Govt Formulates High-Integrity Biodiversity Credits Policy

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is accelerating the formulation and implementation of a High Integrity Biodiversity Credits policy to strengthen the national biodiversity financing framework.

Environment Minister and Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, said the instrument forms part of Indonesia’s broader strategy to safeguard its rich biodiversity.

“The protection of biodiversity is a national urgency that cannot be delayed. Indonesia, as the world’s second-largest mega-biodiversity country, has a global responsibility to ensure the sustainability of its natural resources,” Minister Hanif said in Jakarta on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

The ministry reiterated this commitment at the Biodiversity Financing: Pathways through Biodiversity Valuation and Multilateral Benefit Sharing forum, which was attended by representatives of the British government, development partners, academics, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.

The forum marked the implementation of the Indonesia-United Kingdom strategic partnership formalized by President Prabowo Subianto and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It also followed up on a memorandum of understanding between the Environment Ministry and the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) covering environmental protection, climate change, and biodiversity.

Minister Hanif emphasized that biodiversity is not only an ecological asset but also a valuable form ofnatural capital that must be managed sustainably to support food security, public health, energy resilience, and national economic development. He stressed that stronger protection efforts must go hand in hand with fair, science-based, and sustainable governance.

He described biodiversity credits as a results-based mechanism that encourages transparent and accountable contributions from both the public and private sectors to conservation, ecosystem restoration, and the protection of priority species and habitats.

Minister Hanif added that the instrument must rest on scientific credibility, social inclusiveness, transparent governance, and high-integrity safeguards, including a robust Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system.

In addition to developing biodiversity credits, the ministry and its partners are strengthening other biodiversity financing instruments, including the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism for genetic resources to ensure fair benefit distribution in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

As a follow-up, Indonesia has expressed its readiness to host the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits meeting and to establish the Indonesia Biodiversity Credits Chapter in June 2026 as part of its commitment to advancing integrity-based biodiversity financing and international collaboration.

Through these strategic steps, Indonesia aims to position itself as a proactive country that mainstreams biodiversity values into its development policies and economic system, striving to live in harmony with nature for present and future generations. ***