Environmental Governance in Indonesia RAPID DEFORESTATION, SOARING EMISSIONS Indonesia is home to some of the world’s largest and most biologically diverse tropical forests, and its resources are critical to the livelihoods of 50-70 million people. Yet deforestation rates in the country are also among the highest in the world. Over the past 20 years, on average more than one million hectares were cleared annually for the expansion of croplands, the exploitation of mineral resources or conversion to oil palm or pulpwood plantations. That’s around one third of the size of Belgium every year. Rapid defor- estation, combined with peatland degradation, has made Indonesia one of the top three emit- ters of greenhouse gases in the world. When President Yudhoyono pledged to drastically slash Indonesia’s carbon emissions from “business as usual” levels by 2020, he made the largest reduction commitments by a developing country to date. Given that around 80 percent of Indonesia’s emissions come from deforestation and land use change, the greatest opportunities to cut greenhouse gas emissions will come from this sector. And as a lack of good governance has been shown to contribute to deforestation, improving environmental gov- ernance can mitigate climate change, while also delivering crucial benefits for indigenous and forest-dependent communities and conserving biodiversity. The Asia Foundation is supporting Indonesian efforts toward these ambitious goals and targets. AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH An Asia Foundation study of land use, land use change, and forestry at the local level in Indonesia identified spatial planning and permit processes as issues central to environ- mental governance in Indonesia. The Foundation’s new environmental governance initiative, which began in 2012, is engaging national- and local-level partners from govern- ment, civil society, and the private sector to promote transparency and accountability in spatial planning and permit processes, with a strong focus at the district level. A central pillar of the Foundation’s environ- mental governance program involves helping to build credible multi-stakeholder coalitions capa- ble of addressing land use and forestry issues and pushing for policy change. A coalition- building approach is being used to foster new collaborations between environmental non- For more than two decades, The Asia Foundation has backed local initiatives to ensure the sustainability of natural resources across Asia. Working with civil society organizations, government and the private sector, the Foundation understands the complex interplay between environmental protection, economic development, local and regional government relations, private sector incentives and the rights of local communities. Improved governance is a vital component of any response to deforestation, land degradation, and climate change and a key factor in achieving successful, sustainable development. INDONESIA The Asia Foundation brings years of experience facilitating civil society and government to promote good governance to the environment sector. Indonesia is the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Almost 80 percent of its emissions stem from deforestation and land use change, including peatland degradation. Indonesia has the third largest area of tropical forests in the world, and ranks among the top deforesting countries.
Transcript
Environmental Governance in Indonesia
RAPID DEFORESTATION, SOARING EMISSIONS
Indonesia is home to some of the world’slargest and most biologically diverse tropicalforests, and its resources are critical to thelivelihoods of 50-70 million people. Yet deforestation rates in the country are alsoamong the highest in the world. Over the past20 years, on average more than one millionhectares were cleared annually for the expansion of croplands, the exploitation ofmineral resources or conversion to oil palm orpulpwood plantations. That’s around one thirdof the size of Belgium every year. Rapid defor-estation, combined with peatland degradation,has made Indonesia one of the top three emit-ters of greenhouse gases in the world.
When President Yudhoyono pledged to drastically slash Indonesia’s carbon emissionsfrom “business as usual” levels by 2020, hemade the largest reduction commitments by adeveloping country to date. Given that around80 percent of Indonesia’s emissions come fromdeforestation and land use change, the greatestopportunities to cut greenhouse gas emissionswill come from this sector. And as a lack ofgood governance has been shown to contributeto deforestation, improving environmental gov-
ernance can mitigate climate change, while alsodelivering crucial benefits for indigenous andforest-dependent communities and conservingbiodiversity. The Asia Foundation is supportingIndonesian efforts toward these ambitious goalsand targets.
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH
An Asia Foundation study of land use, land use change, and forestry at the local level inIndonesia identified spatial planning and permit processes as issues central to environ-mental governance in Indonesia. TheFoundation’s new environmental governanceinitiative, which began in 2012, is engagingnational- and local-level partners from govern-ment, civil society, and the private sector topromote transparency and accountability inspatial planning and permit processes, with a strong focus at the district level.
A central pillar of the Foundation’s environ-mental governance program involves helping tobuild credible multi-stakeholder coalitions capa-ble of addressing land use and forestry issuesand pushing for policy change. A coalition-building approach is being used to foster newcollaborations between environmental non-
For more than two decades, The Asia Foundation has backed local initiatives to ensure the sustainabilityof natural resources across Asia. Working with civil society organizations, government and the privatesector, the Foundation understands the complex interplay between environmental protection, economicdevelopment, local and regional government relations, private sector incentives and the rights of local communities. Improved governance is a vital component of any response to deforestation, land degradation, and climate change and a key factor in achieving successful, sustainable development.
INDONESIA
The Asia Foundation
brings years of
experience facilitating
civil society and
government to promote
good governance to the
environment sector.
Indonesia is the third
highest emitter of
greenhouse gases in
the world. Almost 80
percent of its
emissions stem from
deforestation and
land use change,
including peatland
degradation.
Indonesia has the
third largest area of
tropical forests in the
world, and ranks
among the top
deforesting countries.
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governmental organizations and governance-focused organizations, many of which have notengaged with environmental issues in the past.
TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE
PLANNING AND PERMIT PROCESSES
The 2008 Freedom of Information Act providedthe Indonesian public with the right to unprece-dented access to information from governmentagencies. The Asia Foundation is providing tech-nical support to assist local governments to makeinformation on land use and forestry policiesavailable to the public. Alongside this process, theFoundation is facilitating its civil society partnersto obtain and use information on spatial planningand permitting processes, improving their abilityto actively participate in land use decisions.
Recognizing the importance of local budgets forenvironmental protection and rehabilitation, theFoundation is also supporting partners to conductfiscal analysis of environment-related local bud-gets and revenues. Partners are examining naturalresource revenue streams, the distribution of ben-efits from natural resource exploitation, and theutilization of environmental protection budgets.The data obtained will serve as a way to stimulatestakeholder discussion on reform and providepositive input on effective use of local budgets forenvironmental conservation.
Inconsistent land mapping and overlapping policies that blur the lines of responsibilitybetween the central and regional governments cancomplicate spatial planning and permit processes.The Foundation is collaborating with local part-ners to improve coordination between differentlevels of government. With assistance from theFoundation, partners are providing input fromthe local level to support the formulation ofnational policies that accurately reflect the regula-tory environment in the regions. Similarly, localpartners are being supported to formulate andenact policies that allow for the implementationof the many good national environmental protection laws.
Strengthening the rule of law and the rights oflocal communities is a key component of environmental governance. Environmental andsocial impact assessments, for example, are
required by law, but standards are uneven andmost do not address gender concerns. TheFoundation’s national- and local-level partners arehelping to improve compliance with land use andforestry laws and working to ensure local andindigenous communities’ rights are recognized.Partners are providing support to communities,local governments, and civil society organizationsto ensure land use decisions are transparent andparticipatory, and result in satisfactory outcomesfor affected parties. An important aspect of thiscomponent of the program is engaging with gov-ernment and private sector actors to improve theirobservance of the principles of free, prior, andinformed consent.
The Indonesian government has recognized thatunclear land tenure leads to conflicts over naturalresource management as well as uncertainty forthe private sector. The Foundation and its part-ners are contributing to civil society and govern-ment efforts to clarify land tenure issues. This willinclude contributing to policy debates, supportinggovernments in improving implementation ofexisting community-based forest managementprograms, assisting communities in understandingand accessing such programs, and working todevelop innovative models of complaints handlingthat enable strong community oversight.
TARGETED RESEARCH
The Asia Foundation’s strategy will be under-pinned by studies of land use and forestry toidentify entry points to improve good governance,and to understand and address how environmen-tal governance issues intersect with poverty, gender, and indigenous peoples’ rights. TheFoundation is working closely alongside localresearch partners from government and civil society, helping to build their capacity and sup-porting the creation of a robust regional networkof environmentally concerned researchers. Studyfindings will be disseminated among theFoundation’s broader network, further contribut-ing to government efforts to improve environ-mental governance in Indonesia.
For more information about The Asia Foundation’s environmental programs inIndonesia, please contact Blair Palmer ([email protected]).
The Asia Foundation’s environmental governance program in Indonesia isgenerously supported by the UK Climate Change Unit and other private donors.
