Indonesia Project

New Zealand through the GRA has been supporting inventory improvement and mitigation research in Indonesia since 2012. By the beginning of the CSA Initiative, Indonesia had (1) compiled a Tier 2 GHG inventory for all livestock species (cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, pigs and horse), which was reported to the UNFCCC in the 2018 submission; (2) built capacities and facilities for direct measurement of CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation in 7 locations; and (3) piloted in one district a researcher-driven method for MRV of improved cattle feed interventions. However, national MRV systems have formal procedures and requirements for MRV methods to be officially adopted. These activities were driven by a strong research team based at the Indonesia Centre for Animal Research and Development (ICARD). During formulation of NZCSA activities, the ICARD team moved to a new national science academy (BRIN). A review supported by the NZCSA Initiative indicated a need to improve the policy-relevance of the Tier 2 inventory by sub-dividing cattle populations according to the feeding system (grazing, grazing with supplementation, and confined feeding) so that the inventory could reflect the effects of different interventions targeted to animals in these different systems; to pilot methods for institutionalising MRV in government reporting systems; and to continue strengthening methane measurement capacities.

The objectives of the projects were to:

1. improve the functionality and accuracy of the cattle GHG inventory;

2. strengthen capacities for measurement of enteric fermentation and manure management emissions; and

3. design a system for MRV of mitigation actions to be operated by government agencies.

• GHG inventory improvement: The BRIN research team compiled an initial revised Tier 2 inventory for non-dairy cattle (the main GHG-emitting livestock category) based on three different production systems. This inventory was based on the best available information, which was reviewed by the BRIN research team. Results clearly identified the main cattle sub-categories and parameters that influence inventory uncertainty. The BRIN team concluded that currently available data for many of these categories and parameters is insufficient. This initial revised Tier 2 inventory therefore provides clear direction for further data collection and measurement studies. The BRIN team and the Ministry of Agriculture have already begun to engage in discussions with the World Bank on support for further inventory improvement, as part of preparations for a proposed loan project on low-emission livestock development in Indonesia.

• Measurement capacities: The measurement activities conducted in the NZCSA resulted in updated estimates of methane yield from priority feeding regimes and EFs for manure management. The feed types measured were typical of diets in the three main production systems (i.e., intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive) and manure management practices also differ across these production systems. The measured emission factors confirmed the large variation and differences between production systems, and support GHG inventory improvements. GHG mitigation options were also tested for the intensive system (i.e., seaweed, leguminous forage), semi-intensive system (e.g., concentrate feed) and extensive system (i.e., leguminous forage). It is important that Indonesian government consider anoptimised approach to management of equipment and scientists as administrative changes during NZCSA greatly curtailed the use and value that was obtained from equipment previously supplied by New Zealand.

• MRV system design: Building on the methods used in a previous research-based assessment of mitigation achieved by improved feed in one district, the BRIN team designed a process, set of tools, and institutional arrangements to enable governments at different levels to implement MRV for government-supported and private-sector mitigation actions. This enables government agencies to integrate MRV into their annual emissions and mitigation reporting. A set of MRV guidelines has been produced, and recommendations for training of staff in the relevant agencies and development of digital MRV infrastructure have been developed. These further support needs have also been discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank.

• Strengthened ability to report GHG mitigation achievements in line with national commitments: Indonesia’s NDC has made conditional commitments to reduce GHG emissions from cattle feeding and manure management. It is also strongly interested in accessing Article 6 carbon markets to support low-emission development, and agriculture (including livestock) may be eligible for the evolving domestic carbon market. By restructuring the inventory around the three main feeding systems prevalent in the country, the inventory has improved functionality for tracking the effects of policy measures targeting feed and manure management. Using quantification methods based on the Tier 2 inventory, the MRV system piloted enables governments at each level to report emission reductions using a method consistent with the national inventory. The revised inventory requires better data inputs and the MRV system piloted has yet to be rolled out nationwide, but together they provide a clear direction for Indonesia to be able to report more accurate and policy-relevant GHG emissions and emission reductions from cattle production.

• Improved measurement capabilities: Increasingly, Indonesia will need to verify effective mitigation strategies that have been studied at research centres to date. For example, the project’s assessment of mitigation by Leucaena as a leguminous shrub that mitigates emissions, strengthens the prospects for developing leucaena as a production-enhancing, emission-reducing dry seasons supplement. Indonesia is the ASEAN country with the strongest focus on Leucaena supplementation, and Leucaena is being considered as a means to increase dairy cow numbers without increasing emission from the sector. So BRIN’s NZCSA experience with Leucaena their and equipment to support this industry development are pivotal to the national development of Leucaena feeding. Through Greenfeed Training NZCSA was also able to introduce another research team at an adjacent university (IPB) to the use of Greenfeed that will be required to evaluate and verify on-farm mitigation. So, the NZCSA program has provided an important foundation not only in identification of regionally relevant mitigation options, but in developing technical competencies in the science staff who will be needed in developing these mitigation strategies.