Deforestation needs to be in next climate pact

By Adhityani Arga

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Cutting emissions from deforestation will be key to curbing climate change and should be agreed upon in December's climate talks in Bali, a leading Indonesian forestry researcher said on Monday.

The conference on the resort island is expected to initiate talks on clinching a new deal by 2009 to fight global warming.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, developed nations can pay poor countries to cut emissions from activities such as the manufacture of refrigerants and fertilizers as well as capturing greenhouse gases from farm waste and rubbish dumps.

But greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, nearly 20 percent of the world's total, are not yet eligible for trade because they were excluded from the Kyoto Protocol's first round, which runs out in 2012.

"It's huge because preserving and conserving the existing pool will then become very attractive," said Daniel Murdiyarso, senior scientist at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

"Whether by means of a market mechanism or not, including deforestation in the new deal is something Indonesia and every developing country should push for."

Murdiyarso, who is often consulted by the government on forestry and climate change issues, said the next climate deal should increase emission cut targets to halt rising temperatures.

"The Kyoto Protocol only targets a 5 percent emission cut. To stabilize levels the cut has to be much more than 5 percent," Murdiyarso said by telephone from his office on the outskirts of Jakarta.