26 May, 2010 - Jakarta Post- Jakarta/Oslo.  Indonesia plans to set up a multinational trust fund led by the President's trusted man Kuntoro Mangkusubroto as part of a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Norway to reduce carbon emissions, a minister said.

Under the letter of intent to be signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the latter's guest house in Oslo, Indonesia will receive US$1 billion in grant to preserve its forests.

The grant will be disbursed in phases under some requirements, including establishment of the trust fund and selection of priority forests, said Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

 

"The Foresty Ministry has offered (forests) in Papua, East Kalimantan, Riau and Jambi. But it will be chosen depending on MRV that will be our responsibility. We will select (which forests) together with Norway," he said.

 

MRV stands for measurable, reportable and verifiable, meaning every ton of emission cuts will be assessed by independent auditors.

 

Zulkifli said Riau has approximately 700,000 hectares of forests and Jambi 100,000 hectares. He did not mention the scales in Papua and East Kalimantan. 

Zulkifli said Kuntoro, chairman of the Presidential Working Unit for Development Supervision and Control, would lead the trust fund, the members of which may include the World Bank or equivalent institutions. 

On board the Garuda Indonesia Airbus A 330 airplane from Jakarta to Oslo, Yudhoyono urged the central and local government to manage grants or funds awarded to Indonesia to preserve its forests appropriately. 

"Use the funds appropriately without any misuse. There shouldn't be any cheating," he said. 

Zulkifli said Indonesia would try to seek grants from other donors, including South Korea, Japan, the US and Germany. 

Such grants are different from the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) Plus scheme, which provides incentives for forestry countries that manage to preserve their forests, as part of the Copenhagen Accord agreed upon by parties to the climate change conference who met in Copenhagen last December. 

The incentives are expected to reach $4-5 billion after discussions in Thursday's Oslo Climate and Forest Conference, said presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal. 

Thursday will see the conference opening session on "A Global Partnership on Climate and Forests: The Way Ahead", followed by bilateral meetings between heads of state and government. 

Yudhoyono is set to attend a dinner Wednesday evening for heads of delegation hosted by Stoltenberg to be attended by representatives of about 50 countries at Holmenkollen Park Hotel Rica, where Yudhoyono stay. 

The President's entourage also include First Lady Any Yudhoyono, Environment Minister Gusti M. Hatta, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa, Investment Coordinating Board Head Gita Wirjawan. 

Reported by Aditya Suharmoko