Following the Green Belt

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Indonesia’s 90 million hectares of forests and more than 200,000 square kilometers of peatlands make it a natural site for reducing carbon emissions in the global effort to mitigate climate change. Our commitment to cut emissions by 26 percent over the next decade will be a daunting challenge, given the continuing contest between economic growth and environmental conservation. Recently, the National Council on Climate Change identified the provinces of Jambi, Central and East Kalimantan as priority targets for its green growth strategy. Are these areas up for the challenge? What about the opportunities offered in resource-rich Papua?

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TRAVEL brochures tout Central Kalimantan province as the ultimate experience in eco-tourism. They promise an introduction to the tribal culture of the indigenous and a jungle river cruise through the national parks and wildlife reserves to observe orangutans in their native habitat and other unique flora and fauna. Indonesia, after all, ranks third in the world after Brazil and the Congo for its rich biodiversity.

To the untrained eye, the

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