Archive for January, 2008
Jan 30 (Reuters) - The world’s biggest emitters of global-warming greenhouse gases met behind closed doors in Honolulu on Wednesday for a U.S.-sponsored conference as protesters pointed up Hawaii’s vulnerability to climate change.
In December, officials at climate talks in Bali, Indonesia, agreed to start two years of negotiations to seal a broader pact to fight global warming.
As part of the meeting among nearly 200 nations, a range of other pressing issues to aid the developing world were discussed. Following is some of what was agreed, or not agreed, at the talks.
TWO-YEAR DIALOGUE
Negotiators agreed to start two years of talks on a new climate deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, the main deal for fighting climate change until 2012, to bind outsiders led by the United States, China and India.
The talks will start with a first meeting by April this year and end with adoption of a new treaty in Copenhagen in late 2009.
A U.S. U-turn allowed the deal to go ahead after a dramatic session in which Washington was booed for opposing demands by poor nations for the rich to do more to help them fight warming.
AMBITION TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
The Bali talks were never expected to set firm greenhouse gas emissions targets but the Bali agreement did set a global aim for “deep cuts in global emissions” to avoid dangerous climate change.
The final text distinguished between rich and poor countries, calling on developed nations to consider “quantified” emissions cuts and developing countries to consider “mitigation actions.”
ADAPTATION FUND
The Bali meeting agreed to launch a U.N. fund to help poor nations cope with damage from climate change such as droughts or rising seas. The Adaptation Fund now comprises only about $36 million but might rise to $1 billion-$5 billion a year by 2030 if investments in green technology in developing nations surges.
The accord, enabling the fund to start in 2008, broke deadlock on management by splitting responsibility between the Global Environment Facility, which funds clean energy projects, and the World Bank. The fund would have a 16-member board with strong representation from developing nations.
PRESERVING TROPICAL FORESTS
A pay-and-preserve scheme known as reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries (REDD) aims to allow poorer nations from 2013 to sell carbon offsets to rich countries in return for not burning their tropical forests.
The nearly 200 nations recognized the urgent need to take further action to cut carbon and methane emissions from tropical forests. The draft decision encourages parties to undertake pilot projects to address the main causes of deforestation.
CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE
The meeting postponed any consideration of a plan to fund an untested technology that captures and buries the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, emitted from power plants that burn fossil fuels. Some countries want capture and storage to qualify for carbon offsets for slowing global warming. (Writing by Alister Doyle, Gerard Wynn, Emma Graham-Harrison, David Fogarty and Paul Grant; Editing by Xavier Briand)
Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/
January 31st, 2008
Anne Lin, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The celebrated classical Indian dancer Meera Das was invited to perform the Odissi dance as part of commemorations marking the 59th Republic Day of India.
Das expressed her gratitude to the Indian Embassy for the invitation saying it was a great pleasure to be invited to perform abroad, her second professional performance here.
Over 800 distinguished guests were at the extravagant reception on Saturday, held at Taman Mini Indonesia to mark the founding of the Republic of India, 59 years ago on Jan. 26.
In an opening address India’s ambassador to Indonesia, Navrekha Sharma, said Indonesian-Indian relations were at a high point.
“We made great progress… I hope for more (progress in) trade and tourism and hope to see the surging middle classes of Indonesia and India be responsible for great dynamism.”
As her five-year posting draws to an end, Sharma said she felt sad to be leaving, describing her time in Indonesia as “a love affair”.
Members of the Gunjan Dance Academy performed a dance composition choreographed by Meera Das, with accompaniment composed by Sumanta Mohanty and Sri Satchidananda Das.
The dance troupe presented three performances. The Mangalacharan and Batu dances showcased the Tribhangi and Chouka postures of the Odissi style. The Pallavi demonstrated a delicate balance of footwork and hand Mudras.
Meanwhile, the storyline of the Ahalya performance spoke of a special relationship between India and Indonesia.
Trained by renowned Guru Padmabibhusah Kelucharah Mohapatra, Das has been dancing for 22 years.
Das credited her father with inspiring her love of dance and said she is grateful for the encouragement and assistance of her family in her chosen career.
“My day to day affairs are (occupied) by dance. I don’t want to be involved with anything but dancing and singing. My husband supports me, and so does my 12-year-old son. Sometimes it is difficult to manage (but) they know it’s my life.”
Das is particularly devoted to two styles of dance — the experimental abhinay and the pure dance nrutta.
The abhinay employs spoken word, the dancer depicting the emotions of the characters in the story; in nrutta, only body movements with feet and hand gestures are employed.
Das established the Gunjan Dance Academy, which specializes in the Odissi style, in 1995. Located in Cuttack, the academy has 65 students. The artist’s daily activities include workshops, dance performances and visits to temples.
She also has a very busy touring schedule, visiting 27 countries last year to perform the Odissi.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 30th, 2008
Culture belongs to everyone and arguments between Indonesia and Malaysia over the ownership of traditional songs and folklore should be avoided, the head of a heritage society said on the weekend.
A recent dispute between the two countries over ownership rights to a traditional song was unnecessary because “culture is for sharing”, Endo Suanda, the director of the Indonesian Heritage Trust (BPPI), told a gathering in Jakarta on Saturday.
“If Malaysia believes Rasa Sayange originally came from there, let it be. We don’t need to overreact as if we won’t be able to enjoy the song anymore,” said Endo, who is also the Archipelagic Art Academy director.
Rasa Sayange became the center of a heated debate in Indonesia last year when the House of Representatives protested against Malaysia’s use of the song in its “Truly Asia” tourism campaign.
Tensions escalated in Indonesia when rumors circulated that Malaysia had also patented traditional Indonesian handicrafts, including batik and wayang puppets.
National Mandate Party (PAN) legislator Hakam Naja said Indonesia should sue the Malaysian government if it could be proven that the song originated in Indonesia.
While it is believed Rasa Sayange originated in Maluku, where people are believed to have sung it for generations to express their love for the environment, there is no proof as to who wrote the song.
The Malaysian government said Kuala Lumpur had never claimed ownership over the song and promised to drop two Indonesian traditional dances that were also featured in its tourism campaign.
“Culture does not belong to one specific nation. It is yours and ours and it belongs to everyone else too,” said Endo.
“Why should we argue about this while everyone is still allowed to enjoy it?”
Endo said he was concerned people had classified culture into certain categories and said no one specific culture was better than another.
“We should not underestimate mixed cultures, which are created as a response to multicultural living, by saying that original cultures are better,” he said.
As an example he cited Gambang Kromong music from Tangerang, which is a combination of several cultures, including Betawi, Melayu and Chinese.
Also present at Saturday’s event was Hashim Djojohadikusumo, a businessman and art collector who will facilitate the return of the thousand-year-old “Minto” Stone to Indonesia from Scotland by the end of this year.
At the forum, the son of former New Order economist Soemitro Djojohadikusumo called on Indonesian businesspeople to contribute to culture-related philanthropic activities, saying it would help preserve the country’s heritage.
“I am concerned that culture-related donations are usually donated by foreigners. Local businesses should be able to take part in this. Contributing our money is not a hard thing to do if we love art.”
Also speaking at the gathering, academic Laretna T. Adishakti said philanthropists had contributed a lot to her efforts to revitalize a silver handicraft area devastated by Yogyakarta’s earthquake in 2005.
“We haven’t received help from the government except for the renovation of mosques in Kota Gede,” said the lecturer from Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
She said the revitalization of Kota Gede would take 20 years and would involve a large amount of funds.
“We have received Rp 1 billion (approximately US$106 million) so far,” she said. (lln)
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 29th, 2008
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia’s Yohannes Christian John retained his WBA featherweight title by stopping Roinet Caballero of Panama in the seventh round on Saturday.
The 28-year-old John (40-0-1) was making his ninth title defense since winning the belt in 2003.
«Hopefully I can defend it one more time to become a super champion,» John said.
American referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight after Caballero’s trainer threw in the towel before the eighth round.
The scheduled 12-rounder was the first fight outside Panama for Caballero (22-8-1).
Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/
January 28th, 2008
The 2008 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) has received a strong contingency from buyers in Asia this year.
Held in Bangkok from 18-26 January, ATF 2008 attracted more than 650 hosted and non-hosted buyers – a majority of which are from countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. European, American and Australian buyers also made a strong showing at the event this year.
Although the event’s profile of sellers was dominated by those from Thailand, sellers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR and various multinational corporate organisations also exhibited.
“This selection of buyers reflects the rapid growth taking place in intra-regional travel — one of the most important trends taking place today,” said Phornsiri Manoharn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
According to the minister, Asia-Pacific governments will continue to push for regional, social and economic integration by boosting transportation infrastructure and supporting the growth of low-cost airlines. This will undoubtedly fuel the growth of the region.
“This year’s ATF is very significant because ASEAN has just commemorated the 40th anniversary of its establishment. Also, in November 2007, the ASEAN leaders signed a new charter reiterating their commitment to community-building in ASEAN and uniting in making the organisation more people-oriented,” Phornsiri added.
“In the tourism sector, we will be looking for ways to implement this vision. We look forward to welcoming our friends and supporters from throughout the ASEAN region and beyond at the ATF 2008.”
ATF takes place annually and unites the public and private sectors of ASEAN’s ten member countries. These countries have a combined population of 567.5 million people and a total gross domestic product of over US$1 trillion. In 2006, ASEAN received an estimated 56 million visitors – almost half of which was consisted of travel to other ASEAN nations.
For more information, please visit www.atf2008thailand.com.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/
January 28th, 2008
PETALING JAYA: Landmarks Bhd, which is developing the 835.56-acre Treasure Bay on Indonesia’s Bintan Island, has signed an agreement with PT Wisata Hiburia to designate the land owned by the former as an international Exclusive Integrated Tourism Zone (EITZ).
Landmarks said in an announcement yesterday that the land would be zoned for medical tourism, gaming and information technology hosting and would comprise an integrated resort, commercial and residential properties.
It said the zoning and collaboration with PT Wisata Hiburia would greatly enhance the development potential of Treasure Bay as a leading tourism destination in the region. Landmarks added that the zoning fee payable to PT Wisata Hiburia would be based on 10% of the net profit on the sale of the proposed integrated resort development.
Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/
January 25th, 2008
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The growth of Indonesia`s exports to Japan may slightly slow down in 2008 in view of the economic recession in the United States.
The growth of Indonesian exports to the United States had been predicted to decline substantially as the result of economic recession there. Let us hope that the decline in Indonesia`s exports to Japan is not as high as to the United States, Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said after officially opening the Indonesia-Japan Expo 2008 in Jakarta on Thursday.
Last year`s growth of Indonesia`s exports to the US declined by 5 percent while the current trend reached 10 percent.
She said that the growth trend of Indonesia-Japan trade in the last four years reached 14.8 percent. In 2007, the growth increased to 19 percent, higher than the previous trend.
Indonesia`s non-oil/gas exports to Japan had been increasing by 20 percent, which is higher than the 2002-2006 trend of only 17.6 percent.
Indonesia`s exports to Japan in the January-September 2007 period reached 17.5 billion US dollars, including 7.3 billion US dollars contributed by the non-oil/gas exports.
“This year, the performance is still good, but the growth rate may decline,” she said.
Nevertheless, she said she had taken some anticipative measures by stepping up promotion and product diversification, especially in the manufacturing and fishery sectors. She also hoped the implementation of the partnership Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Indonesia and Japan would increase Indonesia`s export performance this year.
Increase in Indonesia`s exports to Japan is closely related to Japan`s increased investment, she said.
Regarding the EPA, the trade minister said the ratification process in Indonesia is almost completed, while ratification in Japan would be started in March and April, apparently in view of the change of government in that country by the end of 2007. But she hoped the EPA could be implemented before the end of 2008. The EPA also covers a technical assistance to improve the standard of Indonesia`s export products as Japan has a high standard for its food and farm produce imports.
“We have started establishing cooperation under the EPA scheme to improve our product standards to meet the standards for exports to Japan. But it appears this cannot be realized this year. May be next year,” she added.(*)
Source: ANTARA News
January 25th, 2008
Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Artists are sometimes associated with indifference and knowing only one thing — creating artwork — but that isn’t the case with Balinese master painter and multimedia artist, Made Wianta.
He realized from the very beginning that creating a record of his artwork was integral to his continued development as an artist. Today he might be the only artist in Indonesia who has a nearly complete documentation of his works, which are kept in his gallery in Denpasar and in his hometown of Apuan, Tabanan.
Dressed in a worn-out white t-shirt and pink pants, the 58-year-old artist talked to The Jakarta Post in his beautiful house in Tanjungbungkak, Denpasar, on Saturday.
“There are around 30,000 of my drawings kept in my hometown and some thousands of others here (at home),” he said.
For the works that have been sold to collectors, the records generally consist of photographs taken from several angles and accompanied by two- to three-page-long written descriptions.
The descriptions cover the business aspects of price, date of purchase and details of the buyer, the physical aspects like size and aesthetic aspects of the works.
The records are stored inside a room with a tall ceiling and a humidity controller that runs around the clock. Needless to say, it is also equipped with a state-of-the-art security system.
Wianta said he had documented almost all his works since 1967.
“But actually I’ve been used to writing and recording every single moment of my life on paper since I was a child.”
He said the constant recording turned into a habit, especially when he knew he had an adventurous spirit.
“I’ve had a nomadic life,” he said.
“I’ve lived in Belgium, Yogyakarta, Switzerland, Japan and many others, so the documentation is very important as a record of my life journey.”
He said he became more aware of the importance of documentation when he studied in Brussels, Belgium, in 1974.
“I realized at that time that for an artist like me the learning process never ends, and therefore we need records to be able to see whether the quality of our works improves or not over the years,” he said
He said artists did not have teachers.
“They (artists) are the teachers for themselves, so it all depends on them whether they want to improve or not. And the documentation is a powerful tool in aiding us in improving ourselves because (it) provides us with more than just an inspiration; it provides us with perspectives and an opportunity for self-reflection.”
He considered his documentation his recorded learning process.
“Art is similar to love. The most important thing in art and love is the process.”
He said his documentation not only consisted of his abstract paintings but also poetry and sketches.
“When Afrizal (Malna, his editor) saw my poetry, he thought they were interesting and published them in a book, even though I have never thought of myself as a poet,” he said.
So far, Wianta has published four poetry anthologies.
“When I decided to be a professional artist, I realized that the documentation I’d made so far was really helpful in my profession,” said the artist, who focuses on abstract paintings.
He said he could file his work neatly because he was supported by a strong team behind him.
Besides painting and writing poetry, he has also created installation and performance art. His “Art and Peace” in 1999 received positive reviews from the critics, and “Dream Land” was shown at the prestigious 2002 Venice Biennale.
“I have been invited to conduct a performance in the Netherlands in February and an exhibition in Guam in March,” he said.
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 24th, 2008
Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Tourism Agency has promised to support annual art and music festivals to lure more domestic and international tourists to the city as part of the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 program.
“We have been supporting the promotion of several annual events held in Jakarta, like the Indonesian Open and the Java Jazz Festival,” said the agency’s head, Yusuf Effendi Pohan, during a regional conference of the Jakarta chapter of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA DKI Jakarta) on Monday.
Yusuf said the administration usually supported the annual events by streamlining permit and promotion procedures as well as providing security personnel.
The agency wants to increase foreign tourist numbers by 12 percent this year from last year’s 1.2 million foreign visitor arrivals and would like to see a 15 percent increase in domestic tourists on last year’s 13 million domestic visitors.
The city administration has been promoting the Enjoy Jakarta program, which promotes the city as destination for meetings, conferences and exhibitions for the past three years.
Newly elected ASITA chairwoman for Jakarta Herna Pruistina Danuningrat said as a metropolis with a high level of human resources, the administration had to be more creative in marketing the capital as a tourist destination.
She said that the administration should shift the focus of its existing tourist attractions from venue-based opportunities like visiting museums, malls or amusement parks to local activities.
“The city has a lot of upsides that media could help sell, such as the festivals ,” said Herna.
However, ASITA chairman Ben Sukma, who also attended the conference, said he doubted that festival-based tourism could be successful during the year’s national tourism campaign.
He said aside from being a monotonous tourism destination, various glitches hampered tourism services in the city.
He said one problem was that ASITA did not have any tour packages that included the city’s festivals.
“The organizers of these events already have their own experts,” said Ben.
He added that the central government was yet to offer anything special to tourists in the Visit Indonesia Year program.
“Not even cleaner toilets at the city’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.”
He said government officials had spent too much money on promotion and too little on improving existing services for tourists.(anw)
Source: The Jakarta Post
January 23rd, 2008
By Ahmad Pathoni
BANDUNG, Indonesia – Indonesia has not yet made enough progress improving air safety for the European Union to lift a ban on the Southeast Asian nation’s airlines, the EU’s air safety chief said on Monday.A string of deadly disasters involving Indonesian airlines in recent years has raised questions about safety standards and led to the European ban last June on all 51 of the country’s airlines, including national carrier Garuda Indonesia.
‘Indeed we were glad to note that progress has taken place, but unfortunately it was not sufficient yet,’ Roberto Salvarani told a conference in Bandung on aviation safety organised by the European Commission and the Indonesian transport ministry.
He was referring to the results of a review made by EU officials who visited Jakarta in November.
No Indonesian airlines currently fly to EU member states, but some plan to and the ban is also a threat to the local tourism sector since it obliges tourist agencies to warn customers that Indonesian airlines are unsafe if they sell package tours that use such carriers.
Indonesian Transport Minister Jusman Syafi’i Djamal conceded that some airlines had put profit before safety, describing a series of accidents as ‘a wake up call to the Indonesian people’.
But he rejected suggestions that his country was in denial over problems in the aviation sector and denied Indonesia was involved in ‘political drumbeating’ to overturn the ban.
‘Indonesia is not the barbarian at the gate. We do not want to kill our people. Accidents can happen even under a good regulator, good operators and good airplanes,’ he said.
He later told reporters that the government was proposing to the European Union to lift the ban on four of the 51 Indonesian airlines on the blacklist in the first phase.
These airlines were Garuda, privately-run Mandala Airlines and two charter companies, he said.
Garuda, which stopped flying to Amsterdam in 2004 because the route was not profitable, wants to fly to Europe again to benefit from a recovery in tourism.
Salvarani said the EU ban on Indonesian airlines could be lifted ‘when all the implementing measures that are still pending would be successfully completed and evidence of that fulfilment would be made available to Europe’.
The European Union would not cave in to any political or diplomatic pressure, he said.
In March last year, a Garuda aircraft crashed at Yogyakarta airport in Java, killing 21 people. A transport safety committee report said the pilot of the plane ignored 15 warnings as he descended too rapidly.
That crash came after a plane belonging to budget carrier Adam Air crashed into the sea off Sulawesi island in January. All 102 on board are presumed dead.
Air travel in Indonesia has blossomed since the liberalisation of the sector in 1999, but the rapid growth has raised questions over whether safety has been compromised.
(Editing by Ed Davies)
Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/
January 22nd, 2008
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