Indonesia and Japan are intensifying their collaboration on forest-based carbon projects to bolster climate action, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity protection, and enhance local communities’ livelihoods. This partnership is being structured through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), which aims to produce high-quality carbon credits in line with international climate agreements.
The details of this initiative were discussed by Indonesia’s Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki and Japan’s Environment Deputy Minister Hiroshi Ono during the COP31 climate conference held in Antalya, Türkiye. As part of this cooperation, Indonesia has laid out a comprehensive strategy to restore 12 million hectares of degraded land and curb deforestation across 50 million hectares. The plan also involves integrating carbon projects with social forestry programs over 8.3 million hectares and developing 1.4 million hectares of customary forests.
Both nations are also considering incorporating peatlands and mangrove ecosystems into their carbon projects. Through this collaboration, Indonesia aims to attract Japanese investment and deliver dependable carbon credits while simultaneously supporting environmental conservation and sustainable living for local communities.
This partnership is anticipated to assist Japan in achieving its objective of securing carbon credits equivalent to 100 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2030. At the same time, it advances Indonesia’s goals for ecosystem restoration, highlighting the mutual benefits of this international cooperation.