Environmental Sustainability Report: REDD Program in Indonesia

This report provides an overview of environmental sustainability in Indonesia, focusing on the significant socio-environmental challenges faced by the country. It highlights the issues of deforestation, high greenhouse gas emissions, and their impact on the environment. The report then discusses the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program, established by the United Nations, as a key mitigation strategy. It details the vision, mission, principles, objectives, strategic objectives, pillars, and priority actions of the REDD program. The implementation mechanisms, including monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), coordination, knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation, are also thoroughly examined. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of sustainable environmental practices for Indonesia's future.

ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
SOCIO ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES...................................3
Socio- Environmental challenges...........................................................................................3
Sustainability challenge..........................................................................................................4
CLIMATE CHANGE AND MITIGATION STRATEGY..............................................................4
Vision.....................................................................................................................................4
Mission...................................................................................................................................4
Principles................................................................................................................................4
General objectives..................................................................................................................4
Strategic objectives.................................................................................................................5
Pillars and Priority actions......................................................................................................5
IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISM............................................................................................5
Implementation.......................................................................................................................5
Coordination...........................................................................................................................6
Monitoring and evaluation.....................................................................................................6
Knowledge management........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Environmental sustainability can be discussed as an action of a person which is
responsible for safeguarding the environment form degradation and depletion of the natural
resources so that they can be sustainability used (Tilman and Clark, 2014). Sustainable use can
be defined as the optimal use of these limited and scarce resources so that it can be used for long
term and maintain the quality of environment. The following essay will outline the case of
United Nation attempting to reduce the emissions because of forest degradation and
deforestation.
SOCIO ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES
Socio- Environmental challenges
Indonesia is the third largest area of tropical rainforest in the whole world. The
deforestation rates in Indonesia is very high approximately 1.17 million per hectares per year.
The greenhouse gas emission of Indonesia is majorly because of land activities and 37 %
because of deforestation ans 27 % because of peat fires. Major challenge faced by Indonesia is
the greenhouse gas emission (The REDD desk, 2019). The greenhouse gases leads to greenhouse
effects. The main gases of greenhouse present in the atmosphere of the Earth are like methane,
carbon dioxide, ozone, water vapour, nitrous oxide and many others. Greenhouse gases are like a
blanket which surround the whole earth. The excessive use of natural gases, coal, oil the outer
covering of the earth that is the blanket becomes thicker and dense and because of this the heat
does not pass out of earth. Therefore, because of this reason the heat gets locked within the earth
making it warmer.
The another challenge for Indonesia is increase in deforestation. It can be defined as
cutting down of the trees and forest areas for converting them for commercial use. It can also be
because of natural reasons like natural calamities such as landslide, hurricanes, floods, fires and
many other reason. On the other hand the another reason can be man-made like cutting of trees
for woods, or for making building and other things.
The deforestation in Indonesia is increasing and has massive social and environmental
impact on the country. Maximum forest area in Indonesia have been cleared up by big

multinational companies for purpose of expanding their business (Wong and Zhou, 2015).
Another main reason for increase in deforestation is that it is a main source of raw material for
logging industry. Logging can be defined as the skidding, cutting, processing and loading of logs
and trees and transporting them to companies where wood is the major raw materials. This
increase in the logging and burning of forest has made Indonesia rank Third in the list of world's
largest emitter of Greenhouse gases (Ralph and Stubbs, 2014).
Sustainability challenge
All these socio environmental challenges impacts the sustainability of the country. It is
because of the reason that all these challenges harms and degrades the environment which affects
the overall environmental issues such as natural resources, gases and many others.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND MITIGATION STRATEGY
Therefore, for mitigating these climatic changes of Indonesia, a Reducing Emission from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program have been established by United
Nations. This program was started under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) in the year 2005. The objective of establishing this program was to mitigate
the changes in the climate with help of reducing net emissions of the greenhouse gases with
advanced forest management.
Vision
The vision of REDD is to promote sustainable management of all the peatlands and forest
as these are natural resources and an asset for nation.
Mission
The mission of REDD are improving the functioning of forest and peatlands and also to
improve the rules and regulations relating to environment.
Principles
The principles followed by REDD are efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, transparency
and accountability (REDD+ national strategy, 2012). All these principles ensures that the
working according to these principles the organization can ensure easy accomplishment of the
objectives.
General objectives
The general objectives of the REDD are improving the capacity of the country to manage
the forest and the peatlands (Johnston, Fanzo and Cogill, 2014). Another objective is to develop

procedures and policies which will help in reducing deforestation and degradation of the
environment. The main objective behind the establishment of the organization is to prepare an
effective institutional system to protect and safeguard the forest, natural resources and
environment.
Strategic objectives
The main strategic objective is reduction of greenhouse gas emission along with
increasing the carbon stocks. Also to improve the preservation of biodiversity with an increase in
value and sustainability of the functions of forest (Schaltegger, Burritt and Petersen, 2017).
Pillars and Priority actions
The five pillars of the REDD are as follows:
The development of REDD institutional system- this includes REDD+ agency, funding
instruments and MRV institution.
Review and strengthening of the policies and regulations- for this it needs to review all
the planning and needs to improve the laws and need to provide incentive for those who are
working in protecting and safeguarding the environment.
Launching of strategic programs- for this it has launched many programs like
conservation and rehabilitation which is established to restore forest and rehabilitate peatlands.
Another program is sustainable management of landscape which promotes the expansion of
sustainable alternative livelihood.
Shifts in work culture and paradigm- for this priority action is to empower local
economies using the sustainability principles and to strengthen the land use governance and
forest. For this it has started a campaign “Save Indonesia's Forest”.
Multi stakeholder participation- for this action taken is to facilitate interaction among
stakeholders like national, private sector, international community and to ensure equitable
benefit are shared among all the stakeholders.
IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISM
Implementation
For this REDD has established a system of MRV that is Monitoring, Reporting and
Verification in Indonesia. This system of MRV is established to develop different policies and
standards and implements these work mechanisms so that the environmental challenges can be
met (Benitez- Amado Llorens- Montes, and Fernandez- Perez, 2015).

Coordination
It refers to as a stage wherein REDD tries to coordinate all the activities which it will
undertake for improving the sustainability challenges present within the environment. For this
REDD will coordinate with the government of Indonesia that whether they have implemented
the strategies suggested by REDD or not. REDD has to coordinate all the activities coming under
MRV so that environmental challenges can be met.
Monitoring and evaluation
In this stage REDD monitors that all the activities which are implemented by REDD must
be monitored from time- to- time that whether the implemented strategies have been
implemented properly or not. If not implemented in proper way then some corrective measures
are to be taken by REDD.
Knowledge management
In it includes the fact that REDD must be updated with all the necessary changes and
knowledge relating to all the changes which may impact the implemented strategies. So REDD
must update itself on timely basis so that it has latest knowledge (Baland, Bardhan and Bowles,
eds., 2018).
CONCLUSION
With the study of whole essay it can be concluded that environment refers to as the
surrounding and ambiance within which the business exists and runs. It is very necessary for the
business to take care of the environment and ensure that the growth of the environment is
sustainable. The present essay started with outlining the socio environmental challenges faced by
Indonesia like deforestation, increase in greenhouse gas emission and many other challenges.
Further it highlighted a mitigation strategy that is REDD and its mission, vision and other
objectives were discussed. At last the implementation of these strategies and their monitoring
was discussed.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Baland, J.M., Bardhan, P. and Bowles, S. eds., 2018. Inequality, cooperation, and environmental
sustainability. Princeton University Press.
Benitez - Amado, J., Llorens - Montes, F.J. and Fernandez - Perez, V., 2015. IT impact on talent
management and operational environmental sustainability. Information Technology and
Management. 16(3). pp.207-220.
Johnston, J.L., Fanzo, J.C. and Cogill, B., 2014. Understanding sustainable diets: a descriptive
analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impact on health,
food security, and environmental sustainability. Advances in nutrition. 5(4). pp.418-429.
Ralph, M. and Stubbs, W., 2014. Integrating environmental sustainability into
universities. Higher Education. 67(1). pp.71-90.
Schaltegger, S., Burritt, R. and Petersen, H., 2017. An introduction to corporate environmental
management: Striving for sustainability. Routledge.
Tilman, D. and Clark, M., 2014. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human
health. Nature. 515(7528). p.518.
Wong, J.K.W. and Zhou, J., 2015. Enhancing environmental sustainability over building life
cycles through green BIM: A review. Automation in Construction. 57. pp.156-165.
Online
REDD+ national strategy. 2012. [Online]. Available through:
<https://static1.squarespace.com/static/566f0f00d8af100a22fb3bfd/t/
58540e10e4fcb56428732a47/1481903646370/Indonesia+REDD%2B+Task+Force.
+National+Strategy.pdf>
The REDD desk. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://theredddesk.org/countries/indonesia>