Key Indonesian Governor and U.S. States Sign Pact on Forest Plan

The governors of California and two other U.S. states have signed an agreement with the governor of Indonesia’s Aceh province under which the states could invest in preserving an important swath of tropical forest as part of regional U.S. greenhouse gas reduction programs. The memorandum signed by Aceh Gov. Irwandi Yusuf and the governors of California, Illinois, and Wisconsin marks the first time that governors from different countries have agreed to cooperate on a plan that would essentially pay a foreign government not to cut its rainforest. The three U.S. states are involved in launching regional cap-and-trade programs, and under the agreement signed in California the revenues from those programs could be used to invest in so-called REDD programs ”“ “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.” Gov. Yusuf is working with conservation groups and international financial firms to establish funds to safeguard the 2,900-square-mile Ulu Masen reserve. An estimated 70 percent of Indonesia’s virgin tropical forests have been logged or cleared for agriculture.