BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry is continuing to make consistent and substantial efforts to ensure that forest carbon governance remains on a legal track following the issuance of the landmark presidential regulation on the country's economic value of carbon, which was signed by President Joko Widodo in October last year.
One of these efforts is to make sure that all carbon projects involving private, public and government entities which are in the transition phase - those in which carbon trading transactions were conducted prior to the issuance of the landmark presidential regulation - fulfil their legal obligations, including paying non-tax state revenues and penalties for late payments.
One of the forestry companies in the transition phase, PT RMU, was officially ordered in December last year (Dec 23), by means of a decree from Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, to pay its financial obligations (non-tax state revenues and penalties) to the state for a number of carbon transactions it had previously performed.
According to the latest update from the ministry (Feb 18), RMU has in fact complied with these financial obligations, in the form of both payments for non-tax state revenues as well as fines due to late payments, totalling around USD5.38 million.
“This is part of RMU's legal compliance while in its transition phase. We have been putting in a lot of effort to ensure that entities including but not only RMU are registered in the National Registry System (SRN),” the Ministry's Director General of Sustainable Forest Management Agus Justianto explained in an update related to forest carbon governance efforts while in the transition phase (Feb 21).
“If such entities are not registered, they cannot carry out carbon trading on the remaining carbon units in their carbon accounting areas,” he added.
Director General Justianto emphasized that with the landmark presidential regulation in effect, no carbon trading should be taking place, including in the international market, unless authorized by the country's Environment and Forestry Minister.
As reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in December last year (Dec 23), the country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stressed that she would continue to intensify efforts to strengthen Indonesia's forest governance given that such governance could be better implemented with the landmark presidential regulation in force.
Late last month, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jan 28), Minister Nurbaya also pointed out that the SRN is a single legal system to ensure the registration of all carbon projects that engage with Indonesia's economic value of carbon and those that align with Indonesia's legal and regulatory frameworks, so that illegalities linked to carbon trading can be easily detected and cracked down on by law enforcement.
In early January 2020, the Indonesian forestry authorities sealed the RMU concession over 2019 peat fires in parts of its concession in Central Kalimantan province, after which a sanction was imposed on the company in early August last year. RMU, in a statement at the time, declared that it would ensure legal compliance following the imposition of the sanction.
These two photos, obtained from RMU (Feb 23), show planting efforts by the company to recover burned peat areas in parts of its concession.
Continuing compliance efforts
RMU Director Rezal Kusumaatmadja, in response to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Feb 22) regarding the company's legal compliance in terms of fulfilling its financial obligations, stated in writing that, “As a business license holder it is our obligation to pay non-tax state revenues in accordance with the applicable regulations.”
“We believe that transparency is the key to having a carbon credit trading system with integrity,” he asserted.
“In our field of business, which is still new and taking shape, transparency and integrity are values that must be upheld so that the valuable objectives of restoring forest ecosystems and enhancing the welfare of communities by working together can be achieved simultaneously.”
With regard to registration in the SRN, the company’s director said that, "We are currently in the process of completing the registration through the SRN (under the Ministry’s Directorate General of Climate Change Control). We will coordinate with the directorate general for the next stages of the process."
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BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry is continuing to make consistent and substantial efforts to ensure that forest carbon governance remains on a legal track following the issuance of the landmark presidential regulation on the country's economic value of carbon, which was signed by President Joko Widodo in October last year.
One of these efforts is to make sure that all carbon projects involving private, public and government entities which are in the transition phase - those in which carbon trading transactions were conducted prior to the issuance of the landmark presidential regulation - fulfil their legal obligations, including paying non-tax state revenues and penalties for late payments.
One of the forestry companies in the transition phase, PT RMU, was officially ordered in December last year (Dec 23), by means of a decree from Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, to pay its financial obligations (non-tax state revenues and penalties) to the state for a number of carbon transactions it had previously performed.
According to the latest update from the ministry (Feb 18), RMU has in fact complied with these financial obligations, in the form of both payments for non-tax state revenues as well as fines due to late payments, totalling around USD5.38 million.
“This is part of RMU's legal compliance while in its transition phase. We have been putting in a lot of effort to ensure that entities including but not only RMU are registered in the National Registry System (SRN),” the Ministry's Director General of Sustainable Forest Management Agus Justianto explained in an update related to forest carbon governance efforts while in the transition phase (Feb 21).
“If such entities are not registered, they cannot carry out carbon trading on the remaining carbon units in their carbon accounting areas,” he added.
Director General Justianto emphasized that with the landmark presidential regulation in effect, no carbon trading should be taking place, including in the international market, unless authorized by the country's Environment and Forestry Minister.
As reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in December last year (Dec 23), the country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stressed that she would continue to intensify efforts to strengthen Indonesia's forest governance given that such governance could be better implemented with the landmark presidential regulation in force.
Late last month, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jan 28), Minister Nurbaya also pointed out that the SRN is a single legal system to ensure the registration of all carbon projects that engage with Indonesia's economic value of carbon and those that align with Indonesia's legal and regulatory frameworks, so that illegalities linked to carbon trading can be easily detected and cracked down on by law enforcement.
In early January 2020, the Indonesian forestry authorities sealed the RMU concession over 2019 peat fires in parts of its concession in Central Kalimantan province, after which a sanction was imposed on the company in early August last year. RMU, in a statement at the time, declared that it would ensure legal compliance following the imposition of the sanction.
These two photos, obtained from RMU (Feb 23), show planting efforts by the company to recover burned peat areas in parts of its concession.
Continuing compliance efforts
RMU Director Rezal Kusumaatmadja, in response to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Feb 22) regarding the company's legal compliance in terms of fulfilling its financial obligations, stated in writing that, “As a business license holder it is our obligation to pay non-tax state revenues in accordance with the applicable regulations.”
“We believe that transparency is the key to having a carbon credit trading system with integrity,” he asserted.
“In our field of business, which is still new and taking shape, transparency and integrity are values that must be upheld so that the valuable objectives of restoring forest ecosystems and enhancing the welfare of communities by working together can be achieved simultaneously.”
With regard to registration in the SRN, the company’s director said that, "We are currently in the process of completing the registration through the SRN (under the Ministry’s Directorate General of Climate Change Control). We will coordinate with the directorate general for the next stages of the process."
RELATED STORIES
