Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on the steps the Indonesian Government is taking to (a) engage with Indonesian indigenous peoples’ organisations and (b) ensure indigenous peoples’ participation in future agreements on the implementation of the bilateral agreement on sustainable forest management between the UK and Indonesia signed in October 2022.

The UK has supported the protection of customary forest areas in Indonesia through the UK-aid funded SETAPAK programme. The programme has supported indigenous peoples' groups to work with government to enhance legal protection of their customary land and to engage in participatory mapping. Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park has been discussing the Indonesia-UK Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning cooperation on Indonesia's Forestry and Other Land Use Net Sink 2030 with the Indonesian Government for several months. This includes how our cooperation can support positive outcomes for all Indonesian people, as well as for the participants and mechanisms set out in on the MoU, including the Joint Consultative Working Group.