VZCZCXRO8418
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0760/01 1070418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160418Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8708
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2341
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4944
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1828
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4527
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3386
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 000760
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TPHY TBIO TRGY ENRG ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA ESTH HIGHLIGHTS: MARCH 2008
IN THIS ISSUE
-------------
-- UN Issues First Green Certificate for Indonesia
-- New Bird Species Found on Togian
-- Religious Groups Make an Impact With
Environmental Campaigns
-- Mangrove Planting in Surabaya
-- Surabaya Zoo Hatches Komodo Dragons
-- UNEP Launches "Green Fins Indonesia"
-- GOI Develops "Forest for Food" Program
-- ASEAN-WEN Leads to Wildlife Trade Interdictions
in Indonesia
-- Bill Gates to Visit Indonesia
-- Construction Started on New Undersea Broadband
Cables
-- Jakarta to Normalize Local Rivers
-- Malnutrition in Surabaya
-- Family Planning Efforts Slow Population Growth
-- Dengue Cases Decrease in Depok
-- Limited Access to Good Sanitation
-- Indonesia Ranked Third in New Tuberculosis Cases
ENVIRONMENT
------------
UN ISSUES FIRST GREEN CERTIFICATE FOR INDONESIA
--------------------------------------------- ---
1. The UN issued the first saleable "certificates of emissions
reduction" (CERs) on March 14 to Indonesia's publicly listed cement
maker, PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk, for its alternative fuel
projects. PT Indocement registered two projects that reduce
emissions through alternative fuels such as biomass, rice husks,
sawdust and used tires.
NEW BIRD SPECIES FOUND ON TOGIAN
---------------------------------
2. Scientists from the University of Indonesia and Michigan State
University officially discovered a new bird species in the Togian
islands near central Sulawesi. The "Togian white-eye", or Zosterops
somadikartai, is a small, greenish-colored bird with white eye
rings. Michigan State University staff said that the birds most
likely fall under the International Union for Conservation of
Nature's category of "endangered".
RELIGIOUS GROUPS MAKE AN IMPACT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNS
--------------------------------------------- ------
3. The Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council (LDII) and East Java
Indonesian Muslim Council (MUI) kicked off a joint environmental
campaign in March. The councils' annual program on the environment
includes an education campaign for inexpensive organic fertilizer, a
campaign to limit paper use, and tree planting in 26 hectares of
land in Jombang, East Java. Dozens of religious associations also
planted hundreds of trees in Surabaya in March 2008 under a campaign
to protect the environment.
MANGROVE PLANTING IN SURABAYA
-------------------------------
4. The Mayor of Surabaya launched a mangrove planting campaign
along the banks of the Jagir River in Surabaya on March 16. Six
hundred people participated planting over 10,400 mangrove seeds in
roughly 5,000 square meters of riverbank. The Surabaya Agriculture,
Fishery, Marine, and Forestry Department provided 10,000 mangrove
seeds; the remaining seeds were donated by individuals. The NGO
Environmental Forum is in charge of seeing that the mangroves reach
maturity and take root.
SURABAYA ZOO HATCHES KOMODO DRAGONS
------------------------------------
5. The Surabaya Zoo successfully hatched fourteen komodo dragon
eggs March 8-9, bringing the total number of the species at the zoo
to 41. This is the second successful hatching of the endangered
lizards at the zoo, outside of their natural habitats. The zoo had
previously succeeded in hatching 13 eggs in the 1990s.
UNEP LAUNCHES "GREEN FINS INDONESIA"
JAKARTA 00000760 002 OF 003
--------------------------------------
6. On March 29, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
formally launched Green Fins Indonesia. The purpose of the
initiative is to protect and conserve coral reefs by encouraging
sustainable and environmentally friendly diving and snorkeling
business practices. Assistant Deputy Minister for Coastal and Marine
Degradation Control Wahyu Indraningsih opened the launch ceremony,
which included government agencies, the Indonesian Diving Sport
Association, the Maritime Tourism Association, local governments,
universities, NGOs and students.
GOI DEVELOPS "FOREST FOR FOOD" PROGRAM
-----------------------------------------
7. In a national workshop on March 27, Minister of Forestry M.S.
Kaban announced the planned development of a "Forest for Food"
program. The program, to be developed with the Ministry of
Agriculture, will be designed to alleviate national food supply
issues. Under the plan, the Ministry of Forestry would consider
using 3 million hectares of state-owned concession lands for rice,
cassava, corn, soybean and other food cultivation. The Ministry of
Forestry will request Rp. 5 - 12 trillion ($541.9 million - $1.3
billion) for the project.
ASEAN-WEN LEADS TO WILDLIFE TRADE INTERDICTIONS IN INDONESIA
--------------------------------------------- -------
8. On March 3, Indonesian law enforcement authorities intercepted an
illegal shipment of 3,500 green turtle eggs in East Kalimantan,
applying methods learned under USAID-funded ASEAN Wildlife
Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) training. On March 10, 2008, other
trained Indonesian officials stopped the transport of 23,000 dried
seahorses at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Customs en route
to South Korea.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
-----------------------
BILL GATES TO VISIT INDONESIA
-------------------------------
9. The Minister of Communication and Information, Muhammad Nu,
confirmed that Microsoft founder Bill Gates would visit Indonesia in
May to participate in the Government Leader Forum in Jakarta.
President Yudhoyono personally invited Gates to attend. President
Director of PT Microsoft Indonesia Tony Chen said that the forum
would "discuss the roles of technology in development, including
education, health and economic sector".
CONSTRUCTION STARTED ON NEW UNDERSEA BROADBAND CABLES
--------------------------------------------- ---------
10. On March 11, PT NAP Info Lintas Nusa announced the start of
construction on a new "Matrix Cable System". The underwater cable
system, over 1,000 km in length, will provide additional
high-bandwidth connectivity to the growing Indonesian market. "The
completed system will not only bring affordable communication to
residents, but will also boost our e-commerce business
capabilities", explained NAP Info Lintas Nusa's Senior Vice
President, Patrick Adhiatmadja. The system is scheduled to be
complete in June 2008.
JAKARTA TO NORMALIZE LOCAL RIVERS
-----------------------------------
11. On March 30, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Wibowo announced that the
Jakarta provincial government will use Dutch technology to normalize
13 rivers in the area. The Jakarta Administration will borrow Rp.
1.2 trillion ($150 million) from the World Bank to fund the project,
which will run from 2008-2012. The project includes acceleration of
East Canal Flood (BKT) development, drainage renovation, water
pumps, dam rehabilitation, and river and reservoir digging.
HEALTH
-------
MALNUTRITION IN SURABAYA
--------------------------
12. Members of Surabaya Parliament told Congen Surabaya that they
JAKARTA 00000760 003 OF 003
were surprised to learn that the number of malnourished children in
Surabaya as of March 2008 had reached 10,071. Malnutrition has
spread throughout all 31 districts in Surabaya. According to
Surabaya parliament sources, the figure is surprising since the
Surabaya government allocates around $ 980,000 to fight
malnutrition.
13. Experts have told local media that, in addition to poverty
itself, a key factor in malnutrition has been parents' apparent
reluctance to bring their children to village level integrated
health service centers in order to receive supplements and treatment
if needed.
14. In light of these failures, the Surabaya Planning and
Development Board plans to change the way city government tackles
malnutrition. Citing an overburdened Health Department, oversight of
the food program will be shifted from the Health Department to the
People's Empowerment Body. City government will also involve NGOs
in providing assistance to malnourished children.
FAMILY PLANNING EFFORTS SLOW POPULATION GROWTH
--------------------------------------------- --
15. The National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) announced that the
government had successfully slowed the country's rate of population
growth through its family planning initiatives. BKKBN's Youth
Director said that the population growth rate has lowered from 2.32
percent in the 1970s to 1.3 percent at present. Recently the
government has pushed more initiatives to encourage male
contraception.
DENGUE CASES DECREASE IN DEPOK
-------------------------------
16. The number of dengue cases year to date in Depok has gone down
from the same timeframe last year, according to the city's Health
Agency. Since the beginning of 2008, 368 people in Depok have
contracted dengue hemorrhagic fever, with two fatalities. The
number of patients is down from the January-March 2007 timeframe,
which logged 1,289 cases. The Head of the city's Health Agency
attributed the drop in numbers to the implementation of routine
mosquito fogging in residential areas.
LIMITED ACCESS TO GOOD SANITATION
-----------------------------------
17. On March 27, the UNICEF Country Representative for Indonesia
reported that almost 69 millions Indonesians do not have access to
basic sanitation facilities, and 55 million do not have access to
safe drinking water. The situation is especially serious for more
vulnerable populations, such as children and the elderly. The
Government of Indonesia launched an "International Year of
Sanitation" campaign in response to the issue. The program seeks to
raise awareness of sanitation, clean water and environmental issues
for the public, local governments and civil society.
INDONESIA RANKED THIRD IN NEW TUBERCULOSIS CASES
--------------------------------------------- ----
18. On March 24, the Director General for Communicable Disease
Control (CDC), Dr. Nyoman Kandun, stated that Indonesia had the
third highest number of people with tuberculosis in the world, with
500,000 new cases each year or 300 new cases per day. Most of cases
occurred in Java and Bali. He attributed the high number of cases
to a lack of awareness among the public to schedule regular health
checks and seek medical aid when they become sick. To commemorate
World TB Day, the GOI allocated Rp. 266 billion ($28.8 million) for
a national "Combat TB Completely" campaign.
HUME