8 May 2025, Pekanbaru – Today, Indonesia launches a province-wide forest and peatland conservation programme designed to curb emissions and unlock international results-based finance. Supported by the UN-REDD Programme and funded by the United Kingdom, the new initiative aims to partner with Indonesia to realize its climate commitments and bolster sustainable forest management and livelihoods.
The initiative, “Growing Resilience through Emissions Reductions, Community Empowerment and Ecosystem Restoration for a Nurturing Future” (GREEN for Riau) will be implemented in the forest and peatland-rich province of Riau on Indonesia’s vast Sumatra Island.
This launch comes as Indonesia accelerates efforts to meet its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (eNDCs) under the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31.89 per cent through national efforts and by 43.20 per cent with international support by 2030.
The land-use and forestry sector is central to these targets, anchored by frameworks such as the FOLU Net Sink 2030 and the Safeguard Information System for REDD+.
The GREEN for Riau initiative will build REDD+ readiness in the province by strengthening governance, transparency, technical capacity, and multi-stakeholder engagement. It will involve local communities in forest and peatland management, promote a green economy, and support equitable benefit sharing. The initiative also aims to unlock Results-Based Payments (RBP) through inclusive planning, capacity building, and strong monitoring systems, aligning local and national efforts toward sustainable forest governance with international best practice. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will provide technical assistance in this respect.
“Riau is the first province in Indonesia to adopt high-integrity global forest carbon market standards to access integrity-based results-based payments”, said Gita Sabharwal, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. “This could serve as a model for other provinces and countries for green transition.”
Riau, home to 4.9 million hectares of peatlands, holds one of Indonesia’s largest carbon stocks but has suffered extensive deforestation and degradation. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the province lost some 2.8 million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2020, largely due to agricultural expansion, illegal logging, and fires. These not only raise emissions but also cause health issues, disrupt local economies, increase exposure to disaster risks, damage sustainable, forest-dependent livelihoods and lead to land conflicts.
As the host of the event, the Riau Governor H. Abdul Wahid said, “This initiative aims to pilot international standards and strengthen the inclusion of private sector involvement and as the first results-based payments looking at peat, present a scalable initiative to other regions and jurisdictions”.
The launch event serves as a platform to co-develop a shared vision and strategic direction for REDD+ implementation in the province. It will also outline roles and responsibilities across sectors, ensuring the full participation of all stakeholders—especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Riau joins other Indonesian provinces, including Jambi and East Kalimantan, in embarking on a jurisdiction-wide approach to mitigating climate change through more sustainable land use. Riau is the first Indonesian province to do so by focusing on peatland restoration and aligning with internationally recognized forest carbon market standards. Building on previous efforts based on reducing deforestation through pilot initiatives, the Riau project represents a critical evolution, moving toward high-integrity carbon finance that meets the expectations of global markets.
British Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Matthew Downing said: “The UK is proud to support this important project with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forestry and the Riau Provincial Government, which aims to reduce emissions and showcase a harmonised system for forest carbon initiatives that will enable a vibrant market for high-integrity forest carbon credits, in alignment with Indonesia’s NDC and wider policy and regulatory frameworks. We hope this approach will maximise the availability of forest finance, including from the private sector. “
“This project marks further progress towards a deeper UK-Indonesia Strategic Partnership which President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed to pursue when they met in the UK last year. I look forward to strengthening our relationship with Indonesia as we work together to create economic growth and a more liveable planet for our peoples”, Downing added.
Find out more about the project, read this flyer
