5 Donor Countries Give Indonesia Funds for Peatland Restoration

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) Nazir Foead said there are currently five donor countries that help the process of peatland restoration in Indonesia.

“As for aid from donor countries, so far [we have] Norwegia, the United States, England, Japan and Germany as donors. Some [other donors] are still being discussed further,” Nazir said in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

At present, the total funds given by the donor countries to help the process of peatland restoration reaches 130 million US dollars, according to him.

The amount of funds given by each donor countries differs, so does the program period.

“A donor has a program that ends in two year’s time, another donor is in one year’s time, another one is in four year’s time. A donor that used to gave funds for other program and has now transferred it for the BRG, a donor is a completely new,” he said.

He believed that more donors will help the restoration of burned peatlands in Indonesia. “If they [new donors] are to earmark the funds this year, they will certainly need parliament’s approval etc, similar [process] with APBN [Indonesia’s state budget], so possibly in 2017 we will see how many [will become new donors],” he added.

More than two million hectares of peatlands that were burned in 2015 will be restored.

ANTARA