Jakarta, May 12, 2026 — The collaborative meeting between the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat General of the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI), held in the DPD RI Panmus Meeting Room, Nusantara III Building, Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, provided a strategic opportunity to strengthen synergies for sustainable development in Indonesia. This meeting was a follow-up to the planned collaboration between the UN and the DPD RI as announced at the DPD RI Plenary Session on April 23, 2026.
The meeting was attended by several UN agencies in Indonesia, led by Matthew David Johnson-Idan from the UNRC office, along with staff from the DPD RI Secretariat General, focusing on sustainable forestry, education, and climate change, as well as opportunities for integrating strategic programs that support national sustainable development.
On this occasion, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)* presented various strategic initiatives currently underway in Indonesia, including the GEF RIMBA program covering three priority provinces (Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra). Meanwhile, the UNEP UN-REDD Programme, through Bambang Arifatmi, PhD, introduced the GREEN for Riau initiative as a model for a jurisdiction-based green transformation approach that connects climate action, strengthened forest governance, biodiversity protection, peat restoration, and sustainable economic development.
The GREEN for Riau initiative is designed to deliver value and tangible impact from local emissions reduction efforts by strengthening local leadership with regional and global impacts. This program is also aimed at helping bridge the climate finance gap, which remains a major challenge in implementing climate action at the regional level, while also supporting Indonesia's achievement of its Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030 and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2030 targets.
"Transformation towards low-emission development requires multi-stakeholder collaboration and strong local leadership, especially with local governments and representative institutions such as the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI). Initiatives like GREEN for Riau demonstrate that local leadership can be a crucial driver of global climate solutions and low-carbon development," said Bambang Arifatmi in his presentation.
The presentation received a positive response from the Secretariat General of the DPD RI, who expressed interest in the integrative and collaborative approach offered by the UNEP UN-REDD Programme. The DPD RI also expressed enthusiasm for the potential for developing and replicating similar models in other provinces in Indonesia, particularly in supporting regional capacity building, green development, and sustainable natural resource management.
This meeting emphasized the importance of collaboration between international and national institutions in accelerating the implementation of Indonesia's sustainable development agenda, while also opening up space for strengthening more inclusive and impactful strategic partnerships at the regional level.
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About the UNEP UN-REDD Programme
The UN-REDD Programme is a United Nations collaboration led by UNEP, FAO, and UNDP to support countries in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, strengthening forest governance, and promoting inclusive and sustainable low-carbon development.