Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry has reaffirmed that the implementation of REDD+ programs and results-based financing in the forestry sector must go hand in hand with the protection of community rights, information transparency, and the application of social and environmental safeguards.
One of the programs currently being implemented is the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility–Carbon Fund (FCPF-CF) in East Kalimantan. The program operates as a results-based payment scheme for emission reductions achieved at the jurisdictional level. Indonesia has received USD 110 million in payments for 22 million tons of CO2e in verified emission reductions under the program.
The benefits of the program are distributed to various beneficiaries under the Benefit Sharing Plan (BSP), including local governments, village governments, community groups, and Indigenous Peoples.
The government continues to evaluate the benefit-sharing mechanism to make it more inclusive, transparent, and accessible to communities at the local level. The evaluation also covers the implementation of PADIATAPA, or Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
For the government, FPIC is not merely an administrative requirement. It is intended to ensure that communities receive adequate information, have the opportunity to freely express their views and concerns, and are able to determine whether and how they wish to participate in the program.
Lessons learned from the program’s implementation have contributed to ongoing improvements. The government and relevant stakeholders have conducted public consultations to refine the BSP. The improvements include expanding access for Indigenous Peoples to become beneficiaries, strengthening assistance and safeguards at the local level, simplifying access to program benefits, and clarifying mechanisms for communities that choose not to participate.
The Ministry of Forestry emphasized that communities’ decisions to participate in or decline the program must be respected. Community objections, feedback, and complaints are also considered important elements of program oversight. A grievance mechanism is available to ensure that complaints can be followed up and resolved according to the relevant levels of authority.
The FCPF-CF program involves the central government, the East Kalimantan Provincial Government, and various stakeholders. The Ministry of Forestry is primarily responsible for technical forestry and REDD+ aspects, including forest governance, emission reductions in the forestry sector, and safeguards within its sectoral authority. Carbon transactions, results-based payment management, and fund distribution are carried out according to the respective mandates of relevant ministries and government institutions.
The Ministry of Forestry stressed that the development of REDD+ and other carbon financing schemes should not focus solely on emission reduction achievements. Program success must also be reflected in transparent governance, meaningful community participation, respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and tangible benefits for communities that have long contributed to protecting forests. (*)
