TEMPO.CO, Nusa Dua - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government has signed an MoU to manage the restoration of damaged forest and peatland ecosystem.  Kalla says the budget to restore forest and peatland for five years will require approximately Rp50 trillion. The first phase of restoration will cover two million hectares of forest and peatland.

“Maybe it’s close to the the total tax or that is generated by all companies for the government. Whatever we get, we will certainly return it to the ecosystem,” he said during the Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) XI event in Bali, on Thursday, November 26.

The government is discussing to form a Peatland Ecosystem Restoration Agency. One of the discussions is the legal basis of establishment and the people who work for it.  The agency will be formed and then able to begin working effectively by the end of 2015.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly expects the agency will be seated by professionals who understands about peatland as well as forest and land fire issues.  Yasonna mentioned Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, former Head of President Working Unit on Surveillance and Development, as the right man to lead the agency.

Environmental and Forest Minister Siti Nurbaya said the agency will restore the ecosystem independently without intervention from the minister.  “The agency will be filled with professionals, and the minister should cooperate closely with the agency,” Siti said in the Vice President’s office Tuesday, Nov 24.

Siti says the budget will be derived from foreign aid.  Until today, only Norway is prepared to provide financial air beyond $800 million, $3 million from British trust fund from Bappenas, and $2.9 million from the US. 

ALI HIDAYAT | TIKA PRIMANDARI.