Indonesia pays $28.5 million debt to U.S. through forest protection deal

[News_Editor]

Indonesia pays $28.5 million debt to U.S. through forest protection deal

2011-10-04 07:44:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- The government of Indonesia on Monday agreed to pay the United States $28.5 million in debt by protecting its own rich forests which are continuously threatened by illegal logging.

Under the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) of 1998, Indonesia will be able to reduce its debt by $28.5 million during the upcoming eight years by committing these funds to protect its own forests, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said.

In partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Indonesia (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the debt-for-nature swap agreement will provide support grants to these organizations which aim to better protect and restore the country's tropical forests.

Indonesia and the U.S. signed their first debt-for-nature swap in 2009 to support forest conservation efforts on the Island of Sumatra, where recent studies have shown that the Sumatran Tiger population has dramatically decreased to about 400. In this second agreement, Indonesia will focus on the country's tropical forests in Kalimantan where a significant population of orangutans exists.

Kalimantan, which is also known as Indonesian Borneo, has contained throughout history some of the world's most remote and biologically-rich forests. Currently, there are up to 15,000 different flowering plants on Borneo and the island is home to a large number of treasured animal species such as clouded leopards and "pygmy" elephants, in addition to the orangutans and many others.

The second Indonesia TFCA marks the 18th TFCA deal following agreements with Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica (two agreements), El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama (two agreements), Paraguay, Peru (two agreements), and the Philippines.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-04

[elgato]

Too bad Uncle Sam can't/won't do anything about illegal teak logging in the region.

[chuckd]

Too bad Uncle Sam can't/won't do anything about illegal teak logging in the region.

This is from the OP. It would seem the US is paying $28.5 Million in debt write-off to help protect the forests of Indonesia.

I am wondering what other countries are contributing to this effort!

"Under the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) of 1998, Indonesia will be able to reduce its debt by $28.5 million during the upcoming eight years by committing these funds to protect its own forests, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said."

[maidu]

good news. I hate to wax cynical, but if Indonesian authorities are anything like Thai or other SE Asian authorities, over half that money will go in to a few well-connected pockets. Any and all efforts to protect forests in Indonesia are very welcome.

A year ago I saw a TV special with a Brit who re-visited places in Indonesia's jungles (where he had make friends years earlier). In every case, tractors were threatening the villages that remained. One big reason for the sickening pace of deforestation: Japanese political campaigns insist on using top quality plywood for their political posters, and much of that plywood comes from Indonesia.

[Credo]

Ah, but they can't line their pockets with money they won't get. They can only get debt relief. So, if the deforestation terms aren't met, then they can pay their bills--up to them to show some results. At least, that's how I hope it works.