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Indonesia

Indonesia is home to the third largest area of tropical forests in the world after Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its forests contain some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems and provide livelihoods for a third of its population.

There has been good progress in reducing deforestation in Indonesia, with the rate of primary forest loss declining from 2015 to 2018. Yet Indonesia still has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. In 2016 alone, Indonesia lost more than one million hectares of natural forest – a third of the area of Belgium – following a year of major fires in 2015. This makes Indonesia a major greenhouse gas emitter. Significant amounts of deforestation and accompanying emissions are due to illegal conversion to industrial forestry and agriculture, small-scale farming, and human-induced disasters, including wildfires aggravated by climatic conditions.

Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, Indonesia aims to limit annual deforestation to 325 000 hectares between 2020 and 2030. In recent years, Indonesia has strengthened law enforcement to prevent land clearing and forest fire, while working to restore degraded peatlands to reduce fire and emissions. It is the first country to implement a nationwide system for verifying the legality of timber products through a partnership with the European Union (EU). Since 2016, Indonesia has exported only verified legal timber products under its Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). In 2019, Indonesia also made permanent a moratorium banning the clearing of primary forests and peatlands.

EU REDD Facility work in Indonesia

We work with Indonesian partners to raise understanding of how improving land-use governance and addressing illegal forest conversion can help achieve climate change targets, while advancing economic and social development goals.

Our focus is on:

  • Clarifying and strengthening legal frameworks in forest and land-use governance.
  • Enabling sustainable land management and investments that benefit smallholders and indigenous communities.
  • Increasing supply chain transparency and removing deforestation from forest-risk commodities, such as palm oil and timber.
Peat swamp in the Pelalawan District, Riau, Indonesia
Satrio Adi Wicaksono, European Forest Institute

Improving legal frameworks

Backing Indonesia’s efforts to reduce deforestation and achieve its climate objectives, we are identifying and addressing gaps in legal frameworks for conversion of natural forest to other uses, such as agriculture. We are also supporting efforts to strengthen the implementation of these legal frameworks. Further, we support efforts to clarify land tenure and establish regulations so that customary communities can manage forests sustainably.

Sustainable land management

We are supporting sustainable development and improved forest management through integration of customary forestry into Indonesia’s national timber legality assurance system under the EU-Indonesian FLEGT VPA. We have worked to support West Papua’s conservation ambition by developing a system for monitoring sustainability across the province. We have also assessed the feasibility of linking information on licences for mining, plantations and forestry with data on revenues in the Indonesian Government’s licensing information system.

Robertus Pudyanto, European Forest Institute

Transparency in deforestation-free production and trade

With government, civil society and private sector partners, we are designing a system called Terpercaya to track and assess ways for districts to show that agricultural commodities such as palm oil are produced sustainably and in compliance with national regulations. We are also working to include Indonesian palm oil in Trase, an online platform that improves the transparency, clarity and accessibility of information on the commodity supply chains that drive tropical deforestation. Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, and the palm oil sector is a significant driver of deforestation. Through the Terpercaya and Trase initiatives, we hope to enhance collaborative efforts involving Indonesia, the EU, and beyond to reduce the risks of deforestation in palm oil and other value chains.

EU REDD Facility actions in Indonesia

Aerial view of mangrove forests.

Assessing Indonesia’s legal and policy framework on forest conversion and restoration

The EU REDD Facility and Sebijak Institute analysed Indonesia’s legal and policy framework on forest governance, with a focus on forest conversion and restoration. They assessed the extent to which policies and regulations help reduce deforestation, accelerate restoration, and empower indigenous peoples and local communities.
Manuel Boissière, CIRAD and CIFOR

Integrating customary forests in Indonesia’s legality assurance system

The EU REDD Facility is conducting in collaboration with the Indonesian Civil Society Organisation KARSA a study to assess options for legal and sustainable production and trade of timber from customary forests. The focus will be on integration of customary forests into Indonesia’s timber legality assurance system (SVLK). The study will inform subnational multi-stakeholder dialogues and national-level policy process on customary forests and legal timber production.

Legal frameworks’ contribution to forest-related climate change targets in Indonesia

The EU REDD Facility, in collaboration with Inovasi Bumi and Climate Focus, is carrying out a study to determine how clarified and implemented legal frameworks could contribute to reducing deforestation in Indonesia. This reduced deforestation would help the country achieve the forest-related targets in its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Indonesia’s publications

Charcoal, aquaculture and mangroves in Indonesia, Lao PDR and Vietnam: Curbing EU-driven forest emissions

19 June 2018/by EU REDD Facility

Achieving zero-deforestation commitments: Lessons from FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements

20 June 2017/by EU REDD Facility

Developing a jurisdictional monitoring system for sustainable development

28 June 2016/by EU REDD Facility

About the EU REDD Facility

The EU REDD Facility supports countries in improving land-use governance as part of their efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation. It also supports the overall EU effort to reduce its contribution to deforestation in developing countries. The Facility focuses on countries that are engaged in REDD+, an international mechanism that incentivises developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their forest and land-use sectors. The Facility is hosted by the European Forest Institute and was established in 2010.

Disclaimer

This website has been produced with the assistance of the European Union and the Governments Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. The contents of this site are the sole responsibility of the European Forest Institute’s EU REDD Facility and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of funding organisations.