POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Professor Siti Nurbaya has declared that the Leuser Ecosystem - the only place on earth that is a co-habitat for Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos - is a net carbon sink at the landscape level.
The Minister stated that the Leuser Ecosystem - a huge biodiversity landscape spanning more than 2.6 million hectares, or nearly two-thirds the land area of the Netherlands - releases far less carbon than its sequestering capacity and is thus a net carbon sink which consists of more than 78% natural forest cover.
It is worth noting that 86.5% of the Leuser Ecosystem's total area lies within Aceh, one of Indonesia's most richly forested provinces, with the rest located in North Sumatra province.
She also emphasized that the Leuser Ecosystem will serve as one of the key pilot projects in the implementation of Indonesia's Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030 Operational Plan.
Minister Nurbaya delivered these key points, among others, in a science-based speech at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh (Sep 15) titled “Indonesia's FOLU Net Sink 2030: Strengthening Governance and Conservation of Landscape-Based Forest Resources.”
FOLU NET SINK 2030, Indonesia's legally-binding climate target, was signed by President Joko Widodo last October and formed one of the main focuses of his well-received speech at the COP26 climate summit.
Key wildlife habitat, multi-landscapes
In her scientific speech, Minister Nurbaya also elaborated on the huge significance of Aceh given that it contains the vast majority of the Leuser Ecosystem, unrivalled in Indonesia and indeed the world in terms of the comprehensiveness and range of its key wildlife species.
She pointed out that the Leuser Ecosystem is not entirely composed of a conservation and protection landscape, but is also home to a production landscape and settlements of local/adat communities.
"The Leuser Ecosystem's production landscape is intended to enhance the economies of local and adat communities and the corporate sector," she said.
"As such," she continued, "there is no longer a debate on whether the Leuser Ecosystem should be utilized or not, considering that the four types of landscapes within it constitute a unified whole which support and strengthen each other.
The Minister stressed that the parts of the Leuser Ecosystem lying in a production landscape can still be utilized responsibly with legal compliances, thereby enabling sustainable development in the huge ecosystem, most notably in Aceh.
Reincorporated into Aceh spatial plan
Minister Nurbaya recalled her legal efforts in November 2016 to reincorporate the boundaries of the Leuser Ecosystem into the 2013 Aceh Spatial Plan, after the Aceh Government had initially excluded these boundaries from the plan.
"This was to ensure that the boundaries of the Leuser Ecosystem were guaranteed a strong legal position as an inseparable part of the Aceh Spatial Plan," she explained.
This move, she added, was also made to improve the legal solidity of the Leuser Ecosystem in the context of the prevailing laws and regulations, especially those applicable in Aceh.
Minister Nurbaya underlined that the spine of the Leuser Ecosystem, Gunung Leuser National Park - one of the world's most famous and important national parks covering an area exceeding 11 times the size of Singapore - underpins its biodiversity power.
According to the Minister, the latest landcover situation in the national park indicates that 93.4% of it is blanketed by natural forest.
“This of course,” she continued, “not only acts as a home for four key wildlife species, but also offers high carbon sequestration capacity, thereby - together with other landscapes - continuing to ensure that the Leuser Ecosystem is a net carbon sink at the landscape level.”
Precious legacy
Minister Nurbaya also reiterated that the FOLU sector is projected to contribute to Indonesia's NDC by reducing the country's emissions by nearly 60%. Such a significant contribution, she went on, means that climate actions from the FOLU sector, including those involving the Leuser Ecosystem, are vital for Indonesia in addressing the global climate crisis.
Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 Operational Plan was launched by the Minister in March this year, in the wake of the COP26 climate summit. It is designed based on a spatial approach to ensure the country's climate actions remain on a correct and measurable track to achieve the target of net carbon sink in the FOLU sector by 2030.
There are three fundamental pillars in the implementation of the FOLU NET SINK 2030 Operational Plan; sustainable forest management, environmental governance and carbon governance.
The major climate actions in the FOLU sector, among others, are tackling forest and land fires, reducing deforestation and forest degradation, enhancing biodiversity and habitat conservation efforts, as well as restoring and rehabilitating degraded peatlands and mangroves.
At the core of her scientific speech, Minister Nurbaya told her audience that Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target represents a precious legacy handed down from the present to future generations.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Professor Siti Nurbaya has declared that the Leuser Ecosystem - the only place on earth that is a co-habitat for Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos - is a net carbon sink at the landscape level.
The Minister stated that the Leuser Ecosystem - a huge biodiversity landscape spanning more than 2.6 million hectares, or nearly two-thirds the land area of the Netherlands - releases far less carbon than its sequestering capacity and is thus a net carbon sink which consists of more than 78% natural forest cover.
It is worth noting that 86.5% of the Leuser Ecosystem's total area lies within Aceh, one of Indonesia's most richly forested provinces, with the rest located in North Sumatra province.
She also emphasized that the Leuser Ecosystem will serve as one of the key pilot projects in the implementation of Indonesia's Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030 Operational Plan.
Minister Nurbaya delivered these key points, among others, in a science-based speech at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh (Sep 15) titled “Indonesia's FOLU Net Sink 2030: Strengthening Governance and Conservation of Landscape-Based Forest Resources.”
FOLU NET SINK 2030, Indonesia's legally-binding climate target, was signed by President Joko Widodo last October and formed one of the main focuses of his well-received speech at the COP26 climate summit.
Key wildlife habitat, multi-landscapes
In her scientific speech, Minister Nurbaya also elaborated on the huge significance of Aceh given that it contains the vast majority of the Leuser Ecosystem, unrivalled in Indonesia and indeed the world in terms of the comprehensiveness and range of its key wildlife species.
She pointed out that the Leuser Ecosystem is not entirely composed of a conservation and protection landscape, but is also home to a production landscape and settlements of local/adat communities.
"The Leuser Ecosystem's production landscape is intended to enhance the economies of local and adat communities and the corporate sector," she said.
"As such," she continued, "there is no longer a debate on whether the Leuser Ecosystem should be utilized or not, considering that the four types of landscapes within it constitute a unified whole which support and strengthen each other.
The Minister stressed that the parts of the Leuser Ecosystem lying in a production landscape can still be utilized responsibly with legal compliances, thereby enabling sustainable development in the huge ecosystem, most notably in Aceh.
Reincorporated into Aceh spatial plan
Minister Nurbaya recalled her legal efforts in November 2016 to reincorporate the boundaries of the Leuser Ecosystem into the 2013 Aceh Spatial Plan, after the Aceh Government had initially excluded these boundaries from the plan.
"This was to ensure that the boundaries of the Leuser Ecosystem were guaranteed a strong legal position as an inseparable part of the Aceh Spatial Plan," she explained.
This move, she added, was also made to improve the legal solidity of the Leuser Ecosystem in the context of the prevailing laws and regulations, especially those applicable in Aceh.
Minister Nurbaya underlined that the spine of the Leuser Ecosystem, Gunung Leuser National Park - one of the world's most famous and important national parks covering an area exceeding 11 times the size of Singapore - underpins its biodiversity power.
According to the Minister, the latest landcover situation in the national park indicates that 93.4% of it is blanketed by natural forest.
“This of course,” she continued, “not only acts as a home for four key wildlife species, but also offers high carbon sequestration capacity, thereby - together with other landscapes - continuing to ensure that the Leuser Ecosystem is a net carbon sink at the landscape level.”
Precious legacy
Minister Nurbaya also reiterated that the FOLU sector is projected to contribute to Indonesia's NDC by reducing the country's emissions by nearly 60%. Such a significant contribution, she went on, means that climate actions from the FOLU sector, including those involving the Leuser Ecosystem, are vital for Indonesia in addressing the global climate crisis.
Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 Operational Plan was launched by the Minister in March this year, in the wake of the COP26 climate summit. It is designed based on a spatial approach to ensure the country's climate actions remain on a correct and measurable track to achieve the target of net carbon sink in the FOLU sector by 2030.
There are three fundamental pillars in the implementation of the FOLU NET SINK 2030 Operational Plan; sustainable forest management, environmental governance and carbon governance.
The major climate actions in the FOLU sector, among others, are tackling forest and land fires, reducing deforestation and forest degradation, enhancing biodiversity and habitat conservation efforts, as well as restoring and rehabilitating degraded peatlands and mangroves.
At the core of her scientific speech, Minister Nurbaya told her audience that Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target represents a precious legacy handed down from the present to future generations.
RELATED STORIES
