COMMITTEES stands for Community of Interest Community of Interest to Empower Environmental Services for Sustainable Development and Better Quality of Life. Declared on February 15th, 2005 during the National Workshop on Payments for Environmental Services at the National Planning Agency premise in Jakarta, COMMITTEES intends to spearhead the development of rewards or payments of environmental services (ES) in Indonesia.
“Back in 2005, the concept of rewarding the providers of environmental service was relatively new but the interest, especially on its potential as alternative way to conserve our environment, was high,” remembered Beria Leimona, ICRAF researcher, then the RUPES Program Manager. More than 60 representatives of local and national government, non-government organizations, international research institutions and international donor organizations attended workshop.
COMMITTEES, the national level working group on ES, was established with three clear missions: (1) develop commitment, awareness and capacity of environment activist and stakeholder; and (2) consolidate system and network in local, national and global level; and (3) develop models for environment conservation funding, including institution, policy and payment mechanism and environmental service compensation.
With a vision to be a leading organization in developing funding innovation for environment conservation in Indonesia, COMMITTEES intends to facilitate development of innovation for environment conservation funding in Indonesia.
COMMITTEES outlines the following general directions in performing their work:
- Improve the capacity of member organizations and other related institutions in developing funding initiatives and innovations for environmental conservation.
- Strengthen institution, policy, and working mechanism of the organization and develop inter-sectoral cooperation.
- Develop dialogue and equal partnership.
- Identify and evaluate various site specific models in environment conservation funding.
- Disseminate information and advocate policy at local, national and global level to realize environment conservation funding.
COMMITTEES Initiators:
Government Institutions:
1. Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional (BAPPENAS)
2. Departemen Kehutanan (DEPHUT)
3. Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup (KLH)
4. Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB)
5. Universitas Lampung (UNILA)
Non-Government Organizations
1. Asosiasi Pengusaha Hutan Indonesia (APHI)
2. Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia (KEHATI)
3. Lembaga Penelitian, Pendidikan dan Penerangan Ekonomi dan Sosial (LP3ES)
4. Rimbawan Muda Indonesia (RMI Bogor)
5. Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI)
6. Indonesian Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF)
International Research Organizations
1. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) – RUPES Program
2. Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
3. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Indonesia)
International Funding Agencies
1. Ford Foundation
2. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – ESP Project
3. GTZ-SMCP
Secretariat
ICRAF-SEA Bogor, Indonesia
Contact: Irma Nurhayati
Email: i.nurhayati@cgiar.org