Regional Hub
Regional Updates: SOUTHEAST ASIAHeadquartered at Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (IBCSD) office in Jakarta – Indonesia, TFA Southeast Asia aims to support public and private collaborations to achieve zero deforestation commitment through collective action. The objective of the Southeast Asia region is to champion palm and forest positive narratives through jurisdictional/landscape approaches. To support smallholder farmers and independent third-party suppliers and to facilitate peat restoration and forest protection efforts in Indonesia. The key focus commodities are palm oil and pulp and paper. The team works in Indonesia and Malaysia with the focus in North Sumatra, Aceh, Riau, Jambi and West Kalimantan, and Sabah where sectoral and government leading commitments are existing.
Initiatives
1. Smallholder Task Force
- Facilitate discussions, provide necessary expertise and engagement to catalyse linkages in the context of smallholders.
- Discussion revolve around the access to finance and the formulation of national policy to protect essential economic interests.
2. Jurisdictional Approach in Jambi
- Enable efforts to create preferential sourcing areas by supporting progressive sub-national leaders through facilitating dialogues on provincial level.
- Support the Initiative for Sustainable Landscape through the Biocarbon Fund that links national emission reductions with the provincial level through strengthening policy and private sector engagement.
3. Jurisdictional Approach in Riau
- Support subnational initiative under Indonesian government’s Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI).
- Aligning partnerships with national efforts to promote a low-carbon development path and a high-impact delivery model through efforts to reduce deforestation.
As a major global supplier of forest risk commodities, such as palm oil and paper & pulp, Southeast Asia is critical to demonstrating evidences of sustainable land use impact that combines forest protection and economic growth.
Increasing number of companies that produce or source agricultural or forest commodities in the region have committed to reduce deforestation from their supply chains and are moving towards implementation. In addition, Governments of Southeast Asian nations, local and provincial governments, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples organizations are focusing on how to reduce deforestation and forest fire in a manner that boost economic growth and people’s well-being.
The Southeast Asia Initiative aims to accelerate the above-mentioned transitions through:
1. Bolstering international sustainable investment in Southeast Asia’s economies.
2. Supporting smallholder farmers and independent third-party supplier.
3. Championing a new narrative for deforestation-free growth.
4. Support on peat restoration efforts in Indonesia.
The Southeast Asia Initiative consist of a working group of multistakeholder regional and global partners, under the umbrella of TFA Southeast Asia.
Regional Team

Janne Siregar
Southeast Asia Regional Analyst
janne.tfa@ibcsd.or.id

Erwin S. Widodo
Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator
erwin.tfa@ibcsd.or.id