By: Desma Murni
Nagoya, Japan --Government of Indonesia (GoI) announced Five Action Programs at Sumatra's RIMBA integrated landscape at a Side Event at the Conference of Parties 10 to the Convention of Biodiversity Nagoya, last Friday (Oct 22). These programs serve as the next step in the Sumatra Road Map Vision 2020 and also as an important milestone to demonstrate the readiness of Indonesia to implement sustainable and low carbon development in Sumatra.
Officially opened by Forestry Atache of Indonesian Embassy in Japan Sri Murniningtyas,the event was hosted by Indonesian Embassy in Japan in collaboration with WWF-Indonesia. Key speakers include Representative of Indonesian Ministry of Environment Heru Waluyo Koesworo; representative of Indonesian Ministry of Forestry DR. Haryadi Himawan; The Chairman of Sumatra Sustainability Fund Marzuki Usman; and Representative of CBD Secretariat Tim Christophersen.
In her remarks, Sri Murniningtyas said the Government of Indonesia has recognized and actively addressed global climate change and biodiversity loss through various means. At the UNFCCC COP 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark last year, Indonesian President has committed that the country will reduce 26% of carbon emissions by 2020, and by 41 percent with external assistance. The launching of the Sumatra Road Map Vision led by Indonesian Minister of Environment together with other relevant ministries, Governors of Sumatra, and civil society organizations is a concrete, invaluable step forward to achieve milestone responding to Indonesian President's commitment.
With the Sumatra vision 2020, she said, Indonesia is moving ahead with a sustainable development model which uses ecosystem-based spatial planning to promote biodiversity conservation, reduce carbon emissions, restore ecosystem services, develop innovative incentives for sustainable development, and fuel prosperity.
Sumatra is the only place in the world where tigers, elephants, rhinos, and orang-utans live in one island. Sumatra also hosts approximately 12% of the global wild tiger population and thus makes Indonesia a key country in the world's tiger conservation efforts.
Tim Cristoherson, representative of CBD Secretariate in his remarks said, linking biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development is challenging discussion at the COP10 for CBD in Nagoya.Promoting the application of an ecosystem approach that integrates protected areas into broader land uses is vital for biodiversity conservation and to ensure sustainable use of natural resources. Therefore he said,""In this Sumatra case, what impresses us all is that this initiative is not run solely by an NGO, or a provincial government, or by one ministry. It is exercised by all ten provinces and several ministries in developing and implementing such a program."" He hopes to learn more about the initiative and the future progress.
Sumatra Vision 2020 and RIMBA integrated Landscape
An unprecedented commitment by Governors from all ten provinces of Sumatra and four Ministers of the Republic of Indonesia was signed on 18 September 2008, pledging for restoration of critical ecosystem and protection of conservation value areas. This is a high level political commitment to buidling the future development of the island on the basis of ecosystem planning. As a follow up to the commitment, a “Roadmap Action Plan for Saving the Sumatra Ecosystem”, which outlines an Ecosystem Vision for Sumatra by 2020, was launched in May 2010. The Vision provides guidance to provincial and district governments to implement the Governors’ commitment to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Sumatra.
The Ecosystem Vision maps areas for protection and restoration based on an assessment of critical biodiversity and habitat. During the launch of Sumatra Vision 2020, the ministries also announced RIMBA as a demonstration location to model best practices for sustainable spatial planning and development with low carbon emissions.
RIMBA is an area in Central Sumatra that spans 19 districts in the provinces of Riau, Jambi and West Sumatra. RIMBA is an abbreviation for Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra. RIMBA in Bahasa Indonesia means Jungle. It covers three out of six priority Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) identified by experts as important habitat for Sumatran tiger conservation. It also encompasses remaining high-biodiversity montane, lowland, and peat swamp forest areas, and degraded areas prioritized for restoration. RIMBA is Not only home for Sumatran tigers, it also serves as an important habitat for elephant, orang-utan, and thousands of other unique biodiversity.
In his keynote speech, Representative from Ministry of Environment Heru Waluyo explained the five action programs developed by the Government of Indonesian for financing and implementing ecosystem-based spatial planning in RIMBA demonstration location in Sumatra

1. Restoration of damaged natural forests. The Sumatra Governors is committed to “restoring critical areas to protect ecosystem services”. The Roadmap Action Plan for Sumatra outlines a Sumatra Ecosystem Restoration conservation program giving priority to protected areas.
2. Forest carbon projects, such as those involving payments for land-based actions to reduce green-house gas emissions through forestation, reforestation, and reduced deforestation and forest degradation.
3. Payments for watershed services (PWS) as contractual and voluntary transactions and market mechanisms to maintain delivery hydrological services, and implementation of a land use or management practices likely to secure that service.
4. Best management practices for plantations that reduce their environmental footprint, and potentially increase productivity and biodiversity conservation.
5. Best management practices for forestry including biodiversity conservation in provincial strategic areas, arrangement of inter-organization coordinating mechanisms, and development of incentive and disincentive instruments.

""We seek collaboration with any parties which can help implement these programs more effectively. We appreciate the support and assistance of our existing partners, ForTRUST and WWF, over the last two years, which have made it possible for us come to this point,"" he said.

Download full speech from the Representative of Indonesian Minister of Environment


Sumatra Sustainability Funds
Chairman of Sumatra Sustainability Funds (SSF), who is also former Minister of Forestry and Tourism, Marzuki Usman introduced SSF as a financial mechanism to support and respond to government's call to save sumatra ecosystem. ""Along with many highly-respected and recognized figures of Sumatra, with the support of the Coordinating Ministry of Economics, we have established a trust fund for conservation and sustainable development which will support all stakeholders including civil society groups to actively participate in this grand plan,"" he said.
He hopes that SSF will be the model for sustainable financing for conservation and sustainable development on other major islands of Indonesia and calls for support from various parties.The side event was participated by about 75 attendees from Parties, NGOs, donors and scientists.