VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 9 - Humans have degraded or destroyed roughly two-thirds of the world’s original tropical rainforest cover, new data reveals – raising alarm that a key natural buffer against climate change is quickly vanishing.

The forest loss is also a major contributor of climate-warming emissions, with the dense tropical forest vegetation representing the largest living reservoir of carbon.

Logging and land conversion, mainly for agriculture, have wiped out 34% of the world’s original old-growth tropical rainforests, and degraded another 30%, leaving them more vulnerable to fire and future destruction, according to an analysis by the non-profit Rainforest Foundation Norway.

More than half of the destruction since 2002 has been in South America’s Amazon and bordering rainforests.

As more rainforest is destroyed, there is more potential for climate change, which in turn makes it more difficult for remaining forests to survive, said the report’s author Anders Krogh, a tropical forest researcher.

“It’s a terrifying cycle,” Krogh said. The total lost between just 2002 and 2019 was larger than the area of France, he found.

The rate of loss in 2019 roughly matched the annual level of destruction over the last 20 years, with a football field’s worth of forest vanishing every 6 seconds, according to another recent report by the World Resources Institute.

The Brazilian Amazon has been under intense pressure in recent decades, as an agricultural boom has driven farmers and land speculators to torch plots of land for soybeans, beef and other crops. That trend has worsened since 2019, when right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office and began weakening environmental enforcement.

But the Amazon also represents the best hope for preserving what rainforest remains. The Amazon and its neighbors – the Orinoco and the Andean rainforest – account for 73.5% of tropical forests still intact, according to Krogh.

The new report “reinforces that Brazil must take care of the forest,” said Ane Alencar, a geographer with the Amazon Environmental Research Institute who was not involved in the work. “Brazil has the biggest chunk of tropical forest in the world and is also losing the most.”

Southeast Asian islands, mostly belonging to Indonesia, collectively rank second in terms of forest destruction since 2002, with much of those forests cleared for palm oil plantations.

Central Africa ranks third, with most of the destruction centered around the Congo River basin, due to traditional and commercial farming as well as logging.

Forests that were defined in the report as degraded had either been partially destroyed, or destroyed and since replaced by secondary forest growth, Rainforest Foundation Norway said.

That report’s definition for intact forest may be overly strict, cautioned Tasso Azevedo, coordinator of the Brazilian deforestation mapping initiative MapBiomas. The analysis only counts untouched regions of at least 500 square km (193 square miles) as intact, leaving out smaller areas that may add to the world’s virgin forest cover, he said.

Krogh explained that this definition was chosen because smaller tracts are at risk of the “edge effect,” where trees die faster and biodiversity is harder to maintain near the edge of the forest. A forest spanning 500 square km can fully sustain its ecosystem, he said. (Reuters)

Mar. 9 - China urged the United States on Sunday to remove “unreasonable” curbs on cooperation as soon as possible and work together on issues like climate change, while accusing Washington of bringing chaos in the name of spreading democracy.

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden singled out a “growing rivalry with China” as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the country as “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.

Speaking at his annual news conference, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, struck a tough line even as he outlined where the world’s two biggest economies could work together.

Questioned about U.S.-China frictions over Taiwan, Xinjiang and the disputed South China Sea, Wang said Beijing “will never accept baseless accusations and smears”.

The United States had used democracy and human rights as a basis for arbitrarily interfering with other countries’ affairs, he said. “The U.S. should realise this as soon as possible, otherwise the world will continue to experience instability.”

The White House brushed aside the criticisms over Taiwan and said Washington would continue to support Taipei.

Wang said differences between Beijing and Washington must be managed carefully, the two sides must advocate healthy competition not zero-sum finger-pointing, and that areas like climate change and fighting the pandemic were where they could cooperate.

“It is hoped that the United States and China will meet each other halfway and lift the various unreasonable restrictions placed on Sino-U.S. cooperation to date as soon as possible, and not create new obstacles artificially.”

The United States and China are at odds over influence in the Indo-Pacific region, Beijing’s economic practices, Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights in China’s Xinjiang region.

The Biden administration has indicated it will broadly continue the tough approach to China taken by former President Donald Trump, but do so in coordination with allies.

Wang warned there was no room for compromise on Chinese-claimed Taiwan and the new U.S. government should drop the previous administration’s “dangerous acts of playing with fire”.

Biden’s team called the U.S. commitment to democratic Taiwan “rock solid” and on Monday White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing Washington would “continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defence capability.”

“Our position on Taiwan remains clear. We will stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security and values in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said when asked about Wang’s remarks.

Under Trump, the United States imposed sanctions against China and its officials over Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Beijing’s economic policies, which have not been lifted by Biden.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he agrees with his predecessor Mike Pompeo’s determination that genocide against Muslims is under way in Xinjiang.

Activists and U.N. experts say 1 million Muslim Uighurs are held in Chinese camps. China denies abuses and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Wang said some Western politicians chose to believe lies about Xinjiang, and took a dig at Western countries’ records.

“When it comes to ‘genocide’, most people think of North American Indians in the 16th century, African slaves in the 19th century, Jews in the 20th century, and the Australian aborigines who are still fighting today,” he said.

“The so-called ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang is ridiculously absurd. It is a rumour with ulterior motives and a complete lie.” (Reuters)

Mar. 9 - A change in strategy will not be necessary to deal with the spread of the new coronavirus variant, B1.1.7, in Indonesia, Dr. Riris Andono Ahmad, an epidemiologist from Gadjah Mada University, has opined.

"The strategy remains the same. The strategy will have to be changed if the transmission model changes, for example from droplet to airborne," Ahmad said when contacted here on Monday.

The main strategy for controlling the virus is adhering to the 5M protocols — wearing masks, maintaining distance, washing hands with soap, staying away from crowds, and reducing mobility, he added. Control efforts also need to be carried out through the 3Ts — tracing, testing, and treatment, he continued.

The tracing of COVID-19 cases can be carried out as usual if the transmission can be controlled from the start, Ahmad noted. However, if the transmission of cases becomes widespread, mass prevention in the community will need to be carried out immediately, he said.

"So, this (control measures) is not related to the type of virus or its mutation, but rather the mode of transmission," he stressed.

However, if the implementation of the 5M and 3T protocols is not followed properly, case transmission could occur faster as the transmission of the B1.1.7 variant is reported to be 70 percent higher, he cautioned.

The current implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) can effectively inhibit transmission, including the spread of the new coronavirus variant, as long as the policy can significantly reduce community mobility, he said.

"The effective way to stop transmission is to stop mobility, as the virus transmission will be faster if mobility continues. If mobility can be reduced, COVID-19 transmission will also be reduced," Ahmad said.

The B1.1.7 variant could have an impact on the increasing rate of cases, which could further have implications on the provision of health facilities, he observed.

"As the number of hospitalized patients increases, there must be an increase in the number of beds. Regardless, the control strategy remains the same," he affirmed.

Earlier, chairperson of the genetic working group of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FKKMK) at UGM, Dr. Gunadi, had asked the public to not be too worried about the emergence of B1.1.7 as the new variant has not been proven to worsen the condition of COVID-19 patients.

He said the Health Ministry has made appropriate efforts to trace the close contacts of the two Indonesian workers from Karawang who were exposed to the B1.1.7 variant even though both have now tested negative.

"Most importantly, keep doing the 5M protocols. So far, the implementation of the protocol has been quite effective (in suppressing the spread of COVID-19 cases)," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Mar. 9 - The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) has advised the government to reduce imports of consumer goods, as they are not a primary need, in order to maintain the trade balance.

"Imports of consumer goods should be hated, such as watches, shoes, or electronics. But, raw materials or capital materials do not be hated," INDEF research director Berly Martawardaya said during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

The government only needs to be selective in importing by prioritizing imports of raw materials to be processed domestically, he added.

In addition, the government must attract export-oriented investment to increase the trade balance surplus, he continued.

"We import to strengthen the manufacturing and service production chains with high added value. The goal is of course (for the products) to be re-exported,” he observed.

A number of efforts could be made to maintain the market and boost exports of Indonesian products, including increasing penetration to non-traditional markets, Martawardaya suggested.

This effort can be made through export product development programs, human resource development in the export sector, and trade promotion, he added.

"If we want to be a country that has strong production, economy, and exports, we must provide a good business climate and low corruption," he stated.

He also said he hopes that the government will continue to promote exports even amid the ongoing pandemic.

He then urged that industrial estates and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) continue to be developed.

"Apart from good infrastructure and a strategic location, it is also important to maintain zero tariffs and ensure exports,” he said. (Antaranews)