In late August 2020, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved $103.8 million US in results-based payments (RBPs) for Indonesia’s REDD+ emissions reductions from 2014 to 2016. This achievement demonstrates international recognition of Indonesia’s dedication to respond to the threat of climate change.
According to Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK), Siti Nurbaya, the performance-based payments from Norway and the GCF represent the culmination of a decade of hard work in conserving forests and avoiding deforestation. “However, our efforts cannot stop here,” she said. “This achievement will contribute to low emission development efforts, and as mandated by the President, to community-based environmental restoration.”
To this end, the Government of Indonesia plans to use the REDD+ results-based payments to continue updating, building and strengthening its REDD+ architecture, as well as further strengthening government capacity to coordinate and implement REDD+ nationally. RBP proceeds will also be used to further extend and enhance Indonesia’s Social Forestry Programme and Forest Management Units (FMU), two ambitious and innovative priority programmes that contribute to sustainable forest management and rehabilitation, as well as community empowerment and poverty alleviation.
Indonesia’s Social Forestry Programme will receive $47 million US from the GCF proceeds. The programme aims to alleviate poverty, halt deforestation and end land conflicts by giving local communities the opportunity to manage forests themselves and develop sustainable livelihoods. A further $47 million US will support the continued operationalization of Indonesia’s Forest Management Units to decentralize sustainable forest management across the country. The full operationalization of the FMUs will go hand-in-hand with the expansion of the Social Forestry Programme.
The remaining balance of RBP funds will enhance Indonesia’s REDD+ architecture, including continuous updating and further development the country’s Forest Reference Level, National Forest Monitoring System and MRV capacity, Safeguards Information System and capacity for REDD+ implementation at the national, provincial and local level, as well as project and knowledge management and communications.
The Directorate General of Climate Change Control (Ditjen PPI) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry led the preparation of the REDD+ RBP proposal to the GCF, in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as the Accredited Entity. The Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Agency, as the National Designated Authority of the GCF, conducted a review and provided a No Objection Letter (NOL).
Minister Siti Nurbaya highlighted that the payment will enable the State Budget to better meet the funding needs to mitigate climate change. However, Indonesia still needs more climate change funding to reach its NDC target. “The results of the Climate Budget Tagging show that there is still a gap between the need for national climate change funding and the climate change budget that has been allocated from the State Budget,” she said. The commitment by developed countries to finance climate change and support developing countries at $100 billion US per year needs to be realized immediately.
Indonesia’s achievement represents a significant milestone by an early partner country to the UN-REDD Programme. Indonesia has received National Programme and technical assistance support from the UN-REDD Programme partner agencies since 2010, support that has contributed to Indonesia’s completion of the eligibility requirements for REDD+ RBPs.