Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni reaffirmed the government’s commitment to realizing sustainable development that prioritizes communities while preserving nature. One concrete step is the management of customary forests by Indigenous Peoples (Masyarakat Hukum Adat/MHA).
“As part of President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita, the government is committed to building the people’s economy while creating jobs in harmony with the environment, forests, and culture. One way is through the Social Forestry scheme,” said Raja Juli Antoni during the Closing Ceremony of the TERRA for Customary Forest Project (TERRA-CF) in Jakarta, Monday (September 29, 2025).
Launched in 2023, the TERRA-CF project has distributed more than IDR 14.8 billion to 107 Indigenous communities in 15 provinces. Supported by a grant from the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), the program has successfully strengthened the capacity of Indigenous Peoples to manage their customary forests independently and sustainably.
President Director of BPDLH, Joko Tri Haryanto, emphasized that the project’s success came from multi-stakeholder collaboration. “Transparent funding has empowered Indigenous Peoples to protect forests while improving their welfare. This project is not only about funding, but also about building trust so that Indigenous communities become the main actors in forest governance,” he stated.
The success of TERRA-CF was also supported by the Ministry of Forestry, the Directorate General of Social Forestry, and technical units at both central and regional levels. To date, customary forests designated by the government have reached 334,092 hectares through 161 decrees, spread across 19 provinces and 42 districts. This year, Raja Juli Antoni targets an additional 70,000 hectares of customary forest designation.
To speed up the process, the Ministry of Forestry has established a Customary Forest Task Force since March 2025. “I ask that territorial conflicts that are difficult to resolve be grouped into clusters so they can be settled gradually. The hope is that these small victories will strengthen our optimism and demonstrate Indonesia’s commitment to the world,” he explained.
Furthermore, Raja Juli Antoni stressed the important role of Indigenous communities in protecting forests. “I believe Indigenous Peoples are the best guardians of the forest. Their involvement ensures the forests remain sustainable,” he asserted.
According to Raja Juli, TERRA-CF is a concrete example of inspiring multi-stakeholder collaboration that deserves to be replicated. The project involves the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Finance through BPDLH, CLUA, and 18 civil society organizations. (*)
