Jakarta — Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar led an Indonesian delegation during a meeting with European Union (EU) key elements in Brussels to discuss a wide range of issues including palm oil.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of a meeting of the European Commission Working Group for the Environment and Climate Change, the Environment and Forestry Ministry said in a press statement released on Tuesday.
Siti Nurbaya met with Vice President of the EU Parliament Heidi Hautala, EU Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella and Chief of Indonesia-EU Parliament Friendship Ana Gomes. At the meeting, Siti Nurbaya explained the perspective of the government`s effort to conserve the environment particularly after the European Union Parliament issued a resolution on palm oil.
Heidi Hautala lauded Indonesia`s efforts to improve the management of palm oil particularly with regard to land. “In addition, he also looked at much progress (achieved by Indonesia) in conserving the environment, including managing plastic waste. After all, there are still several things to do, including monitoring independently the Wood Verification and Legalization System (SVLK),” Siti Nurbaya said.
Meanwhile, Karmenu Vella shared Hautala`s view. “He praised the Indonesian government for making a lot of progress,” she said. Both Hautala and Vella lauded cooperation to develop SVLK, the first scheme implemented within the framework of EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT).
