Indonesia and Japan Strengthen Cooperation in the Forestry Sector
Following President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to enhance bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Japan, the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenhut) held a meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The Head of the Bureau of Public Relations and International Cooperation, Ministry of Forestry, Ristianto Pribadi, stated that both parties agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation in the forestry sector, particularly in supporting the agenda of controlling climate change, rehabilitating degraded land, and managing world-class conservation areas.
“This agreement emerged during the meeting between Raja Juli Antoni, Minister of Forestry, and Yoshifumi Yoshikawa, Senior Vice President of JICA. Accompanying the Minister of Forestry in the meeting were Ristianto Pribadi as Head of the Bureau of Public Relations and International Cooperation, Ahmad Munawir as Director of Species and Genetic Conservation, and Ima Yudin Rayaningtyas as Forestry Attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo,” he explained in an official statement on Monday (30/3).
Ristianto said the meeting took place constructively. Both parties reaffirmed their joint commitment to expanding existing collaborations while exploring new, more innovative and impactful cooperation opportunities.
During the meeting, according to Ristianto, the Minister of Forestry emphasised that the Indonesian Government, under the direction of President Prabowo Subianto, has a strong commitment to controlling climate change and accelerating the rehabilitation of degraded land as part of efforts to maintain environmental sustainability while improving community welfare.
“Kemenhut conveyed a grand vision for developing Indonesia’s conservation areas into World Class National Parks, which excel not only in biodiversity protection but also in governance, best practices in ecotourism, and contributions to local and global economies,” he said.
In addition, Ristianto continued, Kemenhut invited JICA to jointly strengthen the World Mangrove Center initiative as a bridge for global efforts in rehabilitation, research, education, and innovation in mangrove ecosystem management. This initiative is expected to serve as an international reference for nature-based climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
JICA welcomed these various initiatives and expressed its readiness to continue supporting Indonesia through technical cooperation, funding, and the exchange of knowledge and technology. JICA’s support to date has been assessed as providing tangible contributions to various forestry programmes in Indonesia, including sustainable forest resource management and institutional capacity building.
This meeting serves as an important momentum in strengthening the Indonesia-Japan partnership in the forestry sector, while also affirming the strategic role of international cooperation in addressing global challenges related to climate change and environmental degradation.
“Strengthening technical forestry cooperation with JICA is one of the programmes to bolster Indonesia-Japan relations and is part of the series of state visits by President Prabowo Subianto to Japan,” Ristianto concluded.