Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara Supports FCPF-Carbon Fund Program in East Kalimantan

The Government of Indonesia, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) has received performance-based payments for the greenhouse gas emission reduction program (GHG) through the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Carbon Fund (FCPF- CF) with the World Bank. The first phase of payment of 20.9 million US dollars is an incentive for achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry and land sectors in East Kalimantan.

As stated in the carbon emission reduction payment agreement between the Government of Indonesia, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the World Bank, East Kalimantan is the recipient area of​​funds from the agreement. "Today, we are very pleased and happy for the advance payment by the World Bank, and can be conveyed that East Kalimantan has exceeded its carbon emission reduction target based on the monitoring report that was sent last August 2022," said the Governor of East Kalimantan Province Dr. Ir. H. Isran Noor, M.Sc. when giving a speech at a press conference "Land-Based Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Program with the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility-Carbon Fund Scheme in East Kalimantan Province," in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Tuesday (8/11).

He further added that this advance payment is important for East Kalimantan as part of testing the benefit distribution mechanism and convincing the people of East Kalimantan that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are awarded by the international community.

The first emission reduction monitoring report submitted to the World Bank in August covers emission reduction activities for the period July 2019-December 2020. This is a very important milestone that reflects the great effort invested by various parties. The process, from its conception, provides insights, experiences, and lessons learned to the participating parties and stakeholders.

On this occasion, the Head of the World Bank Representative for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Satu Kahkonen, said "East Kalimantan is the first jurisdiction in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region to receive advance payments under the FCPF scheme." This success shows the transparency in the province. That is because the payment will not be approved by World Bank without a verification and validation process from an independent auditor. Satu stated that all stakeholders understand that their rights are respected and that their contribution to forest protection is valued by the global community. "I want to emphasize that East Kalimantan is extraordinary, its success can be replicated in other provinces in Indonesia," she said.

East Kalimantan (Kaltim) was selected as the only province in Indonesia for a program to save forests from deforestation and forest degradation. This performance-based payment is worth a total of 110 million US dollars as compensation if East Kalimantan is able to reduce emissions by 22 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions within five years (2019-2024).

Why East Kalimantan?

East Kalimantan is chosen in the FCPF-Carbon Fund program not without reason. The province, which is located on the third largest island in the world, has 7 million hectares of tropical forest with a high level of biodiversity, is home to a variety of endemic animals, as well as a source of livelihood for indigenous peoples and other local communities. East Kalimantan also has an area of ​​2.7 million hectares of essential ecosystems including indicative habitats for endangered animals and wetland ecosystems. Since 2010, the Provincial Government of East Kalimantan has also had a strong commitment to implementing green development programs that have an impact on changes in land management and natural resource use, which has also been strengthened by various related regulations and policies.

In order to achieve the national achievement target (Nationally Determined Contribution/NDC), the FCPF-Carbon Fund program is present as part of the full implementation of REDD+ at the subnational level from the forestry sector. Indonesia's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2060 has been further confirmed by increasing the emission reduction target to 31.89% in 2030 with an international support target of 43.20%, as of October 2022.

"We express our gratitude and appreciation to the Governor of East Kalimantan and his staff, for tirelessly working towards the success of the FCPF-Carbon Fund," said Ir. Laksmi Dwanthi, M.A. IPU, Director General of Climate Change Control at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, in the press conference. Laksmi stated that the East Kalimantan FCPF-CF could be a role model for the implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). "This happened because of the collaboration of the parties," she added.

Efforts to support East Kalimantan's green development

Supporting the efforts of the Government of Indonesia and the Provincial Government of East Kalimantan in implementing green development programs, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) welcomes the success of the FCPF program in East Kalimantan Province.

“Since 2015, YKAN has been working closely with the national, provincial, and district governments, as well as related partners in designing and implementing the FCPF in East Kalimantan. We provide technical support and assistance, among others, in promoting social forestry schemes, assisting in efforts to protect and sustainably manage High Conservation Value Areas (HCVA) in designated areas for oil palm plantations, and sustainable forest management,” said YKAN Executive Director Herlina Hartanto.

Together with the East Kalimantan Provincial Government and partners, YKAN encourages the development of social forestry which has now reached 224,860 hectares through 106 social forestry areas in East Kalimantan Province (East Kalimantan Forestry Service, August 2022). YKAN also supports the East Kalimantan Provincial Government in securing HCVA in the designated area for oil palm plantations. Through Governor Decree No. 525 Year 2022, the area of ​​the HCVA indicative map has been verified and inventoried of 456 thousand hectares for the whole of East Kalimantan. In Berau District, the local government has also issued Berau Regent Decree No. 227 of 2020 to avoid the conversion of 83,000 hectares of HCVA in the designated area for oil palm plantations.

East Kalimantan has also identified the area of ​​potential areas for the management of Essential Ecosystem Areas with a total of 2.2 million hectares in 12 locations. This indicative area consists of a typology of wetlands, wildlife corridors, high conservation value areas, and biodiversity parks. The results of the area identification were then adopted through the Decree of the Governor of East Kalimantan Number 522.5/K.672/2020.

In addition, capacity building for Forest Management Units and production forest concessions in applying the principles of sustainable forest management, as well as implementing or auditing low-carbon logging are facilitated by YKAN. Until 2022, there are already 1.5 million hectares of concessions that hold the Sustainable Production Forest Management certification with a good result.

East Kalimantan's success in implementing the FCPF needs to be disseminated to the global level. Moreover, this announcement coincided with the International Convention on Climate Change COP 27 in Egypt. YKAN will be presenting a discussion session on important lessons learned from the FCPF at the Indonesian Pavilion, on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. This discussion will focus on the experiences of the Government of Indonesia and the Province of East Kalimantan in designing, negotiating, and implementing the FCPF emission reduction program, including how they were involved, committed, and worked together. This FCPF session will also highlight progress, challenges, lessons learned, and next steps, enriched with perspectives from FCPF supporters.