0 Bank of England Buy Aceh Forest Carbon

Bank of England Buy Aceh Forest Carbon

Merrill Lynch International, one of the banks in the UK is committed to purchase the Ulu Masen forest carbon Aceh Darussalam (NAD) worth 10 million U.S. dollars.

"Merrill Lynch will buy carbon credits worth 10 million dollars with the provision if it is certified carbon credits," said Assistance Team field information management system the Governor of NAD, Wibisono contacted from Banda Aceh.

According Wibisono, Merrill Lynch desire is merely a stage of commitment and they propose to be realized with the deal. They also will be paid if the forest area already has a certificate of credit.

Wibisono added that carbon trading has a few models, among others following the Kyoto Protocol, which regulates industrial emissions reduction activities.

Currently, newly made in the form of a voluntary market where anyone can make a commitment to purchase forest carbon.

Meanwhile, Communications Officer Flora and Fauna International (FFI) in Aceh, Dewa Gumay said that since the beginning of FFI initiate carbon credits Ulu Masen forest in Aceh in particular to facilitate technical assistance such as providing consultation to the Government of Aceh. Own carbon trading, according to Gods Gumay, until now no clear mechanism as to how the distribution of funds set by Merrill Lynch to Aceh.

Dewa Gumay said the commitment would be initiated in the Ulu Masen the pilot projects. Certainly not the whole Ulu Masen forest area reached 740 thousand hectares to the carbon trade.

"We do not know which areas are feasible for carbon trading as well as the assessment has not been done," he added.

Ulu Masen forest, as an ecosystem that does not have status either through regulation or other regulatory selected because they have the challenge of how to protect the forest areas that are not legal status.

Based on Landsat imagery Planning Agency projections indicate, within a period of nine years, Aceh has decreased forest area of ​​500 thousand hectares or equivalent to 13.84 percent of the total area of ​​3,611,953 hectares.

This vast reduction occurred from 1994 to 2003, while Greenomics estimates of deforestation and forest degradation in Aceh during 2002-2004 to reach 200 thousand hectares, 60 percent occur in conservation areas and protected forests.

The decrease of forest area, largely due to the conversion of forests to the needs of residential, agricultural, plantation, and industrial. Other causes include illegal logging activities and forest fires.

Because the forests of Aceh is still rated one of the largest in Indonesia, the discourse of carbon trading to forests to mitigate climate change.

Basically, in the form of carbon trading agreements forest nations to other countries to keep their forests to become the world's lungs.

Sources: Reuters