Australia will contribute up to $30 million to a project that aims to protect more than 200,000 hectares of peatland in Indonesia's Kalimantan region, with BHP Billiton also pledging its support.
Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer today said the partnership aims to protect 70,000 hectares of peatland forests, re-flood 200,000 hectares of dried peatland and plant up to 100 million new trees on the rehabilitated land. Peatland forests store at least six times as much carbon per hectare as forests on mineral soils.
Over 30 years, the partnership could potentially reduce greenhouse gases by about 700 million tonnes – more than Australia’s total annual emissions.
The project aims to raise $100 million in the next four years by working with other countries, international NGOs and the private sector. Australia's contribution will come from the $200 million Global Initiative on Forests and Climate announced in March this year.
"The deforestation and burning of Indonesia's vast peat lands is the largest single source of its greenhouse gas emissions," Downer said.
Downer and his Indonesian counterpart Dr Hassan Wirajuda today signed a declaration of intent to establish the partnership. The latest funding comes on top of $10 million committed by Australia in July to improve Indonesia’s capacity to monitor and assess its forests. BHP Billiton has not yet specified how much it will contribute.
WWF welcomed the partnership and said it was keen to work with governments, BHP Billiton and others as part of its efforts to protect and rehabilitate peatlands in Indonesia.
