Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia in an international forum advocates for the rights of indigenous peoples in relation to climate change, including showcasing the progress and developments of the country's Customary Forest Program.
Contacted by ANTARA from here on Sunday, an official at the Forestry Ministry, Yuli Prasetyo Nugroho, stated that Indonesia has participated in the Facilitative Working Group on Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (FWG LCIPP) since its establishment.
"Indonesia consistently shares information about the efforts of the Indonesian government through the customary forest program. At FWG 2025 in Bonn, Germany, Indonesia was asked by the LCIPP Secretariat to present its best practices for the first time," he said.
The Forestry Ministry presented Indonesia’s achievements regarding customary forests since 2016, involving 156 Indigenous Law Communities managing 332,505 hectares of customary forests across 19 provinces and 41 districts/cities.
Customary forest practices in Indonesia were also presented at the LCIPP Annual Dialogue event, titled "The Ethical and Equitable Incorporation of Indigenous Values and Knowledge and Local Knowledge Systems in Nationally Determined Contributions," held this June.
Nugroho mentioned that indigenous peoples in Indonesia are referred to as Masyarakat Hukum Adat or literally means Indigenous Law Community. Therefore, they cannot be separated from the legal identity of indigenous peoples.
This is because most Indonesian communities are genealogical and territorial, living in areas that have direct interactions with natural resources, he explained.
"However, indigenous peoples in Indonesia have undergone significant changes and transformations due to economic development, social change, and modernization, without ever losing their identity as indigenous communities.
He emphasized that customary forests in Indonesia play an important role. Forests in Indonesia are divided into state forests and customary forests; therefore, indigenous communities play a vital role both in development and addressing climate change.
