Enviro News Asia, Tokyo — Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, held a bilateral meeting with Japan’s Minister of the Environment, Ishihara Hirotaka, to strengthen cooperation in forestry, conservation, and climate change mitigation.
The meeting, attended by senior Indonesian forestry officials, forms part of the state visit of Prabowo Subianto to Japan and underscores both countries’ commitment to deepening strategic environmental collaboration.
During the discussion, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment expressed appreciation for Indonesia’s recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shizuoka Prefecture on wildlife protection and conservation, particularly the breeding loan program for Komodo dragons as a sustainable effort to preserve Indonesia’s iconic species.
The Japanese side also acknowledged Indonesia’s visit to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park as part of knowledge exchange on world-class national park management practices.
In addition, Japan invited Indonesia to join the Asia Protected Areas Partnership, a regional network focused on protected areas across Asia involving 17 countries.
In response, Minister Raja Juli Antoni expressed appreciation for Japan’s continued support in Indonesia’s forestry sector and emphasized that the meeting represents a key component of broader bilateral engagement.
He proposed the development of a Sister Park initiative linking Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park with several Indonesian national parks. The initiative aims to strengthen knowledge exchange, human resource capacity building, and governance improvements toward establishing world-class national parks.
In the context of climate action, the Minister also encouraged Japanese private sector participation in carbon investment in Indonesia, particularly through afforestation and reforestation projects, including within national park areas.
This opportunity is supported by Indonesia’s regulatory framework on Carbon Economic Value under Presidential Regulation No. 110 of 2025, which enables a more structured and credible implementation of the Voluntary Carbon Market.
The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of Indonesia and Japan to enhance cooperation in forestry and to promote innovative nature-based solutions in addressing global climate challenges. (*)
