The wRap Indonesia: Nov. 28, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia – President Joko Widodo’s pledge to protect Indonesia’s peatlands and the latest major aircraft purchase by the Lion Group lead our wrap of top stories from Indonesia the past day.  

1. Jokowi vows to protect Indonesia’s peatlands

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Thursday, November 27, joined a local community in damming a canal to stop the drainage of a peat forest in Riau province. “This canal dam, initiated by the community, is very good, and must be made permanent,” he said. The activity was part of his visit to a forest fire-affected community in the coastal province in Sumatra. According to Greenpeace, the drainage of peat forest lays the foundation for forest fires that can burn for days or even months. “Peatlands can’t be underestimated, they must be protected because they constitute a special ecosystem, and it’s not only deep peat that must be protected, but all peat areas,” Jokowi said, according to a release sent by Greenpeace. 

2. Lion Air buying another $1 billion worth of planes from ATR

Lion Air is now European planemaker ATR’s biggest client. On Thursday, the fast-growing Indonesian airline signed a deal to purchase another 40 ATR 72-600 propeller-driven planes worth nearly $1 billion based on catalogue prices, on top of the 60 it has already ordered. “This deal is very important for us,” Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said after the deal was signed and said it would help the revival of Italian industry. In 2012, Lion Air also set a record for Boeing when it signed a 230-aircraft order worth $22.4 billion at list prices. A year later, it signed a $24 billion deal for 234 single-aisle passenger planes from Airbus. Read the full story on Rappler.

3. Injuries ail Indonesia ahead of AFF Suzuki cup game vs Laos

Indonesia desperately needs to win its match again Laos at 7pm on Friday, November 28, both for pride and for a chance to move on in the AFF Suzuki Cup. It is still mathematically possible for Indonesia to be the second team from Group A to enter the semi-finals, as long as the Philippines also beats Vietnam in their match. But while Laos sits at the bottom of the group rankings with 0 points, coach Alfred Riedl’s team is ailing with striker Sergio Van Dijk and midfielder Imanuel Wanggai out due to injuries. Read the full story on the AFF Suzuki Cup website. 

4. Indonesian cloud farming website wins $10,000 at StartupAsia Jakarta

A tech startup that wants to give Indonesia’s urban dwellers the opportunity to become “farmers” won at the Startup Asia Jakarta 2014’s Startup Arena battle on Thursday, bringing home $10,000. The innovative website iGrow lets people “sponsor” the planting of crops, or basically invest in a farm. Come harvest time, iGrow will help the users turn the yields into cash. That, of course, will depend on the plant you invest in, as some can take only 6 months to yield while others, like durian trees, need 5 years to bear fruit. And as with all investments, there’s no guarantee your plants will be fruitful.  

5. Communications minister says he’s making good progress with Vimeo

Communications and Information Technolocy Minister Rudiantara on Thursday said he was making good progress in discussions to lift the ban on video-sharing site Vimeo. Speaking at the Startup Asia Jakarta conference, he said he personally called Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor to discuss the ban that has been in place since May. “We have good progress with Vimeo, and we are now discussing the technical aspects of not allowing Indonesians to access ‘pornographic’ materials on the site,” he said. Though Vimeo says they don’t allow pornography either, in Indonesia artistic nudity can run afoul of its anti-pornography law. – Rappler.com