VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Aceh is currently preparing itself to be the world best halal destination. Aceh along with Lombok arearrangedto be halal destinations. By considering Aceh tourism sector development and people’shigher interest to make Aceh as the tourism destination, Indonesian Tourism Minister, Arif Yahya suggested Aceh to build a special economic zone. Minister Arif Yahya in Jakarta explained that Aceh needs 20 Triliun Rupiah to build a special economic zone. 

"culturally, we have a halal positioning firm. While, Sabang is the best natural port in Indonesia, and it is projected that this year there will 30 cruises will lean there, with world-class attractions. In my opinion, for the first stage, more people come to Aceh and the Ministry of Tourism will help to provide incentives, for example from KL and from Singapore to Aceh. The average of one destination requires a budget of 20 Trillion, 10 Trillion for basic infrastructure, 10 Trillion for amenities" The Minister said. 

Minister Arif Yahya moreover added that the country’s biggest chalange is on licensing issues because it still has complicated birocracy. With the special economic zone the matter will be simplified while basic infrastructure as well as facilities will be fully supported by the government. (NK)

The Environment and Forestry Ministry held coordinating meeting on National priority lake rescue in achieving target of middle terms National Development Plan of 2015-2019. Director General of Watersheds Control and Protection Forests (PDASHL), IB Putera Parthama at Manggala Wanabakti,Jakartaexplainedthat revitalization of 15 damaged lakes requires a huge budget.

“...Many of our lakes are damaged and 15 of them are severely damaged. Lots of funds are needed. So, the lake management plan is needed. The problem is, this is the duty of the sector and the funds should also be taken from the sector. While the Ministry has the task to improve water catchment in upstream area, and we are looking for a budget for that, for each lake needs different funds” Putera said. 

Moreover, IB Putera Parthama added that the Environment and Forestry Ministry was also in cooperation with other 11 ministries among others Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, Transportation Ministry, Tourism Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Bappenas. The Rawa Pening lake in Semarang is one of the lakes that becomes priority as revitalizing pilot. (NK)

The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry held a REDD + week on 26 to 28 March 2019 in Jakarta to coordinate the implementation of Paris Agreement on a commitment to Climate change and reduction of emissions gas by 2020. Met after the event on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Grand Sahid Hotel, Jakarta, Director General of Climate Change Control (PPI), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ruandha Agung Sugardiman explained that the central and regional governments must work together so that the reduction of nationally targeted gas emissions can occur.

“By 2020, we are still practicing in doing the counting by ourselves, then after that, it will be evaluated by the international team. We will start this in 2020. Full implementation means that we have to be prepared with a methodology accessed, validated by the international. Now what I have to say is that there is a synergy between what Indonesia has committed internationally and at the National level. There are laws and regulations. And that must be done in the regions because the emissions can reduce if the local governments really do the efforts,” Ruandha Agung Sugardiman said.  

Ruandha added that addressing climate change is a global problem. The involvement of all stakeholders is needed to play an active and synergic role in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. Indonesia is one of the countries that have an active role in negotiating and fully implementing reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries or REDD +. A report on the achievement of Reducing REDD + emissions in Indonesia was submitted and registered with the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change or UNFCC on 21 December 2018. (VOI/NK/AHM)

APEC members sought to find common ground on intellectual property (IP) rights, including the protection and administration of IP rights in the Asia-Pacific region during a dialogue on IP policy, according to a written statement issued by APEC's IPEG and received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The dialogue was held at the semi-annual gathering in Santiago, Chile, conducted by APEC’s Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group (IPEG), to discuss important matters relating to IP rights. Successful strategies against counterfeiting were some of the important lessons shared at the gathering.

The IPEG meeting is also a forum where APEC economies share information on IP strategies, current initiatives, accomplishments, and generate projects aimed at capacity building.

A major point highlighted during the meeting was the growing threat of intellectual property theft. The financial losses due to this are estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars annually and IP theft dampens entrepreneurial innovation and investor confidence.

Participants felt that economies eager to build knowledge-intensive industries but who lag in IP protection will continue to lose out on investments.

APEC's IPEG also reiterated that the presence of strong IP rights bolsters economic growth. For instance, according to the United States Department of Commerce, IP protection has helped create more than 45 million high-paying knowledge-intensive jobs in the U.S., which amounts to some 38 percent of value-added GDP.

To highlight the importance of a strong IP regime, Canada held a workshop on its "Project Chargeback" initiative, which relies on cooperation between banks, credit card companies, consumers and law enforcement to fight against the sale of counterfeits and to protect consumers. The workshop, funded by APEC, shared know-how and best practices on how economies can establish their own domestic version of the initiative.

At the IPEG forum, Chile and Hong Kong China also presented their anti-counterfeiting initiatives, sharing experience on the benefits of these measures. The United States also shared a Resource Compendium on Trademark Infringement Determinations in the Border Enforcement Context.

Host economy Chile highlighted its first registered certification mark linked to a "sustainability code", which has been adopted and used successfully by the Chilean wine industry.

Meanwhile, Australia discussed its TM LINK, the internationally linked trademark database utilizing information from the IP offices of certain APEC economies, and its Blockchain Discovery Initiatives, including the use of blockchain in licensing (IP rights exchange) and in combating counterfeits (Smart Trademark).

The forum has been a platform for constructive dialogue, sharing of information, and project delivery, according to Nicholas Gordon, the Chair of APEC's IPEG.

"It’s the dialogue that helps find commonalities and gaps," said Gordon, who is also Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Trade Policy Division at Global Affairs Canada.

"When there is clearly a shared interest or something new and cutting edge, you get real constructive engagement. Frequently this occurs in (the area of IP) administration, and that’s important for small and medium sized enterprises. Learning what you can do to reduce costs, simplify administrative processes, or raise IP awareness are keys to assisting creators and innovators increase their capacity to engage in the global economy," Gordon remarked.

"You find that coalition of wanting to be on the same page and further enhancing dialogue for the benefit of the region," he added.

The IPEG’s work program also includes studying measures for the effective enforcement of intellectual property rights, and facilitating technical cooperation to help economies implement the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).  (ANTARA)