VZCZCXRO8764
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2317/01 2360539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240539Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5901
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1035
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4229
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0687
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4137
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3339

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND OES/ETC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TPHY TBIO TRGY ENRG ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA ESTH HIGHLIGHTS: MAY - JULY 2007 
 
¶1. Summary: The Ministry of Forestry (MOF) signed a letter of intent 
with the Zoological Parks Authority of the Government of Western 
Australia on May 21 to cooperate on wildlife conservation. On May 
21-24, Indonesia hosted the second meeting of the ASEAN Wildlife 
Enforcement Network (WEN) program in Bogor. The Chief of the 
Indonesian Palm Oil Commission (KMSI) announced on May 2 that 
Indonesia would develop 1.5 million hectares of oil palm plantations 
over the next three years to increase palm oil production to 18 
million tons. The Ministry of National Education's Director for 
Vocational Education announced on May 17 that the Government of 
Indonesia (GOI) would give scholarships to 7,000 Indonesian students 
to study at vocational schools in the U.S. On June 19, The World 
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) granted 
membership to the Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings 
Limited (APRIL)/Riau Pulp.  At a June CITES meeting, Indonesia 
rejected the U.S. proposal to include Banggai Cardinal Fish in the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, the category of trade that 
requires CITES monitoring.  An Indonesian delegation visited Bolivia 
on June 4-9 to study that country's policies to combat illegal 
logging and implement sustainable forest management.  On July 16, 
the Head of the Central Kalimantan Agricultural Department announced 
a ban on farmers' use of burning to clear land. End Summary 
 
Indonesia and Australia Committed to Conservation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶2. On May 21, the MOF signed a letter of intent with the Zoological 
Parks Authority of the Government of Western Australia to cooperate 
on wildlife conservation in the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in 
Sumatra. The activities under the letter include conservation 
initiatives for the Sumatran orangutan, elephants, and tigers, among 
other species.  The program will cover such activities as the 
introduction of orangutans to the wild, wildlife surveys, improving 
the study and research of wildlife populations, and minimizing human 
conflicts with species such as elephants and tigers.  The program 
will also build conservation facilities in other national park areas 
and improve capacity building in planning, management, research, 
animal health, education and public awareness, local community 
empowerment and eco-promotion. 
 
Indonesia Hosts ASEAN WEN Meeting 
---------------------------------- 
¶3. On May 21-24, Indonesia hosted the second meeting of the ASEAN 
WEN program in Bogor. Around 100 participants from the 10 ASEAN 
member countries attended the meeting, as well as observers from 
Japan, China, Australia, the U.S., Nepal, the United Nations Office 
on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the National Anti-Environment Crime Task 
Force (NAECTAF), the U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAID), WildAid, TRAFFIC, Interpol, and the World Customs 
Organization (WCO) Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO). 
ASEAN WEN is a regional program that establishes an inter-agency 
network of police, customs, legal, and forestry resources.  ASEAN 
WEN aims to combat the illegal trade of flora and fauna by 
developing and enhancing regional coordination, capacity building, 
information exchange, and law enforcement.  In the meeting, 
Indonesia asked for support to combat illegal wildlife trade and 
smuggling. 
 
Indonesia Plans New Oil Palm Plantations 
----------------------------------------- 
¶4. Chief of KMSI, Rosediana Suharto, announced on May 2 that 
Indonesia would develop 1.5 million hectares of oil palm plantations 
by 2010 to increase palm oil production to 18 million tons over the 
next three years.  The plans include 1.375 million hectares of new 
plantations and 125,000 hectares of replanted plantations.  Suharto, 
former senior adviser to the Minister of Trade, added that the 
government and private companies would develop the new plantations 
outside of Java. She predicted that with the program, Indonesia 
could increase palm oil production by around 200,000 tons, or six 
percent, per year.  The predicted production levels of crude palm 
oil are as follows: 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
         Crude Oil Production (CPO) 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
2010     18 millions tons 
2020     30 millions tons 
2030     50 millions tons 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Source:  Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
 
Suharto dismissed reports of Chinese and Indian investments 
contributing to planned oil palm plantations along the Malaysian 
border as exaggerated rumors. 
 
 
JAKARTA 00002317  002 OF 002 
 
 
GOI Will Send 7,000 Vocational Students to the U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶5. On May 17, the Ministry of National Education's Director for 
Vocational Education, Joko Sutrisno, announced that the government 
would give scholarships to study in the U.S. to 7,000 Indonesian 
vocational students who passed English language and international 
standard vocational school exams.  Vocational students from across 
the country are eligible to compete for the scholarships, with the 
government focusing on students from high tourist and investment 
destinations, such as Jakarta, Denpasar, Medan, Makassar, 
Yogyakarta, and Surabaya.  The government has earmarked Rp. 1.6 
trillion ($176.6 million) for the program, out of the Rp. 43.4 
trillion ($4.7 billion) for vocational school development in 2007. 
The program, beginning in 2007 with a group of 600 students, is a 
component of the government's efforts to reduce unemployment. 
Sutrisno added that the ratio of vocational school graduates to high 
school graduates would grow to 70% versus 30% in the next three 
years. 
 
APRIL/Riau Pulp Became Member of WBCSD 
-------------------------------------- 
¶6. On June 19, The WBCSD granted membership to APRIL/Riau Pulp. 
Executive Director of WBCSD James Griffiths noted that the Council 
based their decision on the Indonesian company's commitment to 
transforming forest industry management in Indonesia.  According to 
APRIL/Riau Pulp President A.J. Devanesan, the company supports 
efforts to combat illegal logging and ensures that the raw material 
used in their plants come from sustainable and responsible sources. 
APRIL/Riau Pulp has operations in China and Indonesia, where the 
company is the number one producer of fiber, pulp and paper. 
 
Indonesia Refuses U.S. Proposal on Cardinal Fish in CITES 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶7. At a June CITES meeting, Indonesia rejected the U.S. proposal to 
include Banggai Cardinal Fish (Banggai/pterapogus kauderni), or BCF, 
in CITES Appendix II, the category of trade that requires CITES 
monitoring.  Australia, Argentina, Japan, China, Iran, Qatar, 
Thailand and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) supported 
the Indonesian position.  Cardinal fish are endemic to Banggai 
Island (Central Sulawesi) but can thrive in other parts of the 
archipelago.  According to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and 
Fisheries' (MMAF) Director of Conservation and National Maritime 
Parks, Yaya Mulyana, the MMAF has developed BCF ex-situ in Bali and 
plans to designate Banggai Island as a Local Marine Conservation 
Area covering 275,836 hectares. 
 
Indonesia and Bolivia Share Forest Management Experiences 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶8. On June 4-9, an Indonesian delegation visited Bolivia to study 
the country's policies to combat illegal logging and implement 
sustainable forest management.  The Indonesian delegation consisted 
of eight representatives from the MOF, the Forest Association, the 
Forest and Poverty Commission Forest, the Environment Commission, 
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and academia.  The delegation met with 
key Bolivian government stakeholders, local NGOs, USAID Bolivia, and 
representatives from the private sector.  The Nature Conservancy 
facilitated the visit. 
 
Central Kalimantan Combats Use of Fire to Clear Land 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶9. On July 16, the Head of the Central Kalimantan Agricultural 
Department announced a ban on farmers' use of burning to clear land. 
 He noted that his office also planned to offer farmers alternative 
land clearing technologies in an effort to stop the burning process. 
 While local farmers supported the ban in principle, they noted that 
using herbicide to clear land, the most readily available 
alternative to burning, was prohibitively expensive, at a cost of 
Rp. 50,000 ($5.56) per liter.  The Head of the Sub-Office for Palm 
Oil in Riau noted that the fires were predominantly occurring in 
idle land or ex-concession areas. 
 
Hume