Indonesia-Finland Bilateral Meeting Discuss Lake Management and Forestry

KBRN, Belém: Indonesia and Finland are ramping up their climate collaboration, with a renewed focus on sustainable lake management and the development of robust carbon markets, during a bilateral meeting at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.

Indonesia’s Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, sought to leverage Finland's renowned environmental expertise to enhance Indonesia's ecological resilience. The meeting with Finland's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sari Multala, highlighted several critical areas for expanded partnership, according to Minister Nurofiq.

A key point of discussion was the sustainable management of Indonesia's numerous lakes. Minister Nurofiq emphasized Finland's status as a global leader in this domain.

"One of them is lake management. We know that Finland is a country with a million lakes. Almost all of its lakes are well-managed," said Minister Hanif, referring to Finland's successful water resource management, as quoted by Antara.

He added that Indonesia plans to continue collaborating with Finland to increase the capacity and support potential of Indonesia's lakes. Beyond water management, the ministers discussed enhancing cooperation in forest rehabilitation, another area in which Finland has world-class expertise.

"Finland has the capacity to rehabilitate severely degraded forests and now has some of the best sustainable forests in the world. We have been working together for a long time, and we will continue to improve," Minister Nurofiq said, signaling a commitment to a long-term strategic partnership.

Furthermore, Indonesia is actively inviting Finland to join its efforts in establishing effective climate finance mechanisms.

"We're inviting Finland to work together to build a carbon government and a carbon market," the Minister explained.

He emphasized the importance of international support for these initiatives because without our support, the goals of the Paris Agreement, as outlined in Articles 6.2 and 6.4, will not be fully achieved.

The Indonesian delegation also used the opportunity to bring up the issue of energy and bio-fuel production, specifically suggesting a joint effort to optimize methane capture from the palm oil sector.

"We also remind Finland that most of its energy comes from biodiesel from Indonesia. We want to work with Finland to optimize methane capture from its palm plantation production," said the Minister.

This proposal aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with bio-fuel production, thereby making the energy source more sustainable. The Ministers also noted that their countries have a history of successful collaboration, including previous joint initiatives on plastic waste management.

Minister Hanif is actively using the COP30 forum to intensify bilateral discussions with various nations, underscoring Indonesia’s commitment to forging international partnerships in the global fight against climate change. ***