Climate Finance and Safeguards in Indonesia

Indonesia has the third largest tropical forest area on earth. In 2009, Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, made an extraordinary commitment to play a significant role in global efforts to prevent climate change by announcing that Indonesia would cut greenhouse gas emissions of 26% by 2020 and, if sufficient international support were available, would make emissions cuts of up to 41%. This has served to place Indonesia at the heart of a range of international climate finance efforts designed to provide support for a reduction in deforestation rates.

A range of REDD+ “readiness” pilot projects and forest conservation efforts supported by the World Bank Group and other multilateral, bilateral and private funds and mechanisms are proposed for Indonesia or have begun to operate there.

Germany has pledged 4 Billion USD between 2010 and 2012 for REDD+ projects worldwide. There are concerns that the World Bank’s proposed Program for Results scheme (P4R) may be applied to such efforts. Yet what kind of results do we want ?
The ultimate impact of potentially significant flows of international finance to Indonesia in support of reducing deforestation is likely to depend upon the extent to which sufficient attention is paid to the design, implementation, and enforcement of robust and stringent social, environmental, transparency and governance safeguards. Communities need furthermore to be involved applying the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

On the occasion of the 4th Assembly meeting of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility that will take place in Berlin from October 17th to 19th, 2011, we are inviting you to a side event discussing safeguards in the context of existing and proposed multilateral, bilateral and privately-funded climate and forest conservation efforts in Indonesia.