On 16-19 January 2023, GCF Task Force Indonesia held a regional meeting in Jakarta under the general topic of “Improving synergies to achieve the deforestation and degradation target in 2030.” This event specifically aimed to support the national government’s new regulations on Indonesia’s Forestry and Other Land Use [FOLU] Net Sink 2030. This regulation aims to achieve Net Zero in forest and land use sectors in 2030.
Discussion during the first two days of the regional meeting was focused on member provinces’ progress in designing and/or implementing the Indonesia FOLU Net Sink 2030 program. The discussion was facilitated by Prof. Rizaldi Boer, who also delivered a presentation on identifying and defining the location and activities for the FOLU Net Sink. Also, present on the first day of the meeting was Mr. Mulkan Gani from the Indonesia Environment Fund (IEF), who provided insights on how to access funding from IEF for the implementation of FOLU Net Sink related activities.
Prof. Boer highlighted that the FOLU Net Sink is similar to the emission reduction under the Counter Measure scenario 2 (CM2) of Enhanced NDC, which has a more ambitious target than the previous NDC committed by the Government of Indonesia (GoI). This implies that to achieve the FOLU Net Sink, support from other stakeholders will be required, including technical and funding support.
In terms of funding, Mr. Mulkan Gani mentioned of opportunities to access funding for FOLU Net Sink via IEF. However, the main obstacle in accessing the IEF is the readiness of the “Lembaga Perantara” (intermediaries). In accessing the fund, an intermediary must meet governance criteria and ensure that the fund will be distributed well to the beneficiaries. Therefore, the ability to write a good proposal is required for the selection process.
On the third day of the regional meeting, main delegates visited the Norwegian Embassy and met, among others, the embassy’s Counsellor for Climate and Forest, Ms. Gunhild Santos-Nedrelid. Discussion during the visit was on the plan for Manaus Action Plan and annual meeting in Papua.
The last day was spent discussing GCF Task Force governance policy, workplan, and IPLC activities, which also part of the delegates preparation to attend the 13th annual meeting in Yucatan on 7-19 February 2023.