Indonesia and the Philippines Exploring Cooperation on Major Reforestation Project
Indonesia and the Philippines are said to be working on a bilateral partnership for a major reforestation project in an effort to accelerate net zero and carbon market development in ASEAN.
Both countries have significant forest resources, making them among the biggest oxygen producers in the ASEAN region, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman and ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) 2023 chairman Arsjad Rasjid said in an interview with Philippine online news outlet Philstar.
The reforestation partnership was among a number of sustainability projects discussed by the ASEAN-BAC earlier this year.
Indonesia has 91.2 million hectares of forest land while the Philippines has 23.3 million hectares. And with the growing global demand for carbon credits, a potential reforestation partnership could be an immense opportunity for both countries.
“We expect the global carbon market to reach US$50 billion by 2030 and the ASEAN region is well positioned to capitalise on this opportunity,” Arsjad said.
“That’s why we have created a net zero and carbon excellence hub as legacy projects of the ASEAN-BAC that will create an ecosystem for net zero and development of the carbon market development, to help Indonesia and the Philippines leverage their significant forest resources,” he added.
This reforestation project will be a bilateral partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines to catalyze such a major undertaking in the region.
The reforestation project was initially discussed with Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and various Philippine business chambers last February after the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce had secured the support of the Indonesian government to push for the bilateral partnership.
With talks still in the early stages, Indonesia and the Philippines are hoping to sign a memorandum of understanding on the project at the ASEAN leaders meeting in September this year.
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