How the West is Funding the Greatest Climate Change Culprit (posted: 2007-1-22)

In the name of fighting terrorism, the United States and G8 powers are funding the Indonesian security apparatus which is standing by as the country�fs forests are illegally burnt year after year. Repeated forest fires, condoned and often aided by the military in the world�fs third largest tropically forested nation are responsible, on average in each of the last ten years, for half the carbon emissions of the United States and more than five times the Kyoto Protocol�fs target for annual reduction!

Climate change has now reached a tipping point and it has launched countless business ventures and media stories as well as kick-started several political careers.? The message being pounded into consumers and industry is save energy and use less carbon intensive fuels.? Although very important, this is only half the equation, and the expensive and difficult half at that.? The high profile Stern Report states we risk losing between 5% and 20% of global GDP as a result of climate change[1].? The report also states that 20% of climate change emissions arise from man-made deforestation.? This involves carbon emissions from burning trees, soil and loss of the carbon sink.? However, the Stern report, which uses historical IPCC data averaged over a number of years, understates the absolutely huge impact on our climate caused by the deliberate and increased burning of forests in Indonesia, a phenomenon which has escalated since 1997.? This is the year when Indonesia�fs forest burning made headlines worldwide and caused billions of dollars of damage to the Southeast Asia region.? What has been less publicized is the contribution of this vast man-made burning on the world�fs carbon emissions.? Studies[2] have estimated that almost 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted during this season alone and with between 0.4 and 1 billion tonnes emitted annually since then in each burning season[3].? Let�fs put this number in perspective.? In 2007, the US emitted roughly 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, less than the total from the 1997 fires in Indonesia.[4]? Further, the Kyoto agreement pledges to reduce carbon emissions worldwide by around 200 million tonnes by 2012, compared to 1990 levels, which is ONE TENTH of the 1997 burning figures from Indonesia. ?And the burning continues each year.

Thus we could achieve roughly FIVE times the entire Kyoto targets just by finding a way to stop burning Indonesia�fs forests.?? Now, Indonesia has the third largest primary rainforests in the world after Brazil and the Congo.? Aside from their potential to act as a carbon sink and absorb greenhouse gases, these forests are the home to 25% of the world�fs mammal species and other untold conservation treasures.? Each year around 4% of the remaining forest in Indonesia is cleared for the wood and to eventually cultivate palm oil.[5]? The destruction of Indonesia�fs forests will be a story told by future generations as one in which the world stood by and indeed facilitated in the destruction of the world�fs most precious concentration of biodiversity.? It is estimated that the Indonesian military receives 70% of its budget from illegal activities, largely exploitation of the vast but dwindling forests.? It has been widely accused of being complicit in forest burning and the Navy has been shown to protect illegal shipments of logs to foreign markets.? At the very least, the military stands by as national laws against logging and forest-burning are flouted.

So what does this have to do with the war on terror?? Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the Bali bombings, US and Western policy towards Indonesia has been focused almost exclusively on the perceived terror threat from Islamic extremists within the country.? A result has been the increase and lifting of restrictions on military aid to Indonesia, aid which prior to the terror attacks had been tied to performance on human rights, corruption and increasingly, forest management.? The US now provides 100 million USD per year.? In 2006, the US Senate removed all restrictions on such aid allowing it to fund the Indonesia military and police regardless of concerns over corruption or illegal activities.? The focus of other G8 powers towards Indonesia has followed a similar pattern.? So while our focus on Indonesia remains the war on terror, we are inadvertently funding massive destruction of one of our most precious biodiversity heritages whilst contributing significantly to climate change emissions. The Indonesian security apparatus remains the organization which, if not directly complicit in forest burning, is the single one which can help turn the tide.? Our engagement and funding of them does not prioritize solutions to the forest burning.? It should.? This is a low cost, low risk way of achieving untold gains in the war on climate change as well as terror.? We should demand the following at the very least.

??????????? Aid provided to Indonesia should be linked to the government�fs performance in combating forest fires and destruction.

• Military aid to Indonesia should be suspended pending resolution of investigations into the country�fs security apparatus�fs involvement into forest crimes.

To paraphrase Al Gore in �gThe Inconvenient Truth�h:? �g�cwe may just find that there are significant risks to humanity other than terrorism�c.�h.

This article has been collated by www.forestalert.org from publicly available sources.? Comments and questions should be directed to info@forestalert.org.