Indonesia committed to tackle environmental challenges

SINGAPORE — The Joko Widodo administration is committed to addressing environmental and climate change challenges, said Indonesian Deputy Minister for Environmental Degradation Control and Climate Change Arief Yuwono today (May 13), as he announced that Indonesia would look to extend a two-year forest clearing ban and offer to host a regional coordinating centre for managing transboundary haze pollution.

At the sidelines of the Second Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources held at Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel where he delivered a keynote address, Mr Yuwono told reporters that the Indonesian government is working on a new draft moratorium, which may extend the ban on clearing of forests for a further two years. But despite an existing moratorium expiring today, no new licences for forest clearing activities will be issued in the meantime.

When asked by TODAY on the concrete steps undertaken by Indonesia to operationalise the haze monitoring system under the ambit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution recently ratified by all 10 member states, Mr Yuwono highlighted that Indonesia has offered to host a regional coordinating centre to monitor forest fires and haze. Besides Indonesia, Malaysia has also expressed an interest to host the centre.

The deputy minister also said that Indonesia was in the midst of preparing its pledge for the new post-2020 global climate change regime. Indonesia is likely to meet the pledge submission deadline of October to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat.