Since May 2009 Hivos, in cooperation with the Directorate General New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (DGNREEC) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) of the Republic of Indonesia, has implemented Indonesia Domestic Biogas Programme (also known as BIRU Programme). IDBP contributes to the improvement of access towards new renewable energy, quality of family’s health and saving the government’s subsidy on kerosene. IDBP aims to build minimal 20,000 unit bio-digesters in minimum 16 provinces across Indonesia until the end of 2016.

Indonesia Domestic Biogas Programme (IDBP) has been registered as a Gold Standard Programme of Activities on 31 May 2013, based on the methodology TPDDTEC for energy projects, with identification IDBP PoA GS1172, VPA1 GS1174. In the biogas PoA bio-slurry use is a positive indicator, as identified in the Local Stakeholder Consultation meeting on 16 February 2012.

Bio-slurry is a second product from the bio-digesters installed by IDBP and used as a fertiliser. It replaces chemical fertiliser and sequesters carbon in the soil. Hivos and Soil & More Intl. (SMI) advocate for the development of a methodology to account for carbon reductions and soil carbon sequestration, which will occur due to an increased use of bio-slurry as a fertilizer in Indonesia and Kenya. At least 80% of the households with a biodigester will use bioslurry on farm plots, either as wet or dried bioslurry or composted with additional organic waste.

The use of bio-slurry is an example of ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’. The concept ‘Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)’ is used in different ways to describe all kinds of practices, interventions and mechanisms that either help farmers mitigate or adapt to Climate Change. For the FAO, CSA ‘contributes to the achievement of sustainable development goals’. It integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) by jointly addressing food security and climate challenges.

Considering the importance of this new dimension of the carbon component of Indonesia Domestic Biogas Programme, and supplementary to the Local Stakeholder Consultation that has been conducted on 16 February 2012, the programme plans to conduct the stakeholder consultation meeting that BIRU will host on Friday, March 20th 2015 at Arion Swiss Belhotel, Jakarta.