"Our moves have been closely watched by lobbyists of industries such as mining and oilpalm plantations," Kuntoro Mangkusubroto , chief of the REDD Plus Task Force, said at the opening of a national workshop on REDD activities here Tuesday.
However, discussions on REDD Plus activities, in fact, have also involved the private sector including industries as one of the stakeholders, he said.
He urged all stakeholders to respect and implement logging moratorium.
Kuncoro disagreed with an idea that tree logging could be done as long as it would be followed by tree planting.
"Once a forest area, it must remain forest area," he said.
Kuncoro said as the REDD Plus Task Force chief, he would make sure the success of the implementation of REDD Plus and that all stakeholders have a common goal.
The REDD Plus Task Force was established in September 2010 based on the presidential decree no. 19/2010, to follow up the Indonesian-Norwegian partnership program.
The government of Indonesia and Norway signed a Letter of Intent on the two countries` partnership in Oslo, May 2010.
Under the partnership agreement, Norway would provide one billion US dollar to Indonesia for emission reduction from deforestation and forest degradation activities.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.
REDD Plus goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
(Uu.F001/HAJM/P003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
