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Indigenous communities should benefit from carbon trading, environment ministry says
The Environment and Forestry Ministry said indigenous peoples must adhere to the requirements, including holding customary forest licenses, to be eligible for carbon trading benefits.
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Members of the Alliance of the Indigenous Peoples of the Kayan Mentarang National Park (FoMMA) perform traditional music in this undated photo file. The group joined the list of Indonesian indigenous groups awarded the prestigious United Nations Equator Prize in 2020. (Courtesy of/UNDP Indonesia/-)
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gus Justianto, sustainable forest management director general at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, said on Thursday that indigenous peoples had the right to benefit from carbon trading initiatives.
Agus explained that the communities must adhere to the prescribed requirements, including holding customary forest licenses, to be eligible for carbon trading benefits.
"Customary forests are still under social forestry, so as long as they [indigenous people] take mitigation actions and can be quantified, they are entitled to benefit from carbon trading," said Agus.
He also noted that some indigenous communities in East Kalimantan and Jambi had already received "result-based or performance-based payments" from these initiatives.
Laksmi Dhewanthi, climate change control director general at the environment ministry, said indigenous peoples could receive not only economic gains but also ecological and social benefits from efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Laksmi said climate change mitigation involved actions aimed at preserving environmental functions, which will yield ecological benefits, such as improved microclimates, water management conditions and forest quality.
"The most significant benefit they will experience is an enhanced ability to withstand the various adverse impacts of climate change, which could threaten their livelihoods and the sustainability of their way of life," said Laksmi.
The environment ministry has introduced a comprehensive road map for carbon trading in the forestry sector, as outlined in a ministry regulation. This road map encompasses both general and specific criteria.
The general criteria include aspects related to the baseline emissions' disaggregation and reduction targets. The specific criteria cover formulating implementation plans, targets and strategies for achieving these targets.
Eligible trade participants are holders of forest utilization business licenses and management rights. The list includes proprietary forest owners with sustainable forest management certificates, forest product legality certificates or forest product declarations under statutory provisions.
Those holding social forestry management approval, along with social forestry management agreement holders with at least a silver classification, can also partake in carbon trading activities.
