Indonesian Embassy in Berlin Elaborates El Nino Mitigation
January 13, 2016
Siswo Pramono, chief representative on the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, said in a discussion held at the Indonesian consulate-general office (KJRI) in Hamburg on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 that climate change had affected the lives of many people, including those in Indonesia.
During his presentation, Siswo explained that climate change had increased the frequency of drought phenomenon, commonly known as El Nino. As a country with high exposure to long dry season, such phenomenon will have impact on Indonesia’s economy in general. Data reveals that El Nino that occur in the period of June-October 2015 had caused Rp221 trillion (US$16.4 billion) in losses.
However, data on hotspots taken from satellite images, the impact of El Nino on Kalimantan’s forest fires and drought in 2015 was not worse than that in 2006. Inappropriate measures to mitigate the impact of climate change had caused wider negative impacts on Indonesia’s economy.
The government had made endeavors to mitigate drought and forest fires, for instance, by imposing sanctions for forest burners. The president also instructed a moratorium on peat land exploitation permit, review and evaluations of existing permits and peat land rehabilitation through hydrology restoration.
Source; Antara
