Good News For Jambi Residents! World Bank Plans To Disburse IDR 858 Billion Of Funds

One of the landmarks in Jambi Province (Photo: Doc Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH) of the Ministry of Finance confirmed that Jambi Province would receive funds for environmental impact management from one of the institutions under the auspices of the World Bank, namely the BioCarbon Fund, with a total value of USD 60 million or approximately IDR 858.3 billion (exchange rate of IDR 14.306).

This was conveyed directly by the President Director of BPDLH Djoko Hendratto during a virtual press conference in the middle of this week. In his statement, Djoko said that the funds were one of the compensations for Indonesia's decision to ratify the Paris Agreement through Law 16 of 2016.

"Indonesia has committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), namely reducing emissions by 29 percent with its own efforts and up to 41 percent with international support", he said.

Djoko added that the BioCarbon Fund will start distributing the initial budget in 2025.

"Currently, it is in the process of preparing a benefit-sharing mechanism between BPDLH, the Ministry of Environment, and the Jambi Provincial Government", he said.

To note, BPDLH is the embodiment of the mandate of Government Regulation number 46 of 2017 concerning Environmental Economic Instruments and Presidential Regulation number 77 of 2018 concerning Management of Environmental Funds.

BPDLH itself acts as a trustee (fund management institution) from the owner of the fund or program. In the implementation in the field, BPDLH gives technical authority and program execution to the relevant ministries or institutions.

The disbursement of funds by the custodian bank is carried out based on the order of the BPDLH which holds the legality aspect of the owner of the funds.

"This is intended to ensure that the implementation of work and project management remains professional", he said.

Furthermore, Djoko explained that Indonesia's need to achieve the NDC target every year is IDR 343.32 trillion.

"Referring to the State Budget (APBN) funding provided for the annual climate change budget, there is still a fairly large gap, which is around 60-70 percent of the total funding requirement", he concluded.