T

he US$1 billion-worth Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) agreement between Indonesia and Norway entered its transformation phase on Friday, with the former now beginning to work to improve infrastructure supporting the program.

The phase will end in July next year, after which Indonesia is expected to receive $800 million from Norway as agreed in a Letter of Intent signed by the two countries in 2010.

Whether or not the funds would be disbursed depends on Indonesia’s achievement in reducing forest-related emissions, a somewhat arduous road given what experts blamed as a lack of harmony between developmentalist and environmentalist sections of the country’s policymakers.

“It is not an easy mission to change the nation to see green economy as an opportunity,” said Monica Tanuhandaru, the executive director of NGO Partnership of Governance Reform (Kemitraan) that was appointed by the government to support the REDD+ transformation phase.

Agreed to at the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Bali, in 2007, REDD+ is a scheme developed to give incentives to reduce greenhouse emissions by, among others, decreasing deforestation.

In 2010, Norway agreed to give up to $1 billion to Indonesia to fund forest-related emission reduction programs in the country, $200 million of which were allocated for the preparation and transformation phases.

As of today, however, only $112 million had been handed over by Norway to Indonesia as part of the scheme. About $50 million were given to the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), which is tasked with restoring as many as two million hectares of peatland destroyed by decades of mismanaged oil palm plantations.

The Scandinavian country criticized the lack of progress being made in Indonesia’s REDD+ projects, even asking for “more results on the ground.”

Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen said Indonesia had made “substantial progress in planning the programs” last year, but added no visible output was evident.

Norway has a similar REDD agreement with Brazil and it had paid the latter around $118 million a month from 2011 to 2015. It reduced the amount to $35 million this year due to rising deforestation in the country.

The agreement between the Indonesian government and Kemitraan was also signed on Friday, in which the latter is set to oversee numerous initiatives supporting REDD+ until July.

Witnessed by Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar and Norway’s ambassador to Indonesia, Vegard Kaale, the agreement was signed by Monica and Environment and Forestry Ministry’s planning bureau head Bambang Supriyanto.

The scope of the agreement includes supporting environmental law enforcement, strengthening the social forestry policy, building a better system to measure forest-related emissions, building fire prevention capacity and promoting progress made in Indonesia’s climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Siti Nurbaya said enhancing REDD+ in Indonesia was crucial to support the country’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 29 percent or 41 percent compared to business-as-usual in the Paris Agreement signed in 2015.

“I am convinced that our strong commitment can confront daunting challenges ahead. I therefore see a better future,” said Siti Nurbaya.

Kaale said Norway was working on its promises, but said that “other stakeholders and the private sector must be on board” in supporting REDD+ in Indonesia.

“If the government’s reforms have produced the results we hope, Norway expects that the first result-based payments can be made in 2018,” Kaale said.

The payment requires Indonesia to have a trust fund to manage the money and the forest-related emission monitoring, reporting, verification system.

A government regulation as the basis of the trust fund is expected to be issued before the end of the year.