First Bonn Challenge regional meeting in South East Asia
The Indonesian government, with support from the Federal Environment Ministry, wants to reforest 2 million hectares of peatland by 2020. Today, the first regional meeting on forest restoration begins in Palembang, Indonesia to promote this and other good ideas and strategies for forest restoration.
State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, Jochen Flasbarth, is representing Germany at the event. The meeting is part of the global platform for action Bonn Challenge which was launched by the Federal Environment Ministry. State Secretary Flasbarth commented: "Restoring degraded forest land with native trees species is an important approach - especially for smallhold farmers and local communities. Through the Bonn Challenge, Germany has put forest restoration on the international political stage as a key topic of sustainable development. With our goal of restoring 150 million hectares of forest globally, we have inspired many countries to take concrete steps to implement this target."
The forests of Indonesia are home to an extremely high diversity of species. Indonesia has the third largest area of tropical forest in the world and the largest peatlands in the tropics. Around 700,000 hectares of forest landscapes are still being destroyed every year. The BMUB is supporting the restoration of Indonesia's forests through its International Climate Initiative (IKI). Since 2011, the Federal Environment Ministry has helped the countries of the South implement the Bonn Challenge with approximately 100 million euros.
When managed sustainably, forests not only provide food, but also other sources of income, for example, through selling wood fuel, animal feed and medicinal plants. Furthermore, forests play a key role in regulating the hydrological balance and protecting against natural disasters. The restoration and conservation of forests are therefore essential for adapting to climate change.
Regional meetings on forest landscape restoration under the Bonn Challenge have already been held in Latin America and Africa. Based on the principles of learning from one another and joint implementation, these meetings are fostering a new form of South-South cooperation.