VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 11 - Mount Merapi, which straddles Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces, spewed columns of ash as far as 1,200 meters into the sky on Thursday, according to the Geological Disaster Research and Technology Development Center (BPPTKG).

The volcano emitted clouds of hot ash in the southwesterly direction at 2.03 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), the agency reported.

“The hot clouds were recorded in the seismograph with an amplitude of 45 mm and a duration of 86 seconds,” BPPTKG chief Hanik Humaida said in an official statement released on Thursday.

During the observation period from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. WIB, the volcano emitted lava three times, with a maximum sliding distance of 900 meters in the southwesterly direction, he added.

The volcano experienced 34 earthquake avalanches, with an amplitude of 3-36 mm and a duration of 10-78 seconds, and one earthquake gust with an amplitude of 6 mm and a duration of 9 seconds, he said.

The BPPTKG has retained the volcano’s alert status at Level III.

The lava and hot clouds ejected by the volcano were projected to affect areas located south and southwest of the volcano, including Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih. (Antaranews)

Mar. 11 - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has invited the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry (PANDI) to unveil a national digital literacy program at a forum scheduled in November 2021 in Paris.

PANDI received the invite on March 3, 2021. UNESCO plans to organize a general conference at the end of 2021 that will draw representatives from several nations to discuss the implementation of recommendations in the educational and cultural sector, including those on local languages.

"PANDI and the Communication and Informatics Ministry have initiated coordination. At the directives of Director General of Application and Informatics at the Communication and Informatics Ministry Semmy A. Pangerapan, we only prepare the agenda for technical discussion before coordinating with the Foreign Ministry," PANDI staff member Alicia Nabilla noted in a statement released on Thursday.

UNESCO has invited PANDI to promote a program Knitting Indonesia through National Digital Literacy (MIMDAN) at the global-level conference.

Advisor for Communication and Information at UNESCO Dr. Ming-Kuok Lim highlighted that the agenda was relevant to PANDI that had launched the MIMDAN program. The UNESCO-supported program can be introduced to the rest of the world through the conference.

"UNESCO helps provide information about the discussion with PANDI about Indonesian Native Language (National Literacy) and seeks suggestion on how we can report this at the general conference. UNESCO will find ways and information to enable PANDI to submit its report directly," Lim noted in an online statement.

The UNESCO general conference drew attention to the significance of promoting multiple languages and fair access to information and science, especially in the public domain.

Lim drew attention to UNESCO’s key role in encouraging access to information for multiple languages and diverse culture in the global information network. (Antaranews)

Mar. 11 - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) has offered to cooperate with the Netherlands to cope with climate change adaptation.

According to a written statement received here on Thursday, Minister Siti Nurbaya highlighted numerous efforts made by Indonesia and could set an example for the Netherlands and the global community in addressing climate change.

"Indonesia has concrete examples of efforts to achieve economic resilience, social and livelihood resilience, as well as ecosystem and landscape resilience," the minister remarked at the Week of Indonesia-Netherlands Education and Research (WINNER) Forum.

Nurbaya noted that in a bid to support economic resilience, Indonesia had trained its sights on sustainable agricultural practices, renewable energy, and sustainable consumption and production.

The minister cited as an example sustainable food estate development as an endeavor to address the potential risk of a food crisis.

"Implementing a circular economy by utilizing waste for industrial raw materials and recently reducing the use of coal as electricity," Nurbaya pointed out.

In pursuit of social resilience, Indonesia has worked methodically to scale up public awareness and readiness against natural disasters via an early warning system as well as boosted community participation and law enforcement measures.

Meanwhile, to realize ecosystem and landscape resilience, Indonesia is according priority to streamlining the integrated management of watersheds and marine ecosystems, expediting social forestry, and developing climate-friendly cities and villages.

By 2020, Indonesia had planted 15 thousand hectares of mangroves, and the area will increase to 600 thousand hectares.

Hence, Minister Nurbaya has invited all parties, including the Netherlands, to work together, deepen commitment through united actions to raise public awareness, and innovate to realize climate change adaptation in Indonesia and globally as well as to achieve one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the meantime, the WINNER program, organized by the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, mirrors the long-standing history of research and educational collaboration between both nations.

The program was jointly initiated by the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, Nuffic Neso, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the Indonesian Academy of Young Scientists (ALMI), the Dutch Research Council (NWO), and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). (Antaranews)

Mar. 11 - APEC's green growth target in the region received a boost as Indonesia became the latest APEC member to complete tariff cuts to not over five percent for 54 products on the APEC Environmental Goods List.

Endorsed by APEC Economic Leaders in 2012, the APEC List of Environmental Goods gave impetus to the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The APEC list comprises 54 products at the harmonized standard (HS) six-digit level, including solar panels, wind turbines, bamboo flooring, as well as environmental monitoring, analysis, and assessment equipment, according to a written statement issued by the APEC Market Access Group and received here, Thursday.

Nearly a decade down the road, member economies have endeavored to apply measures to adhere to the APEC list’s provisions of lowering the applied tariff rates to five percent or less to the 54 environmental goods and update the forum on their progress.

"Trade liberalization in environmental goods makes access to crucial environmental technologies easier and cheaper for both businesses and consumers," Helen Kwan, convenor of the APEC Market Access Group, who monitors the implementation of the initiative, stated.

"This is important for the region, as it facilitates green and sustainable recovery," Kwan emphasized.

With Indonesia’s announcement, 19 APEC member economies are currently fully compliant with the APEC Environmental Goods List.

"The APEC List of Environmental Goods is one of APEC’s significant success stories and represents the role of APEC as a regional forum where ideas are born and developed," Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat Rebecca Sta Maria stated.

"The progress made by Indonesia is very encouraging, and we look forward to the day when all members fully comply with the tariff reductions," Sta Maria affirmed.

APEC members are also delving into ways to further advance the work under APEC’s list of environmental goods by considering the regulatory, environmental, and technological changes that the region underwent over the decade. The discussions will be carried over in the Committee on Trade and Investment.

Apart from the APEC List of Environmental Goods, APEC’s Market Access Group also discussed initiatives in support of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), the significance of applying the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Expansion, and plans on remanufacturing and rules of origin among other trade matters pertaining to market access.

"We will utilize this momentum moving forward to deliberate on policies and measures to incentivize sustainability and enable economic and trade policies to drive recovery," Kwan affirmed. (Antaranews)