Key policies and governance approach

Indonesia, as a party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), has developed its National Action Programme (NAP) for Combating Land Degradation, which was signed in 2002. The NAP focuses on actions and the consolidation of projects and activities identified, to achieve an integrated solution for combatting land degradation in Indonesia. In line with the scope of the convention, the programmes are directed at solving land degradation, developing strategies for drought mitigation and relief, and encouraging partnerships with local communities to combat land degradation in the driest provinces in Indonesia, namely East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, and Central Sulawesi. In addition, Indonesia has also adopted its Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) National Voluntary Target and Strategy. Related to achieving LDN, degraded land in Indonesia could be reduced by 27.5 million ha by 2040. This means that LDN could be achieved in Indonesia by 2040, with the assumption that there is no additional degraded land (or less than 3.2 million ha during 2015- 2040) [2].

National efforts to halt deforestation and peatland degradation were bolstered in 2011, when the government announced a moratorium on the clearing of primary forest and the conversion of peatlands [5]. This moratorium was extended three times and then made permanent through a presidential instruction in 2019 [6]. In the wake of widespread peatland fires in 2015, the Government established the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) with the responsibility for coordinating and facilitating the implementation of peatland restoration on a minimum of 2 million hectares of degraded peatlands by 2020 [5], [8]. The implementation of peatlands restoration has been deployed using the 3R concept, which means rewetting, revegetating, and revitalizing the community’s economy and livelihood (around peatlands) [8].

Additionally, through Indonesia’s Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 (LTS-LCCR), the Government envisages achieving the Forestry and Other Land Use Net Carbon Sink by 2030, referred to as FOLU Net Sink 2030. The National Strategy for FOLU Net Sink 2030 employs four main strategies, namely: (1) Avoiding deforestation: curbing on deforestation rates in order to achieve the FOLU Net Sink 2030 which limits planned deforestation up to 6.8 million hectares by 2030; (2) Conservation and sustainable forest management: reducing forest degradation driven by excessive logging and production forest encroachment, and extending protected forest area in both production forests and other use areas (APL); (3) Protection and restoration of peatlands; emissions from peatlands account for 50% of total emissions in the AFOLU sector, which mostly come from peatland fires and dry peatland decomposition; and (4) Sink enhancement: accelerating afforestation and reforestation of severely degraded land outside and inside forest areas as well as urban revegetation [6].

Other important policies include the country’s main agricultural policies that are framed by the 2012 Food Law, which establishes the objectives of food sovereignty and self-reliance. In practice, these objectives have led to programmes aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in several staple products (rice, maize, soybeans, sugar and beef). Consequently, the most important component of agricultural support in Indonesia is market price support to producers, including some negative support to palm oil. There is also a food assistance programme (BPNT) to support poor consumers. Law Number 22/2019 on sustainable agricultural systems aims to further improve production sustainability. The law mandates that the achievement of food sovereignty should take into account the carrying capacity of ecosystems, mitigation of GHG emissions and adaptation to climate change. The main environmental sustainability aspects covered by the law are land use, seeds and planting, water quantity and quality, harvest and post-harvest losses, and research and development [9].

Successes and remaining challenges

According to Indonesia’s Green Economy Index, the environment pillar for Indonesia began by scoring poorly, particularly between 2011 to 2015. Two reasons primarily contributed to this: the low share of renewable energy in Indonesia’s primary energy mix and the degradation of the country’s peatlands. In response, the government established the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of peatlands restoration on over 2 million hectares of degraded peatland by 2020. Though the realization of this goal fell short, the effort successfully restored almost a million hectares of degraded peatland. Progress in peatland restoration was supported in the country by the collaboration across multi-stakeholders related to peatland management, such as the private sector and non-governmental organizations. However, law enforcement is still needed in order to force companies to undertake peatland restoration [8].

The best performing environmental indicator according to the country’s Green Economy Index, is forest cover, albeit showing a slightly decreasing trend until 2018 that eventually bounced back from 2018 onwards. Indonesia’s deforestation rate hit a historic low in 2020, with the government crediting its various policies prohibiting forest clearing, falling oil palm prices, and an economic slowdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The slowing deforestation trends are attributed to the culmination of several policies aimed at protecting the country’s forests. These include a permanent ban on issuing new permits to clear primary forests and peatlands, the moratorium on new oil palm plantation licenses, forest fire mitigation and prevention, a social forestry program, land rehabilitation, and increased law enforcement against environmental violations [8].

Although the country has made great progress in slowing deforestation and restoring degraded peatlands, Indonesia still faces challenges with regards to achieving its ambitions of the FOLU (Forestry and Other Land Use) net sink by 2030. Such challenges include cross sectoral issues, for example, emissions reduction targets in the FOLU sector often conflict with targets related to food security that requires extensive land availability; institutional constraints, especially for implementers in the regions; the continuous need for intellectual support for the development of new policies and the discovery of methodologies; siloed government natural resource management policies and programs as a result of decentralization [6], [10]; and significant financial requirements for the implementation of FOLU Net Sink 2030. For instance, forest protection to curb deforestation requires USD 7.6 billion [6].

Initiatives and Development Plans

The One Map initiative in Indonesia has the ambition of bringing together data on land use, land tenure and other spatial data into a singular incorporate database for Indonesia [11]. The One Map Policy Geoportal (KSP Geoportal) was launched by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in 2018. It aims to resolve overlapping claims - as well as preventing the emergence of new cases - across the country, including in forest areas. The new map is made on a scale of 1:50,000 (hence more detailed compared to the previous map which was on a 1:250,000 scale) and aims at reducing chances of disputes over the issue of permits for mining, plantation and forest conservation. This should then result in an improved investment climate for Indonesia. Therefore, "development planning will become more accurate", according to President Widodo [12].

In November 2022, Indonesia received an advance payment of $20.9 million USD for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in East Kalimantan. The funding was made possible under an Emissions Reduction Payment Agreement between the Government of Indonesia and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). As the first country in the East Asia Pacific region to receive funding through the FCPF, Indonesia is showing true leadership on the global stage [13].

In addition, Indonesia and Norway have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Partnership in Support of Indonesia's Efforts to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Forestry and Other Land Use. The MoU was signed by the Minister of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, Siti Nurbaya, with the Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, in Jakarta on 12 September 2022. The agreement reflects results-based partnerships and broader engagement on climate and forest management in Indonesia. The MoU will emphasize the direct benefits to Indonesian society and the advancement of environmental governance that is transparent, accountable, inclusive, and participatory. This collaboration will also strengthen the fight against climate change, reduce emissions from the forest sector and land use to preserve irreplaceable natural ecosystems, and achieve global climate ambitions under the Paris Agreement [14].

Goals and Ambitions

The Indonesian government has targeted restoring 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of degraded peatlands and 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of degraded mangroves by 2024, with both programs overseen by the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) [15].