Posted on July, 04 2013

By: Nancy Ariaini

Since the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Declaration in 2007 this initiative has achieved successes in various areas. However the reality is that the successes so far do not go far enough to ensure long-term protection. Instead, a broader program which involves players from various sectors such as the public, private, NGO, community and others is required. Furthermore, an intervention on sustainable development is equally important alongside the traditional approach for land and wildlife conservation. The development of the 'green economy' concept for the Heart of Borneo in the three countries is therefore a new approach that unifies conservation and sustainable development themes and allows those various key players to be actively involved in the design and implementation of HoB program.
 
In Indonesia, the HoB area has been acknowledged by the Indonesian Government as an area of National Strategic Importance (KSN) through Government Regulation (PP) No.26 of 2008. This means that the area will have special priority within spatial plans. This regulation was then followed by the Presidential Decree No. 3 of 2012, on an island spatial plan for Kalimantan, in which the HoB is designated as part of the ‘lungs of the world’ area. With this fundamental recognition of the importance of the HoB, development policy is required to guide the proper land use and green economy policy will serve as the suitable guidance for development in the HoB area.

The National Working Group (POKJANAS) HoB has commissioned experts from six universities, three of them from Kalimantan, to prepare a study on an ‘Implementation Strategy for Heart of Borneo Development through a Green Economy Approach’. The process of finalizing the study will be iterative, with revisions made to accommodate input from national and local stakeholders through discussions both in Jakarta and in the three provinces.
 
The document highlighted green economies as fundamental instruments for sustainable development in the HoB area and recommended green economy strategies including incentive or disincentive mechanisms for corporates and communities, optimalization of district-generated revenue from non-forestry sectors, synergizing spatial plans with the HoB area, transparent and responsible forest governance and institutional
capacity building.
 
Implementation of the recommended strategy requires enabling conditions such as central government policy and regulation (for example government regulation on environmental services), regional/local government policy and regulation (PERDA), synchronized national and local policies, development of green economy indicators, and adaptation on local issues.
 
A particular issue that emerged in the discussion was the formalization of HoB Green Economy strategy implementation as a national regulation and policy (in the form of a Presidential Decree). This is considered important to ensure effective implementation in the area. The meeting proposed inclusion of the HoB Green Economy into the evolving process of HoB National Strategic Area as part of the Presidential Decree, to get stronger backup for the implementation of a green economy approach in the area.
 
Cooperation with the Finance Ministry is seen as key to govern applicable incentives or disincentives through the establishment of specific policies and other measures to encourage sustainable use of natural resources.
 
The meeting also noted that the revitalization of the customary laws (hukum adat) is crucial to increase the level of local community participation in the implementation of green economies.
 
POKJANAS anticipates the possibility to conduct a national seminar on the HoB Green Economy Implementation Strategy later on in 2013.