VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 3 - The Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry has reported that based on monitoring of ambient air quality using the air quality monitoring system, the average air quality in Jakarta was much better in 2020 than in 2019.

"The average PM2.5 concentration in Jakarta in 2020 was 28.63 micrograms per cubic meter, or down from 37.66 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019," the ministry's director of Air Pollution Control, Dasrul Chaniago, said during an online discussion here on Tuesday.

The PM2.5 concentration last year was lower by nine micrograms per cubic meter compared to the previous year.

However, the ministry could not say for certain whether the improvement in air quality can be attributed to the pandemic or better weather.

The air quality in Bandung was not much different, according to the ministry. In 2020, the average PM2.5 concentration in Bandung was 27.01 micrograms per cubic meter.

Compared to Bekasi and Depok, which are located in the suburban areas of Jakarta, the air quality of the capital was better based on the average PM2.5 concentration.

For Bekasi, the average PM2.5 concentration was 42.75 micrograms per cubic meter, while in Depok, it was recorded at 33.35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020.

Chaniago explained that air quality is also influenced by three factors, namely meteorology, topography, and sources of emission in local areas.

Based on data from the World Air Quality Report and the interactive ranking of the world’s most-polluted cities compiled by IQAir, Jakarta was one of the most polluted cities in the world in 2018. (Antaranews)

Feb. 3 -  Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday underscored the importance of instilling a sense of crisis in facing the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the nation’s economy and health.

"The government is currently mobilizing all resources to deal with the pandemic, implement a vaccination program quickly to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission," he said at the soft launch of the Golkar Institute, held online on Tuesday.

The government is also striking a balance between stepping on the brake and the gas, the President remarked.

This means that on the one hand, it is controlling the spread of the coronavirus, while on the other hand, it is implementing programs to support national economic recovery and generate post-pandemic opportunities, which could serve as a trigger for the economy to grow at a faster pace, he elaborated.

"The experience in the past 11 months has taught us that to face the pandemic there is no standard formula, or the so-called correct formula as 215 countries in the world have also been trying to find a formula considered appropriate for their respective countries," he pointed out.

The President then appealed to all cadres of the Golkar Party and prospective regional heads to learn from the current situation, and more particularly, consider it as far from usual and respond to it like any crisis.

Next, the Head of State congratulated the party on the launch of the Golkar Institute, which will serve as a means of grooming cadres or as a cadre school that focuses on improving their knowledge and capability in the administrative field and public policy.

As a modern party, the presence of a cadre school is badly needed now that cadres must be groomed seriously in a gradual and sustainable way, the President observed.

"The effort of grooming cadres should not be taken for granted. But, it must be done maturely to have a significant impact on the party's progress," he added.

Any party needs more educated, professional, and competent cadres, particularly in the field of political and economic leadership, he said adding, this will not only have an impact on the party, but also contribute to the nation. (Antaranews)

Feb. 3 - The governments of Indonesia and Germany have agreed to support efforts towards clean energy transition under the Clean, Affordable, Secure Energy (CASE) program in Southeast Asia.

“One of the strategic sectors that plays a role in achieving the national greenhouse gas emission reduction target is energy, including power plants,” director of electricity, telecommunications and informatics at the Ministry of National Development Planning / Bappenas, Rachmat Mardiana, said during an online workshop on the CASE program here on Tuesday.

He said he hopes that by 2024 as many as 20 percent of power plants in Indonesia will use renewable energy.

The electricity sector is one of the sectors that can oil the wheels of the economy and help bring about sustainable development while reducing national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, he remarked.

Unfortunately, this sector is still dominated by the use of fossil fuels, he said.

For this reason, a CASE program was held in Indonesia with the aim of substantively changing the direction of the energy sector, especially the electricity sector in Indonesia, and make a case for transitioning to clean energy, he added.

Indonesia has ratified the Paris Agreement through Law Number 16 of 2016 and is targeting to reduce GHG emissions by 29 percent by 2030.

CASE is a regional agenda that is being implemented in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia until February, 2024.

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In Indonesia, this program is being carried out by a consortium comprising Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Agora Energiewende, the New Climate Institute (NCI), and the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a civil society organization based in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, executive director of IESR, Fabby Tumiwa, explained that Indonesia's potential for optimizing renewable energy sources is quite huge.

The development of clean energy is increasingly promising and dominated by solar power plants and wind power plants, which require lower investment costs, he pointed out.

As one of the countries with high emission levels, Indonesia is required to reduce its fossil energy consumption by quickly making a transition to clean energy, particularly in the power sector.

"In the National Energy Plan, the government has a target of 23 percent of the renewable energy mix in 2025. According to the IESR analysis, to achieve this target, Indonesia must add about two to three GW of renewable energy capacity every year until 2025," said Tumiwa.

However, the IESR’s comprehensive analysis has shown that in the last three years, the average addition of renewable energy capacity has been only 250-350 MW, he noted.

In 2021, it is estimated to reach just around 400-500 MW, he added. (Antaranews)

Feb. 3 - The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) is drafting a roadmap for the management of wetlands for mangrove and peatland forests to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The roadmap is one of the instruments supporting the important pillars to achieve Indonesia's Vision 2045, namely sustainable economic development," Bappenas deputy head for maritime affairs and natural resources, Arifin Rudiyanto, said here on Tuesday.

The mangrove and peatland ecosystem has multiple benefits, which can potentially support several aspects, including economic growth, creative economy, tourism, maritime interests, food security, water resources, and the environment, he observed.

Hence, the roadmap for the management of wetlands will be drafted to also serve as a long-term guidance to support the achievement of the vision, he said.

Three working groups will supervise the formulation and implementation of the roadmap in collaboration and consultation with a number of ministries and institutions that have adopted a strategy, management plan, and data related to the mangrove and peatland ecosystem, he said.

Bappenas had set up a wetland management strategy coordination team on October 30, 2020 and tasked it with accelerating the attainment of sustainable development goals, he informed.

As carbon-rich ecosystems that store and absorb much more carbon than tropical forests, mangroves and peatlands are one of the nature-based solutions to sustainable development, he pointed out.

Mangroves and peatlands also benefit the national economy, the environment, and social life, including supporting mitigation and adaptation to climate change, he said.

Proper mangrove and peatland conservation and management will support the target of greenhouse gas reduction and prevent the release ofcarbon stored in the two ecosystems, he added.

He said he hoped the roadmap for the management of wetlands would help achieve several targets of sustainable development in 2030. (Antaranews)