Ecobiz.asia — Indonesia has reaffirmed its commitment to developing a high-integrity and inclusive biodiversity credit market that ensures Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the primary beneficiaries of nature conservation, positioning the country as a potential model for biodiversity finance across the Asia-Pacific region.
The commitment was presented by the Ministry of Environment/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) at the international forum “Making Nature Credits Market Work in Asia and the Pacific”, held during London Climate Action Week 2026 in London on Tuesday (June 23, 2026).
Environment Minister and Head of the Environmental Control Agency Moh Jumhur Hidayat said Indonesia is designing environmental economic instruments based on fairness, transparency, and equitable benefit-sharing for communities that protect ecosystems.
“Let me emphasize that the foundation of successful biodiversity credits is ensuring fair and equitable benefits for local communities and Indigenous Peoples who undertake the real work of conservation on the ground,” Jumhur said.
Indonesia is currently developing a multi-credit framework that goes beyond measuring forest cover by assigning economic value to the protection of endemic species and the overall quality of ecosystems.
Under the proposed system, conservation achievements—such as protecting habitats for endangered species including tigers and orangutans—would become part of the economic valuation underpinning biodiversity credit transactions.
The ministry is coordinating the framework with multiple government agencies, including the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), as well as private-sector representatives, civil society organizations, and Indigenous community groups.
As part of its regional agenda, Indonesia also proposed establishing an Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Biodiversity Credits to harmonize regulations, exchange technical knowledge, and strengthen the region’s collective position in the emerging global biodiversity credit market.
Jumhur urged governments and stakeholders to view biodiversity credits not merely as a financial instrument but as a mechanism to accelerate ecosystem restoration while improving community livelihoods.
“It is now time for our economies to invest back into nature. Let us work together to ensure biodiversity credits become more than a financial instrument—they must become a force for ecological restoration and human well-being,” he said.
Indonesia’s initiative received strong support from Dame Amelia Fawcett, Co-Chairs of the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB), who said the country’s efforts could have significance well beyond its borders.
“What Indonesia is doing is critically important and extends far beyond its national boundaries. The work undertaken by the Indonesian Government and its Biodiversity Credit Task Force to design a high-integrity and inclusive market should serve as a model for other countries, both regionally and globally,” Fawcett said.
She added that Indonesia’s vast tropical forests, mangroves, and coral reefs are globally significant natural assets that require sustainable financing mechanisms capable of safeguarding their long-term conservation. ***
