Progress against the Warsaw Framework
Progress has been steady against implementation of UNFCCC decision 10/ CP.19, with the support of the UN-REDD Programme. Technical assistance was provided through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF) and the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) in developing Indonesia’s Low-Carbon Development and Green Economy, its next 2019–2024 medium-term plan. Institutional arrangements for the Cluster Approach for Integrated Fire Management were established to mitigate forest/peat fires. The national FRL is being better incorporated into subnational planning and implementation. Technical assistance was provided to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the MOEF during the development of Palm Oil Moratorium #8/2018, which is seen as a breakthrough response to deforestation while encouraging the private sector and ministries to focus on improving the productivity of existing plantations through replanting schemes with certified seeds. To address climate change, Indonesia has been accelerating efforts towards peatland management and restoration and inspiring other countries to engage in multilateral and South-South cooperation through the Global Peatlands Initiative. Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Peru are working together with the support of partners, including UN-REDD, to establish the International Tropical Peatland Center (ITPC) in Indonesia.
NFMS
Indonesia made significant progress in increasing transparency with the first State of Indonesia’s Forests report, which reveals new data with promising signs of reduced deforestation and fires in the past two years. The report, published in July 2018, was led by the Government with support from UN-REDD and Norway.
SIS
Due to limited human resources in 2018, both in the national and subnational government, technical assistance is ongoing to help MOEF continue to improve its SIS in 2019.
REDD+ Implementation
The UN-REDD Programme’s engagement with the Government has contributed to improving actions and transparency in forest and peatland monitoring and reporting, which contribute to REDD+. High-level political will from the President and the Minister of Environment and Forestry has been the driving force behind significant efforts to reduce the country’s high deforestation rate.
UN-REDD played a catalytic role beyond formal workplan activities and on forests through public forums on deforestation and climate change. In addition, the programme is supporting work on forests and peatlands linked to the Global Peatlands Initiative. The UN Environment-led initiative has prompted national actions and has endeavoured to highlight lessons learned from Indonesia while facilitating South-South knowledge exchange and collaboration between Indonesia, the Republic of the Congo, DRC and Peru. Based on its work with UN-REDD and partners, Indonesia has led on many outreach activities and has shared best practice through the Global Peatlands Initiative. It also submitted a draft resolution to the UN Environment Assembly on tackling climate change through international cooperation on sustainable peatland management. The draft resolution was negotiated in early 2019 and scaled up to highlight the importance of the conservation and sustainable management of peatlands – it was subsequently adopted, with Indonesia leading negotiations.
UN-REDD funds have served as a catalyst for generating additional resources, helping Indonesia design new projects on peatlands monitoring, an initiative on the Cluster Approach for Integrated Fire Management and a project on livelihoods and natural capital sustained to accelerate peat restoration. These projects will improve livelihoods and help to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Following the appointment of the Directorate General of Climate Change in July 2018, discussions were held to confirm the priorities and delivery of UN-REDD technical assistance, including the investment plan, a business plan, participation in the forthcoming CORSIA as an offset supplier and support on legal issues for the upcoming Environment Fund/BLU funding mechanism. The Government prioritized a demonstration project, where UN-REDD will provide quality assurance in terms of monitoring and evaluation, sharing lessons from other countries and enabling the Government to demonstrate to donor countries that the BLU would have the necessary operating standards.
Challenges and Solutions
Staff rotation and institutional changes in the Government have affected delivery of the 2018 activities. Notably, the challenge of coordinating across many different parts of the Ministry, one of the contributions of the Directorate General of Climate Change. As this post was vacant from February to July 2018, coordination required broad consultations with senior staff to avoid becoming too dependent on individuals. The new Directorate General of Climate Change has effectively been in office since October 2018 and UN-REDD is increasingly engaging with all relevant director generals on sustainable peat management, as well as maintaining close communications on their MRV technical needs and support for establishing the BLU/Environment Fund.
The Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) is planned to close by 2020. As such, an exit/handover strategy will need to be developed to ensure that investment in peatland restoration activities continues.
Gender and Social Inclusion
The UN-REDD Programme is a catalyst for increasing women’s participation in activities. For example, there is a minimum requirement of 30 per cent women’s participation in Fire Risk Systems trainings for district and provincial government staff and in community-based fire brigade training. Women’s participation is also actively sought among cluster management members, staff on NFMS training and exchange visits. Participation of local communities and indigenous groups has been highlighted and strongly recommended to be replicated, as was the case during the formulation of Fire Clusters at the subnational level, and during the formulation of the MOEF publication on sustainable peatland management.
Partnerships
Close collaboration between UN-REDD agencies globally and in Indonesia helped to establish the International Tropical Peatland Center (ITPC) and other peat-related collaborative work supporting Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency. Through this effective collaboration, the Government has leveraged UN-REDD’s technical assistance.
Linkages to SDGs
Significant progress was made towards the SDGs, including SDG 13 (Climate action), with the launch of the first State of Indonesia’s Forests report, which outlines a “new paradigm” of forest governance that links to nine of the SDGs.