An illustration of coordination between national and regional institutions to align policies, carbon data, and landscape management in support of emission reductions and the protection of Riau’s forests, peatlands, and mangroves. Credit: AI-generated illustration.
Introduction
Climate change is a development challenge that requires an integrated response across sectors and levels of government. As a country with extensive tropical forests, Indonesia plays a strategic role in global climate change mitigation, particularly through reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conserving carbon stocks, sustainably managing forests, and enhancing carbon stocks through ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation. Within this context, Riau Province holds a strategic position in supporting national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Its landscape is dominated by terrestrial tropical forests, peatlands, coastal areas, and mangroves that store substantial amounts of carbon. At the same time, these ecosystems face pressures from land-use change, deforestation, forest degradation, forest and land fires, and disruption of peatland hydrological functions.
The complexity of these challenges demonstrates that emission reduction efforts in Riau Province cannot rely solely on regional government capacity and authority. Support is needed from national institutions mandated to develop forestry and environmental policies, plan development, manage spatial planning, peatlands and mangroves, develop Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, manage carbon registries, conduct research and methodological development, and provide climate finance. One strategic approach is the development of Jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+). This approach positions a regional government or jurisdiction as the manager of an emission reduction programme within a defined administrative area, integrating forest management and land-use activities and interventions into a measurable and accountable emissions management framework.
The development of J-REDD+ in Riau Province through the GREEN for Riau Initiative is an effort to strengthen jurisdictional emission reduction governance. The approach also aims to meet international standards, particularly The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), developed by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). ART TREES provides an assessment framework covering environmental integrity, reference emission levels, MRV systems, safeguards, and the recognition and issuance of emission reduction credits. Preparing and implementing J-REDD+ in accordance with ART TREES requirements nevertheless demands strong technical, policy, and institutional support. Important aspects—including Forest Reference Emission Levels/Forest Reference Levels (FREL/FRL), harmonized carbon accounting methodologies, spatial data integration, carbon registry management, safeguards compliance, and benefit-sharing mechanisms—require coordination with national government institutions. Active national institutional involvement is therefore essential to ensuring that Riau’s emission reduction programme aligns with national policies, meets international standards, and can be implemented effectively at the regional level.
This article examines the roles and contributions of national institutions in supporting Riau Province’s emission reduction programme, inter-institutional coordination mechanisms, and strategies for strengthening institutional synergy to accelerate J-REDD+ and ART TREES implementation within GREEN for Riau.
The Importance of National Institutions’ Roles and Contributions to Riau Province’s Emission Reduction Programme
2.1. The Importance of National Institutional Involvement
Jurisdictional emission reduction programmes require strong alignment among national policy frameworks, subnational governance, and international standards to ensure environmental integrity and the credibility of emission reduction outcomes. The central government is mandated to establish policy direction, regulations, technical standards, methodologies for calculating emissions and carbon removals, Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, national registry management, and arrangements for funding and performance-based incentives. Regional governments, meanwhile, coordinate cross-sector implementation, integrate emission reduction targets into regional development planning, facilitate data collection and validation, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and ensure that interventions reflect local biophysical, social, economic, and land-use characteristics. In the JREDD context, international practice provides guidance on carbon accounting, environmental and social safeguards, and transparent and verifiable MRV procedures so that emission reductions uphold environmental integrity and gain global recognition. National institutional involvement is therefore more than an administrative requirement. It is fundamental to building effective, transparent, accountable, and sustainable emission reduction governance while ensuring consistency among regional targets, national NDC commitments, and international market and climate finance requirements.
National institutional involvement serves at least five strategic purposes:
- Ensuring policy and regulatory alignment. J-REDD+ programmes must connect with national policies on forestry, the environment, low-carbon development, spatial planning, peatland management, and carbon trading.
- Strengthening technical credibility and emissions accounting integrity. FREL/FRL development, MRV methodologies, carbon inventories, and forest monitoring systems must follow accountable national standards and systems.
- Ensuring data and information system integration. Provincial emission reduction data must connect with national forest monitoring and registry systems to avoid inconsistent information and the risk of double counting.
- Strengthening social and environmental governance. Implementation must protect community rights, enable stakeholder participation, apply Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and provide grievance-handling mechanisms.
- Facilitating access to climate finance and carbon markets. National institutional support is needed to connect emission reduction outcomes with results-based payments, domestic carbon markets, and international carbon finance mechanisms.
2.2. Key Roles and Contributions of National Institutions
Table 1 provides a more operational overview of national institutions’ key roles and contributions to Riau Province’s emission reduction programme.
Table 1. Key roles and contributions of national institutions
| Institution | Key Roles and Contributions | Support for J-REDD+ in Riau |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Environment (KLH) and Ministry of Forestry | REDD+ policies, FREL/FRL, MRV | Alignment of policies, baselines, MRV systems, and safeguards |
| Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas | Development planning | Integration of the programme into low-carbon development planning |
| Ministry of Agriculture | Agriculture and plantations | Emission reductions in agriculture and land use |
| Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries | Coastal ecosystems and blue carbon | Mangrove conservation and rehabilitation |
| Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) | Spatial planning and tenure | Spatial and land tenure certainty |
| National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency (BPGMN) | Peatland and mangrove restoration | Ecosystem recovery and emission reductions |
| National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) | Research and methodologies | Development of methodologies, emission factors, and carbon accounting |
| Indonesian Environment Fund (BPDLH), Ministry of Finance | Climate finance | Results-based finance and carbon market readiness |
These institutions must operate within a mutually reinforcing governance system. Their contributions should form part of a single management framework for Riau Province’s emission reduction programme rather than proceed independently within separate sectors.
3. Strategies for National–Subnational Institutional Coordination
3.1. Policy and Regulatory Alignment
The first strategy is to strengthen alignment between national and regional policies related to emission reductions. The central government and the Riau Provincial Government must ensure that J-REDD+ connects with policies on forestry, the environment, low-carbon development, spatial planning, peatland restoration, mangrove rehabilitation, and carbon trading. Such alignment is needed to prevent implementation barriers arising from differences in policies and sectoral authority. The relationship between J-REDD+ and other mitigation activities must also be clarified, particularly to ensure consistent emissions accounting and prevent repeated recognition of the same emission reduction achievements.
3.2. Integration of Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Systems
The second strategy is to establish an integrated MRV system linking national and provincial levels. MRV is fundamental to J-REDD+ implementation because it provides the basis for measuring, reporting, and verifying emission reduction achievements. In Riau Province, MRV integration must account for the characteristics of natural forests, peatlands, mangroves, and other land-use areas. Beyond ensuring data consistency, an integrated MRV system must support transparency, information traceability, and compliance with ART TREES reporting requirements.
3.3. Developing a Nesting Framework Linking Projects, Jurisdictions, and the National Level
The third strategy is to develop a nesting framework connecting project-level emission reduction activities with provincial J-REDD+ programmes and national emissions accounting systems. Nesting is important because Riau hosts various forest management and emission reduction activities implemented by governments, permit holders, communities, and social forestry managers. Without a clear nesting framework, inconsistencies may arise in emission reduction accounting, recognition of achievements, and carbon credit management. Nesting is expected to establish complementary relationships among emission reduction initiatives while strengthening the environmental integrity and credibility of Riau’s J-REDD+ programme.
3.4. Strengthening Safeguards Systems and Social Inclusion
The fourth strategy is to strengthen safeguards and community participation throughout programme implementation. Emission reduction programmes are assessed not only by the volume of emissions reduced, but also by how activities are implemented and how they affect communities and the environment. Safeguards systems must therefore align with the national REDD+ safeguards system through SIS REDD+.
National ministries and agencies need to provide policy and technical support, while provincial, district, and city governments are responsible for ensuring safeguards are applied in implementation. Social forestry groups also require attention because they are important actors in community-based forest management and emission reductions on the ground.
3.5. Strengthening Institutional Capacity and Technical Support
The fifth strategy is to improve the technical and institutional capacities of regional governments and stakeholders. Developing J-REDD+ in accordance with ART TREES requirements demands technical capabilities in data management, carbon inventories, emissions accounting, land cover change monitoring, safeguards management, and reporting. Capacity building must be sustained so that regional governments can manage the programme independently and maintain consistent implementation over the long term.
3.6. Strengthening Access to Finance and Carbon Market Readiness
The sixth strategy is to improve access to financing sources that support emission reduction implementation. J-REDD+ requires funding for forest protection, peatland restoration, mangrove rehabilitation, stronger community institutions, MRV system development, and monitoring and evaluation. Carbon market readiness must also be supported through the development of a jurisdictional carbon credit pipeline, compliance with ART TREES requirements, stronger transparency, and clear arrangements for recognition and benefit sharing. Financing should therefore be viewed not merely as a source of funding for activities, but also as an instrument for sustaining emission reduction programmes and delivering economic benefits to communities.
3.7. The GREEN for Riau Governance Integration Framework
All these coordination strategies must be integrated into a single GREEN for Riau governance framework. This framework is built on five interconnected components:
- National Policy and Regulatory Framework, providing the policy and regulatory foundation.
- Institutional Coordination and Governance, establishing coordination mechanisms and the division of responsibilities.
- Integrated MRV and Data Systems, supporting measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification.
- Safeguards and Stakeholder Participation, ensuring environmental and social protection.
- Carbon Finance and Market Readiness, providing financing mechanisms and carbon market readiness.
Together, these five components form the foundation for implementing J-REDD+ in Riau in accordance with ART TREES requirements.
4. Conclusion
Active national institutional involvement is a determining factor in the success of Riau Province’s emission reduction programme through J-REDD+. The complexity of deforestation, forest degradation, forest and land fires, and pressures on peatland and mangrove ecosystems requires support across ministries and agencies mandated to manage the environment, forestry, development, agriculture, spatial planning, ecosystem restoration, research, finance, and carbon registration.
National institutional support is needed to ensure policy alignment, harmonized FREL/FRL, stronger MRV systems, integrated data and carbon registries, nesting framework development, safeguards implementation, and improved access to climate finance and carbon markets. Accelerating ART TREES implementation requires attention to several strategic priorities: policy alignment, MRV and carbon data integration, nesting development, stronger safeguards and FPIC, institutional capacity building, and financing and carbon market readiness. These priorities must be integrated into GREEN for Riau Governance so that the emission reduction programme can be implemented transparently, measurably, inclusively, and sustainably.
Looking ahead, stronger coordination between national and regional institutions must help build a governance system that goes beyond meeting ART TREES technical requirements to deliver environmental, social, and economic benefits for Riau’s communities. The central government must ensure the availability of policies, methodologies, data, funding, and capacity-building support. Meanwhile, the Riau Provincial Government must strengthen coordination and implementation by involving district and city governments, Forest Management Units (KPH), permit holders, social forestry groups, Indigenous Peoples, civil society organizations, universities, and the private sector.
Strengthening the roles of communities and social forestry groups must be integral to emission reduction strategies. Communities are not merely beneficiaries; they are also key actors in forest protection, ecosystem restoration, fire prevention, land cover change monitoring, and carbon stock maintenance. With coordinated national institutional support and regional government commitment, GREEN for Riau is expected to become a model of jurisdictional emission reduction management that integrates national policies, landscape management, ecosystem protection, and community empowerment. Ultimately, the success of Riau’s J-REDD+ will be measured not only by emission reductions and compliance with international standards, but also by its ability to build sustainable natural resource governance, strengthen community resilience, and make a tangible contribution to Indonesia’s climate change mitigation targets.
References
Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). 2021. The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), Version 2.0. ART Secretariat, Virginia, USA. TREES 2.0 document.
Dharmawan, I.W.S.D. 2026. Active Involvement of All Institutions at the National Level in Supporting the Preparation of J-REDD+ Riau. GREEN for Riau Report. UNEP UN-REDD.
Ministry of Environment. 2025. SIS REDD+. SIS REDD+ – Riau Province.
Author:
I Wayan Susi Dharmawan
Bambang Arifatmi
- Country Coordinator UNEP UN-REDD Indonesia
- Head of Applied Green Economy Innovation, HA IPB
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views and opinions of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views, policies, or positions of GREEN for Riau or its implementing partners.