VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has the opportunity to receive 110 million US dollars from REDD+, in East Kalimantan

Indonesia has the opportunity to receive results-based payments of up to 110 million US$ or around 1.5 trillion Rupiah from the World Bank's program to reduce 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD +) in East Kalimantan. Acting Head of Research and Development Center for Socio-Economic Policy and Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Choirul Achmad in his press statement as reported by Antara in Jakarta, Tuesday (Dec 15), said that Indonesia was ready to implement a performance-based payment program resulting from reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through The World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facilities-Carbon Fund (FCPF-CF) Program. The readiness for the implementation phase is a follow-up to the electronic signing of the Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) document, between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, represented by Secretary General Bambang Hendroyono, and the Country Director of World Bank Indonesia-Timor Leste Regional One, Kahkonen on November 27.

Choirul Achmad said that the FCPF Readiness Grant has been going on for a very long time since 2011. In 2015, East Kalimantan Province was chosen as the location for the FCPF Carbon Fund Pilot Project and up to 2020 it had passed various stages of fulfilling the very strict requirements requested by the World Bank.

During the FCPF Readiness Fund phase, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Provincial Government of East Kalimantan submitted an Emission Reduction Program Document (ERPD) and received approval in February 2019. In addition, various REDD+ tools have been prepared in East Kalimantan Province such as Measurement, Monitoring and Reporting (MMR), safeguards and benefit sharing mechanisms, capacity building, strengthening of institution and preparation for the implementation.

Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro Presents Credentials to President Hassan Rouhani - Diplomatic Corner

Indonesia will continue to enhance bilateral cooperation with Iran in various fields that have run well and closely, especially in the fields of economy and trade. This was conveyed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro during his meeting with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday (15/12). During the meeting, Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo handed over a Letter of Credentials from President Joko Widodo to President Rouhani.

During the meeting, Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo expressed his gratitude for the acceptance by the President of Iran and conveyed greetings from the President of the Republic of Indonesia to the President of Iran.He also said that both countries' close relations as fellow Muslim countries have been established for a long time as well as efforts to improve relations between the two countries in various fields along with other opportunities for cooperation. Therefore, Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo hopes that the cooperation and efforts will improve during his tenure in Iran.He also invited Iranian entrepreneurs to invest in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, President Rouhani appreciated the close bilateral relations of both countries. One of them is through mutual visits between the two leaders of the country, namely the visit of President Joko Widodo to Iran in 2016 and previously in 2015, President Rouhani visited Indonesia. President Rouhani will fully support the implementation of the Indonesian Ambassador's duties in Iran to keep improving bilateral relations in the fields of economy, trade, culture and information technology, and other potential cooperation. He is sure that the similarity of moderate Islamic thought in the two countries can be realized well. On this occasion, President Rouhani conveyed his greetings to President Joko Widodo and hoped that Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo could carry out his duties smoothly and successfully. The hand-over of the Credentials marked the official start of Ambassador Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro's duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Indonesia to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Pre-employment Card Program Needs Improvement to Continue in 2021 - editorial 

Indonesian government launched the pre-employment card program on April 11 2020. This is a program for working competency and entrepreneurship development aimed for job-seekers or anyone needing competence improvement, including micro and small business people. All Indonesian citizens at least 18 years old and not undergoing formal education can register for the pre-employment card.

According to the early concept initiated by President Joko Widodo, the pre-employment card is an effort to increase working competency, productivity, and competitiveness of Indonesian manpower. This program aims to realize the vision of top human resources which is the priority of Joko Widodo's second tenure. However, the Covid-19 pandemic expanded the pre-employment card function, namely as social security during the pandemic. Every pre-employment card owner receives aid worth around 3,5 million rupiahs consisting of scholarship for training and incentive that are given for four months.

In the ecosystem of pre-employment card programs, currently there are 7 digital platforms and 165 training agencies providing more than 2,000 types of training. Until now, there are seven favorite training categories namely sales and marketing, foreign language (english, korean, mandarin, japanese, and arabic), IT, office, food and beverage, lifestyle, and finance.

Since launching on April 11 2020, many people have been enthusiastic about the program. According to data from the Coordinating Ministry for Economy, the registration for pre-employment cards on prakerja.go.id until September 4 2020 had reached 15.9 million registrants. In 6 registration periods, three million people from 34 provinces of Indonesia were granted the pre-employment card. Some 849 thousand had finished their first training and 610 thousand had received incentive.

Considering the positive result from the pre-employment card, Indonesian government has decided to continue this program in 2021. If continued, the government will need to improve the learning module and expand the pre-employment card recipient. The module improvement aims to guarantee the training quality. The training contents of the pre-employment card program must be more practical to fulfill the participants' need in seeking a new job or a capital to begin a new business amid Covid-19 pandemic.

Wayang Windu Panenjoan - Indonesian Wonder                                                                                                                                  

Wayang Windu Panenjoan offers various spots for selfie with beautiful panorama of tea plantation and also cool natural atmosphere. The word of “panenjoan” means a glimpse of sight. So as far as the eye can see, you can enjoy the beauty of views around the area.

Wayang Windu Panenjoan is located in the 13 hectares Kertamanah Tea Plantation at an altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level. The ticket price is Rp 10,000 per person, with a parking fee of Rp 3,000 for motorbikes and Rp 5,000 for cars. There are various interesting tourism activities the visitors can do there. You can enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of Pengalengan. For those who like photos, various selfie spots are available there. There is also a tall viewing tower made of wood. From the tower, you can see Pangalengan views from a height and take pictures with a green natural background. There is also a wooden bridge that crosses over a stretch of tea garden. In addition, there are also ornaments resembling an open door which is made of wood. Besides taking pictures, don't forget to see the sunset, which has become the icon of Wayang Windu Panenjoan. You can also come at night, to get a beautiful painting of the night sky with stars if the weather is clear.

Apart from photo spots, there are also other tourism attractions you can do. The Wayang Windu Panenjoan also offers ATV rides around the area with Rp. 50,000 for one round. Each round is approximately 1.2 kilometers. If you want to camp, you are allow to set up a tent in this area. There are several spots that can be used as a camping ground. The camping ground rate consists of an entrance ticket of Rp 20,000, plus Rp 10,000 for the security. There is also a parking fee of Rp 6,000 for motorbikes and Rp 10,000 for cars. Wayang Windu Panenjoan has complete facilities, such as toilets, prayer rooms, restaurants, and gazebos. For those who like photos and beautiful natural panoramas, Wayang Windu Panenjoan is suitable to be your next tourism destination with family or relatives.