In 2010, to much fanfare, Norway announced a $1 billion pledge to protect Indonesia’s critically important tropical forests. After years of work, in 2019, the effort, part of the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program, known as REDD+, announced that it was ready to distribute funds.
But then, in September of this year, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs abruptly stated it was ending the pact, blaming Norway for nonpayment. It was a setback for REDD+, deforestation efforts, and Norway’s climate and development finance goals.
“We believe that both governments should be questioned on their motives and commitment to deforestation,” said Arkian Suryadarma, a senior forest campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia, via email. While he believes that while Indonesia certainly could have done more around transparency and governance, Norway is also partly responsible.