KLHK Encourages Regional Governments To Utilize IDR 15 Trillion Of Environmental Funds

Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar delivered a speech on climate change mitigation at a national technical work meeting (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Environment and Forestry)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is encouraging regional governments to utilize environmental funds which reach more than IDR 15 trillion stored in the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH).

"Now there are more than IDR 15 trillion available at BPDLH. We have to compete quickly in proposing it," said Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar at a national technical work meeting on climate change control in Jakarta, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, March 1.

Siti said that the environmental funds stored in BPDLH could answer the local government's challenge regarding the small number of environmental funds allocated in the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) posture.

BPDLH is a public service agency under the Ministry of Finance that provides flexibility in managing funds, from raising funds from various funding sources to channeling funds to ministries, institutions, business entities, and to individual beneficiaries.

The funds managed by BPDLH aside from APBN funds, also come from reforestation funds, grants from the green climate fund for the REDD+ RBP project, and grants from the Ford Foundation through the community-based TERRA Fund Program.

The funds also came from World Bank loans for the Disaster Pooling Fund program, mangroves for coastal resilience, World Bank grants for the FCPF-Forest Carbon Facility Partnership Result Based Payment REDD+ program, Bio-CF for Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscape Result based Payment REDD+.

In the BPDLH organization, the government guarantees that all funds invested by partners in BPDLH will be managed effectively, transparently, and accountably.

"What matters in BPDLH is the program, implementation, and transparency. I think this is what makes our work multiply because the implementation must be visible," said Minister Siti.

Based on Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning local governments, achieving nationally determined contribution targets for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the forestry, energy, agriculture, and industrial sectors is a matter of choice. Meanwhile, waste as part of the environmental sector is a mandatory matter.

Minister Siti conveyed that further arrangements for government affairs for each sector would determine regional contributions in achieving the NDC target.

NDC is a commitment that must be fulfilled and proven through the process of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), the province's contribution to the NDC is in accordance with the characteristics, capacity, profile of greenhouse gas emissions, and various other factors that exist in each province.

On 28 February 2023, BPDLH together with the Regency/City Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) in East Kalimantan Province signed a cooperation agreement for the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)–Carbon Fund program.

East Kalimantan is the first area to receive a result-based payment (RBP) for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peatlands, as well as (REDD+) with beneficiaries down to the site level.

The Government of Indonesia has received the first payment from the FCPF–Carbon Fund program of US$20.9 million or equivalent to IDR 303 billion through BPDLH, and full payment of US$110 million or almost IDR 1.7 trillion will be made after the finalization of third party verification.