Enviro News Asia, New York — The Indonesian delegation, led by the Director General of Sustainable Forest Management of the Ministry of Forestry, Laksmi Wijayanti, attended the 20th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF20) held from May 5–9, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.
This session of UNFF20 was a technical meeting aimed at producing a Chair’s Summary, which will serve as input for the high-level political meeting at the 21st Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF21) scheduled for 2026.
During the general discussion session, Director General Laksmi Wijayanti, as Head of the Indonesian Delegation, stated that under President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita vision, Indonesia’s development agenda prioritizes the acceleration of poverty alleviation, the improvement of human resources, and high, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.
“In line with this vision, Indonesia continues to strengthen forestry policies to address sustainability challenges, including improving forest governance to respond to these challenges,” said Laksmi Wijayanti in her official statement on Saturday (May 24, 2025).
These policies include: sustainable forest management to support food and energy security; transitioning from timber-based forest management to ecosystem- and community-based forest management through multi-forestry enterprises; preventing forest fires and biodiversity loss; enhancing forest and land rehabilitation; and promoting social forestry and recognition of customary forests to integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects.
At the opening of the event, Mr. Ismail Belen of Turkey, as Chair of UNFF20, officially opened and led the session. In his opening remarks, Mr. Belen emphasized the crucial role of forests in addressing global challenges through sustainable forest management, investment in healthy forests, and access to local knowledge and best practices.
Sustainable forest governance has also laid a strong foundation for Indonesia’s FOLU Net Sink 2030 program. This initiative continues to demonstrate that sustainable forest management, supported by results-based payments for emission reductions, can deliver impactful outcomes and contribute to the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030. *
