Enviro News Asia, New York – The Government of Indonesia has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening sustainable forest governance by adopting President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita vision as the cornerstone of national forestry policy. This was conveyed by the Director General of Sustainable Forest Management at the Ministry of Forestry, Laksmi Wijayanti, during the general discussion session of the 20th United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday (May 6, 2025), as stated in the official release from the Ministry.
In her second intervention delivered during a follow-up session, Director General Yanti outlined Indonesia’s voluntary contributions through several national priorities, including the establishment of a task force to accelerate social forestry and customary forest development. To date, Indonesia has recognized approximately 332,500 hectares of customary forests and allocated access to 8.3 million hectares of social forestry to around 11,000 forest farmer groups, benefiting nearly 1.4 million households.
Indonesia’s forest management model, she added, has transformed into a landscape-based approach that integrates economic, social, and ecological benefits. The forestry licensing system has also been simplified through the Forest Utilization Business Licensing (PBPH) scheme, which consolidates various commodities under a single permit.
Director General Yanti also highlighted the importance of the Timber Legality and Sustainability Verification System (SVLK) as a key instrument supporting forest management. “Indonesia has issued more than 2.2 million documents through the SVLK by 2025 to support the sustainable export of wood products,” she stated. Additionally, Indonesia has designated 29.5 million hectares of protected forests and 22.1 million hectares of conservation forests, including 57 national parks.
To address the forestry program funding gap, Indonesia relies on financing from the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH), which recently opened a biodiversity funding window to support biodiversity-based initiatives.
“National forestry planning remains aligned with the new government’s vision. Indonesia continues to strengthen forest governance through new policies, corrective actions, and law enforcement as part of its contribution to the 2030 Agenda,” concluded Director General Yanti.
The 20th UNFF Forum reviewed progress in implementing the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 (UNSPF), which includes six Global Forest Goals. The forum also discussed the progress of national voluntary contributions, sustainable forest management financing mechanisms, and collaboration with key partners within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. (*)
