A US proposal demanding the inclusion of land-use change in the scheme to reduce emission from deforestation in developing countries, known as REDD, could pose a "serious threat" to the ongoing UN climate conference's negotiations on the REDD.

Today's The Jakarta Post quoted Indonesian negotiator Wahjudi Wardojo as saying: "All developing countries reject the US proposal because it seems they want to dictate to us."

"They want forest countries to report land-use changes in orde rto receive incentives from the REDD," said Wahjudi, who heads the research and development department at the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, yesterday. All developing countries have agreed only to focus on forest deforestation, degradation and conservation issues, he said.

Indonesia has insisted that the REDD be recognized as part of the long-term commitment to greenhouse emission cuts, he said during the ongoing two-week UN climate change conference in Bali, a resort island of Indonesia.

The climate conference, which will conclude Friday, is expected to decide, among others, the roadmap for long-term commitment in post-2012 when the first phase implementation of the Kyoto Protocol ends.

Many delegates to the UN Framework on the Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), particularly from developing nations, have demanded industrialized nations commit to deeper cuts of the greenhouse gas emissions between 25 to 40 percent by 2020.

The Kyoto Protocol currently requires the rich nations to reduce emissions by only 5 percent below the 1990 level.

The United States has rejected Kyoto and is opposed to binding targets in reducing emissions. The draft text for a decision on REDD invites the rich countries, particularly of signatories to the UN convention, to mobilize resources to support the scheme.

The REDD proposal was first introduced at the climate change talks in Montreal in 2005 by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rico. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched an initiative to gather the world's forest countries to set up an alliance to promote the REDD at the ongoing climate change talks.

The alliance groups Indonesia, Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Columbia, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Peru. They first met in New York in November to discuss forest issues including the REDD concept.

Indonesia currently has 120 million hectares of forests, the world's third largest forest countries after Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With the carbon price of US$10 per ton, Indonesia is predicted to reap financial incentives of about US$2 million per year from the REDD.