The development of renewable energies is one of priorities of the Indonesian energy policy to reduce consumption of fossil fuels such as crude oil. Among various renewable energy sources, biofuels and biomass have the potential to replace fossil fuels and supplying raw materials for energy conversion. Their resources are scattered all over the country. In Indonesia, biomass-based renewable energies comprise variable-sized wood from forests (i.e. natural forests, plantations and community forests that commonly produce small-diameter logs used as firewood by local people), woody residues from logging and wood industries, oil-palm shell waste from crude palm oil factories, coconut shell wastes from coconut plantations, as well as skimmed coconut oil and straw from rice cultivation.
To support the Government of Indonesia’s policy on renewable energies, and to follow up the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, FORCLIME in collaboration with the Forestry Climate Change Working Group conducted a “Travelling Workshop on Bioenergy Development” from 23-26 September 2014. About 21 participants from the Ministry of Forestry, FORCLIME’s pilot sites in Kalimantan (Bappeda, Dinas Kehutanan and KPH in the three districts Berau, Malinau and Kapuas Hulu), a Forest Management Unit from South East Sulawesi, private sector companies and the FCCWG Secretariat joined the traveling workshop. The excursion brought the participants across Indonesian from Jogjakarta (Nyamplung processing for biofuel) to Bali (bamboo/ waste planned power plant generation), and Madura (wood pellet industry and community coppice system management to supply the wood pellet factory).
The participants got many insights from the site visits, for example on bioenergy-based sustainable forest management systems as a potential income source for local governments and communities. Sharing information among the participants has widened both their knowledge and perceptions on the services and products forests can provide. Best practice examples from the field have proven the feasibility for operationalization in Forest Management Units.
Some participants from the public and private sectors established informal agreements on how to develop a bioenergy-based initiatives for FMU management and development that are operationally feasible.
For more information on the topic and outcomes of the excursion follow the link here.
or contact Dr. Pipin Permadi, Senior Adviser for Forest Policy
