The province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is located in the eastern part of Indonesia. It consists of about 550 islands, with Flores, Sumba and West Timor as the main islands. NTT is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia with a poverty incidence of 25.7%, compared to 16% nationally (Source: Central Statistics Agency, BPS – 2008). T h e comparatively high level of poverty is a chronic problem, and has been for decades. This is also reflected in the Human Development Index (HDI) for NTT which continues to be far behind the national HDI. While the national HDI today reflects the status of a middle income country, the HDI for NTT is at the level of a least developed country such as Lao PDR. The disparity between NTT and the rest of Indonesia is of concern in terms of social and political stability in the province...

UNDP Indonesia with the Ministry of Industry and supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), created an initiative to reduce the spread of Polybromodiphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants (UPOPs) derived from production process. PBDE is one of Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) groups most commonly used to manufacture various refractory and flame retardant materials.

Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is a global partnership addressing the biodiversity finance challenge in a comprehensive manner. The initiative provides an innovative methodology enabling countries to measure their current biodiversity expenditures, assess their financial needs in the medium term and identify the most suitable finance solutions to bridge their national biodiversity finance gaps.

Since 1980, the total primary energy demand in Indonesia has grown rapidly at an average of 4.6% per year, while GDP has grown at 4.8% per year. According to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), Indonesia still needs 35,000 MW of electricity before 2015. In anticipation of a future electricity crisis, the National Electricity Company (PLN) has encouraged the investment and promotion of renewable energy (RE) generation by private electricity companies (IPPs) so that they may immediately set up new RE power projects to supplement the current limited fossil power generation that is experiencing outages...

The “Strengthening Community Based Forest and Watershed Management” (SCBFWM) project is designed to back up the Government's programme on community-based forest and watershed management, by addressing inequitable distribution of benefits from forest resources and lack of capacity of local authorities, as major underlying causes of land and forest degradation. The project is specifically designed to complement the five-year national pledge of approximately USD 300 million to rehabilitate degraded forest and land distributed in 282 prioritized watersheds located in 400 districts (32 provinces), and the Indonesia’s annually approved Reforestation Fund at district level...

The Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Indonesia is part of the global partnership program that has been participated by 25 countries as one of the efforts to support low-emission development strategy in achieving sustainable development targets...

Switch to BIOGAS (2009-2011) is a pilot project on integrated biogas technology in Lumajang District, East Java Province, implemented by UNDP in collaboration with the Lumajang district government with support from the Korean Energy Management Corporation (KEMCO). The implementation of an integrated energy-environment-economy approach has resulted in access to biogas energy for low-income farmers, better environmental and sanitation conditions, an increase in farmer’s income and the promotion of local investment in the fish feed and organic fertilizer sectors...

Over the past decade, Asia has had an average growth rate in energy use of 3.7%, more than twice the global average of 1.6%. With the rapid economic growth in many countries in the region, the demand for major appliances and equipment is expected to keep increasing. EnergyEfficiency Standards and Labeling (ES&L) programmes and policies are an effective way of improving energy efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ES&L programmes are also among the most cost-effective types of policies to mitigate global climate change...

Indonesia signed the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in Rio, which was then ratified in 1994 through the Law no. 6/1994. Under this framework, Indonesia has committed to fully implementing the framework. One of the requirements in the Framework stipulated that Indonesia has to report its activities aimed at addressing the issue of climate change to the UNFCCC through the National Communication on Climate Change...

ndonesia faces an ever-increasing demand for electricity. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2005, the demand grew 4.5 times. Since 1999, the Government of Indonesia has advocated for a gradual shift from diesel-based generation, and put its priority on alternative energies, including renewable energies. However, there are factors that impact the effective utilization of alternatives to oil...

In the 1970s, scientists discovered certain man-made compounds contributed to the depletion of the Ozone Layer. These are the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) that have both Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP). The compounds can be found in such every-day household items as refrigerators, Styrofoam cups, spray deodorants and cushions. In 1984,...

As the world’s third largest area of tropical rainforest on the planet, with 68 per cent of its landmass – equivalent to 131.3 million hectare area covered by forests[1], Indonesia has been struggling to save its forests from mass destruction due to the conversion of these forests and carbon-rich peat lands. Deforestation in Indonesia has a massive environmental impact on the country and the world, as it emits a large amount of greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change...

As one of the first countries to commit to a significant reduction in its greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, the Government of Indonesia is leading the way towards a greener future. Indonesia aims to reduce emission levels by 26 percent by 2020, below the business-as-usual trajectory, and by 41 percent with adequate international support...