RECOFTC and Internews organized a roundtable for journalists and civil society organizations in South Jakarta, Indonesia on 30 June 2026 under the Forest Governance Media Initiative (FGMI).
The workshop aimed to equip journalists with the knowledge needed to produce critical, evidence-based reporting. According to Dewi Laila Sari, country lead for Indonesia at Internews, “Such reporting will be in the public interest and help strengthen oversight of carbon market development.”
The event brought together journalists from media outlets including Mongabay, The Jarkarta Post, Detik, KataData and Kompas TV. Also present were representatives from the World Resources Institute, the United Nations Environment Programme and prominent non-governmental institutions such as Konservasi Indonesia, Auriga Nusantara, Madani Berkelanjutan, HUMA and KKI WARSI.
Opening the event, RECOFTC’s Robin Claudio aus der Beek, project manager of FGMI, noted that Indonesia has reached an important stage in developing its forest carbon market. While new regulations present opportunities for climate finance, he stressed the need for safeguards that protect biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples' rights and community benefits.
Discussions focused on carbon market integrity, blue carbon, Indigenous Peoples' rights and the risks of greenwashing. Together, participants and organizers explored how media reporting can better reflect the realities of communities affected by carbon projects.
“Stories about carbon markets need to go beyond numbers and credits,” said Nurul Fitria, a journalist from Mongabay Indonesia present at the event. “They need to show how these initiatives affect communities, their rights and their livelihoods.”
Presentations also highlighted the role of transparent governance, credible carbon accounting and strong safeguards in building trust in carbon markets. Community perspectives remained central throughout the discussions. KKI WARSI shared how revenue from the Bujang Raba Community Payment for Ecosystem Services initiative in Jambi has funded village infrastructure, scholarships and support for elderly and disabled residents while helping conserve forests.
Beyond knowledge sharing, the roundtable created new opportunities for collaboration between journalists and civil society organizations. Participants identified joint reporting opportunities on carbon and deforestation in national parks, blue carbon, Indigenous communities in Riau and women's leadership in community-based carbon projects.
The discussions also led to several concrete reporting collaborations. These include KataData and Konservasi Indonesia investigating deforestation in a national park, coverage of blue carbon by the Indonesia Data Journalism Network and Konservasi Indonesia, reporting by Mongabay and Kompas TV on Indigenous communities in Riau with HUMA and stories on women's leadership in community-based carbon initiatives.
“The need for reporting that goes beyond carbon figures and market mechanisms is clear,” noted aus der Beek. “Carbon market success cannot be measured solely by the volume of carbon credits generated. Credibility depends on transparent governance, strong safeguards, secure Indigenous and community rights, biodiversity conservation, equitable benefit-sharing and effective public oversight.”
The new collaborations will continue beyond the roundtable, combining technical expertise, field evidence and investigative reporting to strengthen public understanding of Indonesia's forest carbon market and its impacts on Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
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Shinta Purnama Sarie is communication officer at RECOFTC Indonesia.
The Forest Governance Media Initiative (FGMI) is a RECOFTC–Internews initiative supporting stronger media reporting on forest governance in Indonesia and Viet Nam, funded by UK International Development through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).