Indicators of Sustainable Palm Oil Biodiesel
Directorate General of New Energy, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of RI in collaboration with the Center for the Surfactant and Bioenergy Studies, Institution of Research and Community Service, Bogor Agricultural University (LPPM-IPB) held a Workshop on Sustainability Indicators Assessment for Palm Biodiesel Oil, Thursday (12/4) at Hotel Salak, Bogor.
"This activity is a follow-up of the cooperation between the Government of Indonesia and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the Pilot Testing of the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) in developing countries, especially Indonesia and Columbia," said the Director of Bioenergy, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ir. Maritje Hutapea. This workshop is intended to discuss further the indicators of palm oil biodiesel sustainability and the methodology of measuring indicators and to get input from various parties regarding the sustainability aspects of Indonesian palm oil biodiesel industry.
GBEP was founded in 2006, consisting of 10 countries and 7 international organizations. It takes actions to support the distribution of biomass and biofuel, particularly in developing countries. "GBEP is set up to promote and disseminate sustainable use of bioenergy in developing countries according to their individual needs. The indicators of bioenergy sustainability consist of three aspects, namely environmental, social and economic, each consisting of eight indicators," said FAO Representative to Indonesia, Dr. Jonathan Reeves. The indicators include the cycle of greenhouse gas emission, soil quality, timber harvest level, greenhouse gas emissions of non-air pollution, water use, water quality, biodiversity, income changes, employment in the bioenergy sector, the number of households and businesses that use bioenergy, gross added value resulting from the use of bioenergy, the balanced energy use in producing biofuels and so on.
GBEP program is not intended to assess the good and bad conditions of the Indonesian palm oil biodiesel industry, but to determine the positive and negative impacts of the palm oil industry from various aspects in addition to developing communities among government, universities, companies, and NGOs who are aware of indicators of bioenergy sustainability.
Initially, GBEP program in Indonesia will be based on commodity approach. "As for biodiesel, a survey will be conducted in Riau and North Sumatra, a survey of bioethanol in Malang and Lampung, and a survey of biomass in Riau, North Sumatra and Jakarta," said Head of Surfactant and Bioenergy Studies, LPPM IPB, Prof. Erliza Hambali. (Mtd)
