The end of 2013 was a busy time for the GGGI Indonesia team as many of the activities under the Government of Indonesia (GoI)-GGGI Green Growth Program which started earlier in the year came to fruition. The month of December started with a workshop co-hosted with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, whereby early findings from deep dive assessments of selected green technologies, among other Solar PV, landfill gas, geothermal etc were presented to gather final feedback and input from key stakeholders in Jakarta. The workshop provided enhanced understanding on specific policies related to these technologies and highlighted the drivers and barriers to progressing towards green investments. A week later, GGGI launched its collaboration with the Government of Central Kalimantan in its capital Palangka Raya, on the Green Growth Program, involving work at provincial level as well as with government partners in the pilot districts Murung Raya and Pulang Pisau.
The 19th of December proved a particularly hectic day with two key events related to Green Growth taking place in Jakarta. Firstly, a major event in the Four Seasons Hotel marked the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of REDD+ in Indonesia. With the establishment of the REDD+ Agency, the first dedicated ministerial-level body created specifically for REDD+ in the world, Indonesia is moving from the readiness stage to the implementation phase. In order to support this transition, GGGI developed ‘Guidelines for a Selection Framework and Process for REDD+ in Indonesia’ and a ‘REDD+ Database’, which were submitted to the REDD+ Agency in mid-December.
The second event on the 19th of December was a meeting hosted across town by Bappenas, Indonesia’s National Planning Agency, our main counterpart, to hear the progress of the multiple components of the GoI-GGGI Green Growth Program during 2013. Ibu Endah Murniningtyas, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, hosted the meeting and actively led the discussions. Continued progress was reported from the Green Growth Program’s two pilot provinces, Central and East Kalimantan. In particular, Mr Langan Budi, Bappeda in Central Kalimantan, shared that this partnership will produce, amongst other outputs, a Green Growth Vision of the province by March 2014.
Considerable progress was also noted with the completion of the first extended cost-benefit analysis (eCBA) by the hybrid team, a team consisting of government partners, GGGI staff and consultant partners. This analysis of the Port of Maloy in East Kalimantan examines the measurable economic costs and benefits, including social and environmental factors, to provide evidence to decision makers and to highlight potential options for improving Green Growth performance. The analysis focused on the ‘business as usual’ project plans and a “Green Growth scenario”, which incorporated six interventions, including the substitution of coal for biomass in power generation, implementation of best management practices in palm oil plantations, rerouting of the road to develop an eco-tourist resort and various interventions to promote ‘clean shipping’.
The hectic end to 2013 was continued into 2014 with an engagement workshop on 15th January in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, to discuss the results of the eCBA with a variety of stakeholders. With numerous events scheduled over the coming months, it looks like the fast pace could continue all year...