The Indonesian government has earmarked approximately 1.4 million hectares of customary forest land (hutan adat) specifically for indigenous communities (masyarakat adat) to ensure they directly benefit from the national carbon trading ecosystem. Speaking at the inauguration of the Indonesia Forestry Carbon Hub in Jakarta, the President’s Special Envoy for Energy and Climate, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, emphasized that this allocation aligns with international investor demands, which increasingly require carbon verification projects to yield verifiable, positive social impacts for grassroots populations.

By integrating this 1.4-million-hectare custom framework with the pre-existing 8.3-million-hectare social forestry (perhutanan sosial) program, local and indigenous communities can secure a dual stream of income: traditional yields from sustainable agroforestry products paired with secondary financial payouts from carbon credit sales via the upcoming National Carbon Unit Registry System (SRUK). To safeguard these valuable biological carbon sinks, the administration is pairing economic inclusivity with an aggressive environmental enforcement surge, planning to scale up the country's forestry ranger (polisi kehutanan) force from 5,000 to 70,000 personnel over a three-year period. Environmental policymakers, green asset fund managers, and sustainable forestry developers should follow this rollout closely, as empowering indigenous land custody serves as a core blueprint for driving highly transparent, socially equitable Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in the global carbon market.
 Source:
https://journalarta.com/news/2026/07/06/pemerintah-siapkan-14-juta-hektare-lahan-karbon-untuk-masyarakat-adat/