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The document argues that Indonesia's economic growth is threatened by environmental degradation, specifically deforestation and peatland fires. While water security is prioritised across sectors, the energy and agriculture sectors focus on built infrastructure rather than forest conservation. The report highlights that ambitious food and bioenergy targets risk further deforestation unless productivity is increased or degraded land is prioritised. Governance is complicated by a complex legal framework and a disconnect between national plans and local government implementation. A case study in Aceh demonstrates that increasing oil palm yields to national averages could meet production targets without further land conversion, whereas 'business-as-usual' scenarios would require converting 220,000 hectares of land.

The report analyzes four smallholder oil palm models in Central Kalimantan: cooperative plasma, company-managed plasma, individual partnership, and independent smallholders. It finds that collective and company-managed models significantly outperform individual and independent models in terms of yield, profit, and risk management. The cooperative model is highlighted as the most beneficial for sustainable livelihoods, while independent smallholders face systemic barriers in finance, supply chains, and market access.

The fact sheet analyzes three organizational models for smallholder oil palm farmers in Central Kalimantan: individual partnerships, cooperatives, and company-managed plasma schemes. It finds that larger, integrated models—specifically cooperatives and company-managed schemes—yield higher harvests and profits per hectare compared to individual partnerships. Cooperatives are highlighted as the most effective for risk management and farmer control, though they face institutional and financial barriers to establishment. Individual partnerships show the lowest performance, achieving only 52% of potential yields and facing high legal, supply, production, and market risks.

The Green Climate Fund's Accreditation Panel assessed Kemitraan bagi Pembaruan Tata Pemerintahan (Kemitraan), an Indonesian non-profit, for fast-track accreditation. The assessment found that Kemitraan meets all required basic and specialized fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards for minimal risk (Category C/I-3), and gender policy requirements. Kemitraan has a track record of managing over USD 130 million in donor contributions and implementing climate-related projects, including peatland restoration and REDD+ infrastructure. The Panel recommends accreditation for micro-sized projects with no conditions.

The document critiques the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry's plan to allocate 20 million hectares of forest for 'food and energy estates'. It argues that this plan constitutes a 'legalization of deforestation' that contradicts Indonesia's global climate commitments (NDC, CBD) and its own FoLU Net Sink 2030 target. The brief highlights the risk of corporate capture, the displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the potential for severe human rights abuses, particularly if the projects are designated as National Strategic Projects (PSN). It emphasizes that food and energy should be treated as human rights rather than business commodities, advocating for local food sovereignty and community-led energy solutions over large-scale industrial estates.

The report argues that Indonesia's energy transition is being 'hijacked' by established conglomerates and politically connected elites who dominate the supply chain for biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants (PLTU). It highlights that while PT PLN aims to replace 5-10% of coal with wood biomass by 2025, the land requirements for this—estimated between 2.3 million and 3.9 million hectares—threaten massive deforestation and land grabbing. The document identifies several large groups, including Sinarmas, Medco, and Jhonlin, as key actors using 'shadow companies' or political ties to secure concessions, often leading to conflicts with indigenous and local communities. It further notes a lack of transparency in biomass sourcing, where sawdust from small-scale businesses is used instead of the planned wood pellets, bypassing legality checks.

The document presents a methodology for identifying potentially suitable degraded land for sustainable palm oil in Indonesia, specifically applied in West and Central Kalimantan. The approach uses a two-step process: a desktop analysis based on environmental, economic, social, and legal indicators, followed by rapid field assessments. This method is designed to align with RSPO standards, Indonesian law, and national REDD+ strategies. In a pilot application in West Kalimantan under Project POTICO, the method helped identify nine potentially suitable areas. Across West and Central Kalimantan, the initial desktop analysis identified approximately seven million hectares of potentially suitable land.

The paper argues that Indonesia can meet rising global vegetable oil demand without further deforestation by combining yield intensification with expansion onto degraded lands, specifically alang-alang grasslands and flat secondary forests. It finds that management practices are more critical to yield than previous land use and that alang-alang grasslands offer the lowest establishment costs and fastest carbon payback times.