this deforestation continues to occur and only a few certain people who enjoy it.

According to him, better known moratorium Moratorium Oslo it will not disturb the people's economy but it is very annoying black conglomerate (black corporation), because millions of hectares of forest land has been dominated by only a few people for a period of decades.

In West Kalimantan, for example, data from West Kalimantan Plantation Office until December 2009 said that the total area of oil palm plantation under a permit issued has reached 3,592,633.66 ha and only owned by 15 groups.

Meanwhile, in East Kalimantan (Kaltim), East Kalimantan provincial government has issued a location permit as many as 311 pieces with an area of 3,345,565.69 hectares. Until early November 2010, claiming the Plantation Office Program One Million Hectare Oil Palm has been planted as much as 573,196.41 hectares.

On the other hand, the Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan said the moratorium is the wish of Indonesia to give time for forest governance better. Thus, the signing of the LoI is a realization SBY's government for forest conservation in Indonesia.

"Indonesia is not under pressure or dictation Norway. Moratorium our desires, to forest governance. Indonesia was a big country, it is impossible supervised Norway, "said Zulkifli.

SBY's even set the program One Billion forests in Indonesia to reduce exhaust emissions by 26 percent to launch a man to plant a tree trunk (One Man One Tree).

This commitment is at the Kaltim by Governor dreamily Faroek add the program into one person plant the Five Trees (One Man, Five Trees). Awang well aware that forests need green Kaltim back.

The question is, if Indonesia can win the "reward" of Rp 1 trillion rupiah, whether the money for it certainly will come to the community around the forest has always been poor and disadvantaged?

That kind of money ought to give welfare to the community around the forest during their daily life is dependent on the surrounding forest.

The government should focus on the dignity and welfare peningatan forest communities by providing capital, management advisory business, providing health education and a more easy and affordable and others.

This is our duty to oversee where the money is flowing to a billion dollars. Should the benefits are truly able to provide welfare to the community around the forest in a fair and equitable. Hopefully. (Vb / yul)(Source: Vivaborneo.com)