Pekanbaru, Riau – As part of Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to unlock international climate financing at provincial level, Riau Provincial Government supported by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) hosted a sub-national dialogue to advance its peatland greenhouse gas (GHG) calculation as well as measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
The dialogue was held on 3-4 February 2026 as part of a broader series of technical exchanges and capacity-building activities under a UN-REDD programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK-FCDO), called Growing Resilience through Emissions Reductions, Community Empowerment and Ecosystem Restoration for a Nurturing Future (GREEN for Riau) initiative.
Peatland plays a significant role in Riau’s landscape, covering approximately 4.9 million hectares or almost half of its area. Recent data shows that a significant proportion of the province’s GHG emissions in the Forest and Other Land Use (FOLU) resulted from peatlands drainage.
Accurately quantifying peatland emissions is key in tracking Riau’s REDD+ progress, widening its potential access to result-based international climate financing, which will support local climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
“Emissions from peatlands are a key differentiator for REDD+ implementation in Riau Province, as peatlands contribute significantly to the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. This focus group discussion is crucial to explore and refine methodologies for measuring peatland emissions at the jurisdictional scale, ensuring robust REDD+ implementation,” said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
The two-day discussions brought together Riau’s peatland researchers and practitioners from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Riau University, and pulp and paper producers APRIL and APP group as well as MRV experts from related climate finance efforts in East Kalimantan and Jambi. Participants exchanged practical experiences, shared research findings, and explored methodological approaches for peatland emission calculation.
“Riau is home to one of the largest peatland areas in Indonesia. The condition of these peatlands significantly influence the level of GHG emissions in the province. Therefore, strengthening peatland management and restoration efforts is essential to support effective emission reductions in Riau,” said Purnama Irawansyah, Head of Riau’s Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda).
East Kalimantan and Jambi, among Indonesia’s pioneer provinces in jurisdictional REDD+ and sub-national MRV implementation, shared an overview of their sub-national MRV development, key lessons on data management practices, uncertainty assessment, cross-institutional coordination, as well as challenges encountered and strategies to address them, in hopes of strengthening the MRV systems in Green for Riau initiative.
About UN-REDD and GREEN for Riau
The United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD Programme) aims to reduce forest emissions and enhance forest carbon and builds on the technical expertise of FAO, coupled with the expertise of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
GREEN for Riau supported by the UN-REDD Programme, implemented by UNEP and FAO, and funded by the UK-FCDO. The initiative included FAO-led support for developing a sub-national Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) and the corresponding forest emission monitoring system, while also supporting broader capacity-building and governance strengthening activities.
Read the full details of this article on the official FAO website:
https://www.fao.org/indonesia/news/detail/riau--fao-host-dialogue-to-strengthen-peatland-and-forest-emission-baseline/en