London, indomaritim.id – Europe welcomed Indonesia’s progress in addressing deforestation through a discussion organized by the German Agency for Development (GIZ) and Conservation International (CI) in Brussels.
Secretary of the Second Economic Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Brussels Andi Sparringa, told on Wednesday (27/2/2019) that this dialogue was organized to facilitate open discussions on joint strategies to deal with deforestation and exchange views on best practices on sustainability by various government stakeholders in the European Union, private sector, academics, and non-governmental organizations and Indonesia, as producer countries.
He remarked that the event was specifically held to facilitate the exchange of views on the EU Communication on Action Deforestation and Forest Degradation that will be published by the European Union in mid-2019.
The dialogue was held with Sparringa from the Indonesian Embassy in Brussels, as speaker, with participants including Deputy Chair of ENVI, European Parliament, Benedek J vor; Director, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the European Union, Rodrigo Montoya; and representatives from the European Commission (DG ENVI and DG DEVCO).
Deputy Director General, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Stefan Schmitz; Vice President of Conservation International Herbert Lust; Vice President of Public Affairs Starbucks ley Drage; Deputy Director of GIZ Maike M llers; and Mondelez, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, as chair of the Amsterdam Declaration Group, were also part of the dialogue.
Representing Indonesia, Sparringa highlighted Indonesia’s strong policies and commitments in its efforts to tackling deforestation by encouraging a holistic approach, specifically balancing the strengthening of environmental protection by seeking aspirations for economic and social growth to realize food security and poverty alleviation in Indonesia.
Despite debates on the issue of deforestation, Indonesia and the European Union need to enhance effective partnerships with all relevant stakeholders and are directed towards strengthening programs that bring direct benefits to smallholders.
It is important for all parties to have a “forward looking” approach to support efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Indonesia’s strong partnership with “The European Union” in this sector is reflected, among others, by the FLEGT VPA scheme that needs to be strengthened in future, Sparringa added.