Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JAKARTA664
2008-04-03 00:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

THOMAS FRIEDMAN EXPLORES PRIVATE SECTOR ROLE IN

Tags:  ENRG SENV KGHG ECON PGOV ID 
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VZCZCXRO1747
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0664 0940040
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030040Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8540
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0574
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2252
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0850
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0845
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS JAKARTA 000664 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND EAP/RSP
DEPT FOR OES/ENRC
NSC FOR CEQ CONNAUGHTON, VAN DYKE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG SENV KGHG ECON PGOV ID
SUBJECT: THOMAS FRIEDMAN EXPLORES PRIVATE SECTOR ROLE IN
CONSERVATION IN SUMATRA

REF: JAKARTA 620

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000664

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND EAP/RSP
DEPT FOR OES/ENRC
NSC FOR CEQ CONNAUGHTON, VAN DYKE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG SENV KGHG ECON PGOV ID
SUBJECT: THOMAS FRIEDMAN EXPLORES PRIVATE SECTOR ROLE IN
CONSERVATION IN SUMATRA

REF: JAKARTA 620


1. (U) Summary: On a visit to Indonesia in late March to
conduct research for his upcoming book, author Thomas
Friedman traveled to North Sumatra to look at efforts to
protect the environment (reftel). Accompanied by the
Ambassador, USAID officers, NGO representatives and the
owner of a local energy company, Friedman engaged in
extensive discussion of effective approaches to protect
IndonesiaQs forests and promote innovative approaches
involving the private sector. As a result, USAID will
together with the GOI and NGOs explore the possibility of
scaling up ongoing public-private efforts to promote
conservation. End Summary.


2. (U) On March 24-25, Ambassador Hume, USAID officers, the
owner of Medco Energy, Arifin Panigoro, and members of
Conservation International, accompanied New York Times
Thomas Friedman to visit the Batang Toru region in the
Province of North Sumatra. The group viewed the results of
a $1 million USAID grant to Conservation International for
the conservation of orangutans and their habitat provided
through a congressional earmark. The project has been
successful in providing local communities with a heightened
awareness of the importance of conservation as well as
economic alternatives to illegal logging and deforestation.
These measures have halted the activities of the local
logging concessionaire and minimized illegal deforestation.
Approximately 400 orangutans, or one-tenth of the entire
population left on the island of Sumatra, inhabit this
area.


3. (U) Medco Energy owner Panigoro owns a geothermal
concession next to this logging concession, and has
committed to purchase these 60,000 hectares to help
conserve the orangutans, support long-term community
interests and assure that water generated by the forest
continues to flow through his geothermal facility.
Friedman and his traveling companions discussed at length
this contribution and the role of the private sectorQs
potential role in collaborating to conserve forests in
Indonesia.


4. (U) Friedman was interested in learning from on-the-
ground efforts such as this to protect the environment, and
in analyzing the possible roles of energy companies, and
the private sector in general, for his upcoming book titled
QHot, Flat and Crowded.Q At the conclusion of the trip, he
stated that this example provided him exactly what he was
interested in for the purposes of his book.


5. (U) In part because of this trip and the extensive
discussions it stimulated between Friedman and a variety of
actors, USAID will explore collaborative efforts between
NGOs, the private sector, and the Government of Indonesia
to promote conservation, innovations with the private
sector and the possibility of taking such efforts to a
larger scale.

HUME