Indonesian Environment Minister Balthazar Kambuaya said on Monday the performance of the national economy is measured not only by growth but also a healthier environment and better social advancement.
Even though Indonesia has enjoyed economic growth in the last two decades, the economic advancement has also put pressures on the country’s resources and environment, the minister said at the Sixth International Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference in the famous tourist resort of Bali, which runs through Friday.
The forum, co-organized with the World Agroforestry Center and Wagenigen, the Netherlands-based Ecosystem Services Partnership, will discuss, share experiences and valuable inputs and determine the expectations in the future to rehabilitate the environment that has started to get vulnerable at the time being.
“The theme of the conference describes the need to recognize and understand the ecosystem services before being valued and counted,” the minister said.
The value of ecosystem services should be verified before it is submitted in national accounting scheme for environment accounting, and efforts should be made to improve the awareness of the real contribution of ecosystem services to national development,” he added.
According to the minister, Indonesia is facing problems in the implementation of the ecosystem services scheme in its fiscal policy, resources and legal, institutional and business aspect.
“We have been taking efforts to address those challenges, engaging all means possible. Among others is developing the protocol for the implementation of ecosystem services payment system,” the minister said.
Realizing those challenges, Indonesia has put environment preservation in its development pillars along with poverty eradication and job creation.
The ecosystem services payment is a market-based instrument, intended for environment conservancy. The scheme allows environment services providers to receive payment based on their capability in complying with the demand, or conducting activities that produce such a services.