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The burden of forest preservation should be shared by all
those that benefit from it, including industrialized countries.
Global warming has become a major issue over the last decade. Global
temperatures have increased by nearly 1 degree Celsius over the last
150 years since the industrial era began. High levels of carbon
emissions are attributed to this.
The Kyoto Protocol was signed nearly ten years ago by 141 countries. It
mandates participating countries, many pioneers of the industrial era,
starting next year to reduce their carbon emissions to below
1990-levels. However, key industrialized nations such as the U.S. and
Australia are still reluctant to ratify the protocol.
World leaders have called for more action toward the reduction of
carbon emissions and mitigation of the effects of temperature increases.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth
depicts many scenes surrounding the disappearance of glaciers and the
melting of snow in both the South and North Poles. The big picture is
that when carbon emissions are high, temperatures increase, glaciers
melt and sea levels rise, flooding the world's islands.
In the United Nations General Assembly a few weeks ago, one day was
devoted to discussing climate change. The meeting was aimed at creating
momentum and building political commitments from all countries in
mitigating the impact of global warming before the UN Climate Change
Conference in Bali on Dec. 3 to 14.
One major point of discussion was that all countries are expected to
preserve their own rainforests and conduct reforestation for endangered
forests. This point has become very relevant for countries like
Indonesia, which has one of the most extensive rainforests in the world.
So far, Indonesia has designed a set of laws and regulations to ensure
that forest exploitation follows international requirements. For
example, palm oil companies have to become a member of the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil, which certifies palm oil exports to European
Union countries. Logs are also being verified with regard to their
sources, ages and replanting requirements before they can be exported.
But unfortunately, the destruction of forests continues in many parts
of the country. In Riau, illegal logging has caused the forest
destruction rate to reach alarming levels. A similar situation has also
been observed in Kalimantan, apparently due to illegal log exports to
neighboring countries.
Here we have an incentive issue. While preserving rainforests would
undoubtedly be beneficial for Indonesia in the long-run, the country
also has a right to exploit its forests for the good of its people.
Indonesian forests contain the high-quality wood needed by the
furniture, construction, and pulp and paper industries.
Our forests also contain major mineral resources beneath the surface.
The areas are also fertile for different kinds of plantations,
including palm oil plantations.
So despite pleas from the international community, forest preservation
remains easier said than done, especially with the abundance of
impoverished societies living in the forests and the surrounding areas.
Therefore Indonesia must convince developed countries to share the
burden of preserving its forests. Burden-sharing is only reasonable
since the benefit of forest preservation not only goes to Indonesia,
but also to other countries -- including the developed countries that
substantially produced greenhouse gases in the first place.
Forest preservation and reforestation won't work if the burden is only
shared by a few while the benefits accrue to the many. For Indonesia
the costs are too high to take on alone.
This message must get through in the upcoming summit in Bali. Otherwise
we'll just witness a rerun of what has been happening so far: summits
going nowhere and deforestation going forward.
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