InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA -On 25-29 September 2017, some governors from many countries will gather in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan to start a new important process to decrease the deforestation of tropical forest. Besides the representatives from the commodity producers, civil organizations, the indigenous people, and the smallholders would attend the meeting.
The meeting would launch Balikpapan Challenge, a new initiative to unite government, company, the civil society, the smallholder, the indigenous people to decrease deforestation and to fight for the climate change.
In the official info which InfoSAWIT, got,Balikpapan Challenge would officially be inaugurated by the Governor of East Kalimantan, Awang Faroek Ishak, as the host in the Governors’ Climate and Forests Taskforce (GCF), together with ‘Institut Penelitian Inovasi Bumi (INOBU)’as the secretariat of GCF Indonesia.
GCF is one global collaboration which consists of 35 states and provinces from 9 countries. Every member commits to decrease deforestation in tropical forest and fight for the climate change. In August 2014 in Rio Branco, Brazil, the members of GCF agreed to decrease deforestation reaching 80% up to 2020 if they get help enough fund to their work idea. But as a matter of fact, it is not easy to implement the agreement.
Balikpapan Challenge is one initiative which is proposed to get the practical solution to decrease the tropical forest deforestation. It is made on the same understanding that there have been many commitments made by the government, both in the regional and national level, and also in the company level to decrease deforestation and green house gas emission.
“But those sides often faced difficulty to implement the commitment. To realize the commitment, every side in every level should unite and agree the strategy based on the local condition, but give profit to every one,” Secretariat of Indonesia to GCF, and Institut Penelitian Inovasi Bumi (INOBU) mentioned.
How does Balikpapan Challengechange the commitment to be real action? Balikpapan Challenge is the multy phase process to get the real and practical ways to get the sustainable development and decrease emission which was started from Annual Taskforce Meeting in GCF in Balikpapan. It has three main pillars. The first pillar is to ensure the jurisdiction (province or district) as the agricultural commidity producer to cooperate with the buyers of the commodity and togetherly decrease deforestation. This pillar urges the buyers to prioritize every province and state which significantly decrease deforestation and green house gas emission. This would support the province and the state of GCF to continue in protecting the tropical forests.
The second pillar is to protect the rights of indigenous people but increase their welfare in every state and province of the members of GCF. The indigenous people have lived in, or next to the forest for hundreds of years or even thousands of years. Decreasing deforestation and promoting regional development could be realized if the indigenous peoples rights are admitted and protected. The pillar would prioritize and agree the mechanism and initiative to support the indigenous people in the region of the members of GCF
The third pillar is to guarantee that the members GCF could get the fund needed to decrease deforestation, support the low emission development and protect the rights of indigenous people. The province and the state committing to decrease deforestation and green house gas emission need support. This pillar helps to find the financial mechanism which is the same with the local condition to help the province or district to continue their ways to decrease tropical forest deforestation.
Balikpapan Challenge is the significant ways to realize the commitment which has been made in Paris Agreement and the commitment of the commodity companies to be free of deforestation which would be led by Indonesia, Latin America and Africa. (T2)
