Jakarta, Ekuatorial – Ahead of this year’s global climate conference, Ministry of Environment and Forestry launched an emission monitoring system which tracked down Indonesia’s released and stored greenhouse gas emissions, on Friday (27/3), in Jakarta.
The system, Indonesian National Carbon Accounting System (INCAS), also serves as the country’s MRV mechanism, an abbreviation from ‘Measurement, Reporting, and Verification’, for forestry sector.
The MRV mechanism is required by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for countries, such as Indonesia, which has been implementing forest conservation and protection initiative, REDD or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.
“It [the MRV launch] is strengthening our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent and 41 percent [with international help]. We all realize that deforestation, degradation, and forest fires contributed to [greenhouse gas emission]. With this [INCAS] method, we can actually move forward, at least figure out [emissions] figures and not just all talk,” said Siti Nurbaya, Minister of Environment and Forestry at the launching event.
San Afri Awang, head of Forestry Research and Development Agency, said that INCAS was based on REDD pilot project in Central Kalimantan adopting emission accounting methodology from Australia as part of their collaboration in the period 2007-13.
“There are eleven demonstration activities of REDD in Indonesia, located in Aceh, West Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, and Papua,” he said. “INCAS has been based on counting emissions in Central Kalimantan but we will want to adopt this methodology to other provinces.”
Thomas Harvey, Manager of the INCAS Program of Support at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), said that INCAS was owned entirely by the Indonesian Government and developed developed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, in close cooperation with the National Institute for Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) and other agencies.
Harvey added that the development of the INCAS was supported the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in partnership with the Australian Government.
“This includes financial support and technical advice provided by international experts, to support Indonesian officials and experts develop INCAS as a sovereign system and according to Indonesia’s own unique needs and circumstances,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that countries were seeking to reduce their greenhouse emissions to address climate change.
“However the world only has one climate, so it is clear we can’t act alone. We must work together to develop an effective response to minimize the impacts of dangerous climate change,” he added. Fidelis E. Satriastanti.
