Sumba powers up with renewables

Indonesian island hopes to spark green power revolution.

The Star – AFP, Angela Dewan, May 26, 2014

Catch the wind: Villagers erect a windmill on a field of small wind turbines
in Kamanggih, Sumba island, East Nusa Tenggara. — AFP

AN Indonesian family of farmers eat cobs of corn outside their hut under the glow of a light bulb, as the women weave and young men play with mobile phones.

Until two years ago, most people in Kamanggih village on the island of Sumba had no power at all. Now 300 homes have access to 24-hour electricity produced by a small hydroelectric generator in the river nearby.

“We have been using the river for water our whole lives, but we never knew it could give us electricity,” Adriana Lawa Djati said, as 1980s American pop songs drifted from a cassette player inside.

While Indonesia struggles to fuel its fast-growing economy, Sumba is harnessing power from the sun, wind, rivers and even pig dung in a bid to go 100% renewable by 2025.

The ambitious project, called the “Iconic Island“, was started by Dutch development organisation Hivos and is now part of the national government’s strategy to almost double renewables in its energy mix over the next 10 years.

Sumba, in central Indonesia, is an impoverished island of mostly subsistence farmers and fishermen. Access to power has made a huge difference to people like Djati.

“Since we started using electricity, so much has changed. The kids can study at night, I can weave baskets and mats for longer, and sell more at the market” she said.

While only around 30% of Sumba’s 650,000 people have been hooked up to the power grid, more than 50% of electricity used now on the island comes from renewable sources, government data show.

Hivos field co-ordinator Adrianus Lagur hoped the project would be replicated by other islands in the same province of East Nusa Tenggara, one of the country’s poorest.

Indonesia is one of the region’s most poorly electrified nation, partly because it sprawls over 17,000 islands of which more than 6,000 are inhabited.

Despite enjoying economic growth of around 6% annually in recent years, Indonesia is so short of energy that it rolls out scheduled power cuts that cripple entire cities and sometimes parts of the capital.

To keep up with growth, Indonesia is planning to boost its electricity capacity by 60 gigawatts over a 10-year period to 2022. Twenty percent of that is to come from renewable sources.

“Indonesia has been a net importer of oil for years, and our oil reserves are limited, so renewables are an important part of our energy security,” said Mochamad Sofyan, renewable energy chief of state electricity company PLN.

Hefty electricity and fuel subsidies have been a serious burden on the state budget.

But small-scale infrastructure, like mini hydroelectric generators and small wind turbines that power Sumba are not enough to close the national energy gap, even if they were built on all Indonesia’s islands.

Massive hydropower and geothermal projects, which use renewable energy extracted from underground pockets of heat, are needed to really tackle the nationwide problem, said Sofyan.

Indonesia, one of the world’s most seismically active countries, also has the biggest reserves of geothermal, often near its many volcanoes and tectonic plate boundaries. It is considered one of the cleanest forms of energy available.

But geothermal is largely untapped as legislation to open up exploration moves slowly and the industry is bound in red tape.

Sofyan said there is also concern that Sumba’s target to be powered 100% by renewable energy is unrealistic.

“In the long term, we see Sumba still relying somewhat on diesel generators. It will be powered predominantly by renewables, but I don’t think it will be able to switch off the grid,” Sofyan said.

Hivos admits its goal is ambitious, saying it is “inspirational and political” rather than technical but the NGO believes the target may be achievable even in the long term.

Nonetheless the Sumbanese are reaping the benefits of the green energy sources already available, which have lifted a considerable financial burden for many due to reduced costs for wood and oil.

Elisabeth Hadi Rendi, 60, in the town of Waingapu, has been farming pigs since 1975, but it was only two years ago when Hivos visited her home that she came to understand the power of porcine poo. Pigs are commonly kept in Sumba, a predominantly Christian island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Each day Rendi shovels dung from the pig pens and churns it in a well, after which it is funnelled to a tank and converted into methane gas. It has saved her household around six million rupiah (RM1,680) in two years, a significant sum for a typical Sumbanese family.

“We also make fertiliser from the waste to use in our garden, where we grow vegetables,” said Rendi. “We eat the vegetables and feed some to the pigs too, which will become biogas again, so the energy literally goes round and round.” — AFP

ADB to help improve resources management in coral triangle

Antara News, Fri, May 20 2011

"The project aims to strengthen national and local institutions for sustainable coastal and marine ecosystem management and to establish support mechanisms for sustainable livelihoods in coastal communities," said Kunio Senga, Director General of ADB`s South East Asia Department.

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved assistance of around $12 million for the Coastal and Marine Resources Management Project in Coral Triangle member countries, including Indonesia.

The ADB will help improve the management of the Coral Triangle`s rich resources and provide job alternatives for people living in the coastal areas, according to the Manila-based ADB in a press statement here Friday.

"The project aims to strengthen national and local institutions for sustainable coastal and marine ecosystem management and to establish support mechanisms for sustainable livelihoods in coastal communities," said Kunio Senga, Director General of ADB`s South East Asia Department.

The assistance includes a $1 million grant from ADB`s concessional Technical Assistance Special Fund, and $11.2 million in co-financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines will provide $3 million in non-cash contributions.

The Coral Triangle, known as the "Amazon of the Seas" and one of the world`s most diverse and threatened marine ecosystems, encompasses ocean areas in six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Its resources are critical for the economic and food security of an estimated 120 million people. These resources are at immediate risk from a range of factors, including the impacts of climate change and unsustainable fishing methods.

Assessments of the Coral Triangle show that up to 88% of reefs are under threat from harmful human activities, resulting in major losses for the fishing and tourism industries.

The project, which is targeted at Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, will strengthen management of marine resources by funding activities that build up the capacity of oversight institutions.

It complements ongoing projects worth $15.05 million, co-financed by ADB and GEF, to assist Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Timor Leste in fulfilling their Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) objectives, as well as engage Fiji and Vanuatu in these efforts.

The Coral Triangle covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean waters in Indonesia, Malaysia, PNG, the Philippines, Solomon Island, and Timor Leste.

The implementing agencies for the project, which is due for completion in June 2015, are the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia; National Oceanography Directorate-Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia; and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Protecting the World's From Vision to Action

Asian Development Bank

Climate change puts the health of the world's oceans at stark risk, but a global consensus has yet to be reached on which paths will lead to a solution. Every indecisive moment is a lost opportunity to bequeath a better world to future generations.

Speakers at the World Ocean Conference 2009, the first large-scale international event to bring together both ocean and climate change stakeholders and specialists, highlighted that oceans themselves play a key role in transforming the world's geography as temperature rise and that rising sea levels will have an impact on small-island developing states.

Governments, their development partners, nongovernment organizations, and the private sector must move quickly to adapt to or mitigate the impacts of climate change, speakers said. They must also, for the benefit of humanity, agree on ways to use marine resources sustainably.

Country delegates at the conference adopted the Manado Ocean Declaration, which recognizes that oceans play a crucial role in the global climate system and in moderating its weather systems, and that the oceanographic processes that result from this interaction will affect the rate of climate change.

This conference report goes beyond simply listing the proceedings and instead highlights key issues raised and solutions put forward by some of the more than 3,000 researchers, scientists, educators, and ocean experts from 74 countries who attended.

The report on the talks, held in Manado, Indonesia, is an important part of official preparations for the 15th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties, to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

E-mail or fax the Publications Unit at + 632 636 2648 to order copies of this document. Applicable shipping cost will be charged.

Books, Periodicals, Studies, and Reports
ISBN: 978-971-561-867-0
Publication Date: May 2009
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Protecting the World's From Vision to Action (PDF)

Leaders to Forge New Plan to Protect Coral Triangle

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Senior officials from six Asia-Pacific nations, whose territories include some of the most unique and threatened marine species in the world, are forging a comprehensive draft plan to protect these natural treasures. 

Representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste – the six countries that make up the so-called 'Coral Triangle' – are expected to finalize The Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security Plan of Action at a meeting to be held in Manila on Thursday. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is hosting a parallel meeting of partner agencies that support the Coral Triangle Initiative. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United States and Australian Governments, and the environmental groups Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and the World Wide Fund for Nature have all reaffirmed their strong support.

 

The Coral Triangle, dubbed the "Amazon of the Seas", covers a 5.7 million square kilometer expanse of ocean with 75% of all known coral species in the world.

 

This region is facing a grave threat from climate change, which many scientists believe is causing sea water temperatures to rise, bleaching and killing off reefs. Harmful fishing practices have also caused serious damage to vital ecosystems, with the rising sea level from climate change further threatening these resources in the longer run.

 

The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), a regional effort to preserve and manage the region’s marine resources, was launched last year by the six countries, along with international partners, including the ADB, which is coordinating the mobilization of financial support for the plan of action.

 

“Elements of the action plan are already getting underway, and it will be fully operational after its endorsement by leaders of the participating countries at a Coral Triangle Initiative Summit in Indonesia, planned for May 2009,” said David McCauley, ADB Principal Environment Specialist.

 

The plan focuses on a series of steps to protect and sustain marine life in the triangle. It will include local, national and regional projects that work towards common objectives agreed on by the countries.

 

ADB initially expects to implement three subprojects under the CTI plan, all of which will receive GEF funding.

 

One project in the Western Pacific region of the Coral Triangle will generate sustainable livelihoods for families depending on the sea for their income, and help address pressures on reefs and local fisheries. ADB will provide grant-financed technical assistance for the project, which will also include funding from the Government of Finland.

 

A second project will support Southeast Asian nations’ efforts to protect the marine environment, ensure that fishing remains sustainable, and develop models for the sustainable financing of marine protected areas through strengthened policies and institutions.

 

A third, triangle-wide project will support regional information exchange – including the latest scientific data on climate change – and will help strengthen country collaboration in carrying out the overall action plan, and in monitoring coastal and marine environments. ADB will provide regional technical assistance for this project.

 

About ADB

 

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The Coral Triangle Initiative was launched in 2007 to foster improved coastal and marine resource management and adaptation to climate change in the region. The initiative has brought together governments, international agencies, nongovernmental agencies and the private sector for the purpose of protecting these environmentally and economically vital resources. The principal international partners supporting the program are the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, the Governments of the United States and Australia and the environmental groups World Wide Fund for Nature, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. ADB serves as the lead agency for managing contributions to the program.