Participants gather to commemorate the beginning of the workshop in Balikpapan.
Today marked the first of a 2-day regional workshop in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Members and representatives from the seven GCF Task Force jurisdictions in Indonesia joined representatives from the government of East Kalimantan, the central government of Indonesia, the World Bank, various NGOs, plus other experts in climate change and carbon accounting to discuss lessons learned from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Carbon Fund (FCPF-CF) experience in East Kalimantan thus far.
The workshop occurs as East Kalimantan prepares to receive its first REDD+ payment from the FCPF-CF. East Kalimantan was chosen as the location of the FCPF pilot in May 2015.
The first day of the workshop included discussion on the development of REDD+ implementation in Indonesia, led by Ibu Emma Rachmawaty, Director of Climate Change Mitigation at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. Ibu Emma presented the history of REDD+ in Indonesia from 2005-2017 and explained where REDD+ stands now. Currently, Phase III (2017-2020) focuses on Indonesia’s contribution towards verified emissions reductions, with the goal of implementing the national mechanism towards reducing emissions.
Ibu Emma clarified that REDD+ is a results-based payment delivered to provinces as a reward for achieving a REDD+ target. In addition to monetary benefits, REDD+ delivers innumerous direct and indirect benefits, including ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, ecological security, and social benefits such as community empowerment and the supply of alternative livelihoods for forest communities. Ibu Emma later discussed Indonesia’s Global Green Growth Program (GGGI) Phase III (under development), wherein provinces are invited to propose ideas for specific activities and programs to be implemented on a provincial level.
Next, Bkp Efrian Muharrom from the World Bank presented an overview of the FCPF-CF in Indonesia and detailed the stages of project development. He emphasized the complexity of the FCPF in East Kalimantan attributed to the number of processes and parties involved—thereby requiring patience and perseverance from project preparation to Emissions Reductions Payment Agreement signing.
Prof. Daddy Ruhiyat, GCF Task Force Delegate from East Kalimantan and head of the Provincial Climate Change Council, discussed coordination of the REDD+ FCFP-CF in East Kalimantan and the inclusion of key stakeholders in the program. Prof. Daddy attributed the success of the FCPF-CF continuation across governmental administrations to the local Climate Change Council’s effective briefing when Governor Isran Noor entered office; the Council communicated the imperative of continuing the provincial program in order to achieve the FCPF target. The continuity across governmental administrations was made possible by the unity of local agencies towards FCPF program implementation. Moreover, East Kalimantan has more than fifteen partners involved in the development of the FCPF program—lending enhanced credibility to the program through a multi-stakeholder development process.
Finally, climate change specialist Prof. Rizaldi Boer discussed the scaling up of the provincial FCPF-CF program towards implementation at the national level in Indonesia. Prof. Rizaldi detailed the differences in reference and payment period across various REDD+ schemes in Indonesia, including the Green Climate Fund and Norway RBP in additional to FCPF-CF. Prof. Rizaldi displayed comprehensive expertise in the carbon accounting mechanisms applied in both multilateral (Green Climate Fund, FCPF-CF) and bilateral (Norway Letter of Intent, Carbon Market) schemes in Indonesia.
The workshop was wrought with rich discussion amongst participants, garnering a momentum that will be carried into the second day. Check back tomorrow for highlights from day two discussions on the process of preparing the FCPF REDD+ Project document, the most insightful challenges in preparing the Emissions Reduction Program Document from East Kalimantan, FCPF-CF funding requirements, and the Benefit Sharing Mechanism.
Plus, follow along on Twitter for live updates during the workshop.