TNRC Partner Resource Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in a context of nationalist oligarchy: Lessons from Indonesia

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in a context of nationalist oligarchy: Lessons from Indonesia

By Aled Williams, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre | November 2020 | Partner Resource

In 2010, Norway launched a flagship initiative to slow the deforestation that has plagued Indonesia: one of the world’s top contemporary carbon emitters from land conversion. The Norwegian government signed an agreement to provide Indonesia with up to USD 1 billion if it could prove it had reduced its high carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peat lands.

This U4 Brief examines two resulting pilot programs for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Central Sulawesi to explore the ways that political dynamics can shape the processes and outcomes of conservation projects. It draw lessons for better integrating anti-corruption considerations into future anti-deforestation initiatives. Key takeaways for natural resource management practitioners include strengthening collaboration with counterparts promoting good governance and accountability to address the structural, political-economic drivers of deforestation beyond particular anti-deforestation interventions.

Practitioners working on anti-deforestation initiatives should focus on ways to:

• improve planning for reform backlash,
• challenge governance deteriorations when they occur, and
• prioritise work on complementary democratic governance reforms.

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