Enviro News Asia, Mamuju – Indonesia has received a grant of USD 103.78 million (approximately IDR 1.67 trillion) to support sustainable forest management. This funding comes from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the Result-Based Payments (RBP) Program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The funds will be distributed across all provinces in Indonesia.
In the initial phase, the funds will be disbursed to eight provinces, including West Sulawesi, which will receive IDR 12.6 billion to support sustainable forest management. In connection with this funding, a kick-off workshop for the Result-Based Payment (RBP) Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), was held last week at Hotel Maleo, Mamuju. The event was attended by the Director of Climate Change Mitigation at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Irawan Asaad; Acting Governor of West Sulawesi, Bahtiar Baharuddin; representatives from the 142/Tatag Military Command and the West Sulawesi Regional Police; SCF Chairman, Arham; as well as several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Director of Climate Change Mitigation at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Irawan Asaad, explained that the RBP program was collaboratively designed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the West Sulawesi Provincial Government, and NGOs. “We are assisted by SCF, which will serve as the intermediary for technical implementation in West Sulawesi. This program is implemented nationwide, but in the initial phase, only eight provinces, including West Sulawesi, will receive funding,” said Irawan.
Furthermore, Irawan mentioned that the RBP program funds originate from international NGOs and are channeled through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry before being distributed to the provincial level.
In his remarks, Bahtiar Baharuddin expressed his support for the program as a strategic effort to reduce carbon emissions in West Sulawesi. “I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that while good initiatives have been undertaken, we must also acknowledge past failures in environmental management,” Bahtiar stated.
He pointed out that many previous reforestation programs lacked sustainability because they failed to consider the livelihoods of local communities. This resulted in low community participation in environmental programs.
“As a result, the only active participants in tree planting are the government and NGOs, as there is no economic benefit for the people. That’s why it is crucial to ensure that reforestation programs have economic value,” he added.
Bahtiar provided a concrete example from his tenure as Acting Governor, such as mangrove planting combined with the distribution of fish or crab seedlings. “People will be more enthusiastic because there is an economic incentive. Similarly, in rivers, we provide fish fry, and on barren lands, we distribute seedlings of economically valuable plants like honey jackfruit, nutmeg, and breadfruit,” he explained.
SCF Chairman Arham added that his team is currently preparing for program implementation, including designing a climate change adaptation framework for West Sulawesi. “From policy formulation to system integration, we are also determining the appropriate emission reduction targets for the region,” he concluded.
