Summary

After Aceh’s historic gubernatorial elections in December 2006 and his inauguration as the first democratically chosen Governor in February 2007, Irwandi Yusuf has refined his vision for a comprehensive, holistic strategy to rebuild the economy of Aceh in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami and the three decade-long conflict for independence.

For Aceh’s reconstruction efforts and the peace process to succeed, the Governor knows his policies and programs must quickly generate both employment and income opportunities for all Acehnese, with a particular focus on the poor and ex-combatants.  At the same time, it is critical to ensure the protection and preservation of Aceh’s natural resources — particularly its extensive inland forests, watersheds and marine reserves — as key resources for sustainable economic development available for future generations.

The Governor is acutely aware that successful and sustainable post-disaster, post-conflict recovery requires major new investments and financing from a variety of sources.  He is determined to ensure that investors share and contribute toward his vision.

With the rise of climate change as one of the most imminent threats to the security and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region, there is a need for an integrated approach to

sustainable development.  Particularly with the withdrawal of many aid agencies in April 2009, Aceh will require public-private partnerships, non-governmental oversight, and private sector involvement to manage clean energy, biofuel feedstock, reforestation and avoided deforestation, all of which involve issues related to carbon and a commitment to green development.

In June 2007 Governor Irwandi declared a moratorium on all logging to provide time to a) review the current status of Aceh’s forests (including forest cover, concessions, and sustainable production capacity); b) redesign a proper and sustainable forest development and management strategy (including forestry zoning, policy framework, and institutional framework); and c) re-enact stronger, more effective enforcement mechanisms to prevent violations of this policy.  The moratorium is sending a message to the international community that the province is willing to stop deforestation but not without receiving something in return, i.e., new revenues from trade, not only aid.

To help enforce the moratorium, Governor Irwandi recruited and employed 1,000 forest rangers / forest facilitators to raise awareness within Aceh’s communities to be more

actively involved in forest protection and implement sustainable forest management.  He will add as many as 2,000 more forest facilitators over the next two years.

Since June 2007, the Governor has initiated a community-based forest management pilot conducted by local civil society organizations in partnership with the Aceh administration. Finally, to elevate the issue of deforestation to a global audience during the recent United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Governor Irwandi signed on 7 December 2007 a joint declaration with the Governors of Amazonas, Brazil, and Papua and Papua Barat to a) implement policies / programs aimed at promoting forest conservation and poverty alleviation to reduce emissions from deforestation; b) share best practices in research and public policies applied to sustainable development, forest conservation and reduction of deforestation; c) exchange technical and scientific information; and d) establish mutually beneficial linkages between local communities.

As a result of these actions, the Governor launched his vision — the Green Economic Development and Investment Strategy for Aceh, or Aceh Green.

Aceh Green will integrate and expand carefully and consciously integrated themes of climate change via renewable energy and land use management, community development, commerce and conservation. The Governor recognizes that achieving environmentally sustainable outcomes is only possible with economically sustainable

livelihoods for the people of Aceh, especially the dispossessed and disenfranchised.

Aceh Green will explore establishing an Aceh Green Fund to finance public-private partnerships dealing with infrastructure programs, urban development, clean energy

(including geothermal and hydropower), creation of biofuel feedstock, integrated land use program in tropical commodities (including, but not limited to coffee, cocoa, palm oil and rubber), aquaculture and coastal artisinal fisheries, reforestation (rainforest/mangroves) and avoided deforestation.

B. Outline of the Governor’s Vision for Green Economic Development

Aceh Green consists of eight main components spread among three priority categories.

 

1. Land Use, Land Use Change and Forest (LULUCF) Management

Component 1: Primary Forest Protection and Management

Component 2: Reforestation and Forest Restoration

Component 3: Community Forestry and Agro-forestry Development

2. Sustainable Economic Development

Component 4: Smallholder Estate Crop Development in Partnership with Private

Sector and Parastatal Estate Crops & Associated Infrastructure

Component 5: Spatial Planning, Management, and Development of Capture Fisheries

and Aquaculture 

Component 6: Public Infrastructure Development

3. Renewable Green Energy

Component 7: Geothermal Energy

Component 8: Micro Hydro 

The strategy outlines a five-tiered approach to sustainable land-use management:

1. The Core Zone / Protected Forests: estimated to total approximately 3.1 million hectares of eternal forests.

2. Restoration Zone / Replanting Protected Forests: estimated at 250,000 hectares logged-over or secondary forest in higher elevations and steep slopes suitable for

forest restoration through reforestation and assisted natural regeneration, again the

eternal forest.

3. Community-based Production Zone / Community Forests: estimated at 350,000 hectares of mid-elevation, more gently sloping logged-over or secondary forests

suitable for community forestry / agro-forestry schemes.

4. Land Reform / Smallholder Plantation Zone: estimated at 250,000 hectares of largely level land that fulfills agro-ecological and climatic conditions for smallholder estate

crops like oil palm, rubber, coffee, and coconut with well-established local and global market demand.

5. Capture fisheries and aquaculture: institutional focus for the development of a “Green Investment” system for fisheries and other coastal activities, and improvements in the quality and quantity of post harvest fishery’s products and market access in cooperation with the private sector.

In addition there are two other land use classifications that are part of the overall Aceh land situation:

1. Existing Plantation: 200,000 hectares.

2. Existing Agriculture, Aquaculture and Settlements: 1.47 million hectares.