Ecobiz.asia — The government is exploring alternative financing schemes, including carbon trading and biodiversity credits, to support the management of national parks and reduce reliance on the state budget.
Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki said all of Indonesia’s 57 national parks are currently funded through the state budget due to their critical role in protecting conservation areas and wildlife habitats.
However, the government is seeking to develop innovative financing mechanisms in the future, including market-based environmental instruments.
“We need to mobilize alternative funding sources beyond the state budget, such as international funding, particularly through carbon trading schemes for activities like afforestation, reforestation and revegetation,” Rohmat said after attending the 43rd Hari Bakti Rimbawan ceremony in Jakarta on Monday (March 16, 2026).
In addition to carbon credits, the government is also considering the development of biodiversity credits, a market-based financing instrument that assigns economic value to conservation or ecosystem restoration efforts, such as habitat protection, forest restoration or the recovery of threatened species populations.
Under such schemes, companies or investors can purchase credits generated from conservation projects as part of their sustainability commitments or biodiversity protection targets.
Similar initiatives have begun emerging in several countries, including rainforest conservation projects in Australia and habitat restoration programs in the United Kingdom, which generate biodiversity credits for companies seeking to support ecosystem protection.
At the global level, the concept has also been promoted by organizations such as the World Economic Forum and the World Bank as a new financing mechanism to help close the funding gap for nature conservation.
The effort to mobilize new financing sources is aligned with the planned establishment of a national task force on innovative financing and management of national parks, announced earlier by Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni on March 12.
The task force will be led by Hashim Djojohadikusumo, with support from several prominent figures including economist Mari Elka Pangestu.
As an initial step, the government is preparing pilot projects for improved national park management, including at Way Kambas National Park, which will also aim to reduce frequent human–elephant conflicts involving the Sumatran elephant in areas surrounding the park. ***
