Progress at the THK “Jakarta Dialogues”
“… the SDGs cannot be achieved by each country in isolation. The SDGs should be achieved through global leadership and shared responsibility … ”
~ Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia, ASEAN Leaders Summit, Bali 2018
Context
As the fourth most populous country in the world, and one of the fastest growing emerging markets, Indonesia’s ability to deliver high-quality, inclusive growth, in harmony with its natural and human resources is vital.
Indonesia is already demonstrating strong leadership for the SDGs: it is striving to meet ambitious climate targets (committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 29% under the Paris Agreement). It is implementing a Roadmap for Sustainable Finance, issued the world’s first green sukuk bond ($1.25 bn) and the world’s first sustainable land use bond ($95 m) earlier this year, has reduced the country’s poverty rate to 9.8% and increased access to clean water to 76.74%.
All this has occurred alongside a major national infrastructure programme which aims to deliver $400 billion worth of new public-works projects in the transportation, energy, water and waste sectors over five years, in line with the G20’s priority focus on infrastructure. Indonesia’s national infrastructure finance institution – PT SMI – has recently launched a first-of-its-kind integrated funding platform called “SDG Indonesia One”, under the leadership of Sri Mulyani, Minister of Finance. SDG Indonesia One will support large-scale sustainable infrastructure projects in Indonesia; the platform has already reached USD2.34 billion in commitments out of a target of USD4 billion.
Indonesia continues to set a clear course for the SDGs. At the sidelines of the 2018 IMF / World Bank Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia championed the inaugural “Tri Hita Karana Forum on Sustainable Development” (THK Forum) – a platform designed to accelerate global action for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and endorsed by President Joko Widodo.
THK Forum
The THK Forum is a platform designed to accelerate global action for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The mission of the THK Forum is to mobilise private capital for the SDGs (especially in priority THK sectors) through blended and innovative finance solutions combined with the right policy changes
Priority THK sectors include (i) sustainable infrastructure for a low carbon economy (especially clean energy); (ii) resilient cities (especially transport, water and connectivity); (iii) food and sustainable land use for sustainable livelihoods; (iv) plastics; (v) oceans including sustainable fisheries; (vi) female entrepreneurship; and (vii) technology and innovation.
The 2018 THK Forum saw the launch of over 30 high impact initiatives and mobilised up to $10 billion for the SDGs in Indonesia and the world, led by the United In Diversity Foundation with strategic support from the Blended Finance Taskforce, the ICC, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the OECD and others.
THK “Dialogues”
Throughout 2019, the THK Forum will continue to champion and mobilise capital for high impact initiatives across the THK priority sectors, while influencing global and local leaders in government, business and finance to be more sustainable.
Along with the Indonesian government, the THK Forum is focused on helping deliver tangible results and largescale investment to shift to an economy which reflects the THK ethos of “triple happiness”: harmony between people, nature and the spirit.
THK will be hosting a series of “Dialogues” in 2019 to profile success stories, identify how to address key barriers to mobilising capital for the SDGs, and accelerate the THK mission to create “Better Business, and a Better World”. The format for the THK “Dialogues” is a roundtable (or series of roundtables) with high profile participants from government and business. These roundtables are meant to be interactive and action-oriented.
The THK “Davos Dialogues” were first held in January 2019 followed by the THK “Jakarta Dialogues” in March 2019. Two major announcements were made at the THK “Jakarta Dialogues” press conference: (1) the launch of the first National Plastic Action Partnership between the Indonesian government and the World Economic Forum; and (2) The Billion Dollar Fund for Women™ announcing huge progress since launching at the THK Forum in Bali with over USD 680 million committed and a number of investments from Fund partners already made into women-founded Indonesian companies.
One of the major THK announcements we also expect this year at the THK Dialogues is the launch of a new “Blended Finance and Innovation Institute” on Kura Kura Bali at the Tsinghua SEA Hub. Please email [email protected] if you want to learn more.
Key highlights of the THK “Jakarta Dialogues”
Plastics: Launch of the first National Plastic Action Partnership with the World Economic Forum. The National Partnership with Indonesia will convene leaders from government, industry, academia and civil society to develop a concrete roadmap for action ranging from policy and industry guidelines to well-informed investment plans. The roadmap will build on a first of its kind modelling analysis based on complex data sets and extensive research. The National Partnerships with Indonesia forms part of the larger Global Plastic Action Partnership, with the vision of averting plastic pollution by 2025 through fast-tracking circular economy solutions.
Sustainable Land Use for Sustainable Livelihoods: Showcase of Indonesian entrepreneurs and dialogue about solutions to support sustainable livelihoods and create sustainable food and land use systems in Indonesia. The session was opened by Paul Polman, Chair of the ICC and championed by H.E. Luhut Panjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs. The session included presentations from:
o Lestari Capital’s Sustainable Commodities Conservation Mechanism which unlocks sustainable, large-scale long-term finance for landscape restoration and conservation to directly combat the negative effects of deforestation, fires and other environmental degradation by tapping into global commodities markets. Cargill was announced as the first investor at the THK Forum in Bali and there is a strong pipeline of conservation projects being developed.
o JAVARA which is one of Indonesia’s leading purveyors of artisanal food products and works across agricultural value chains to preserve biodiversity and bring community-based organic products to broader markets with a strong focus on capacity building in communities. In doing so, they help farmers move up the value chain and generate enough income to get out of poverty. JAVARA collaborates with more than 52,000 farmers who produce over 700 products.
o SOBI which is a market hub for sustainably managed community based natural resource commodities.
o &Green a blended finance vehicle for sustainable land use which has invested into a largescale rubber project in Indonesia through the Tropical Landscape Finance Facility. The project’s strict social and environmental requirements will protect tens of thousands of hectares in East Kalimantan and Jambi.
Indonesia – The New Hub for Blue Finance and Sustainable Fisheries: Showcase of Indonesian initiatives which are trying to mobilise private capital for the blue economy with strong leadership for the marine agenda from H.E. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS). Leading oceans initiatives in this session included:
o Blue Halo S which supports Marine Protected Areas through sustainable commercial fishing and ecotourism user fees. The first pilot involves over 4.3 million hectares of ocean off the coast of West Papua.
o A major partnership between BAPPENAS and RARE of a mechanism to fund sustainable fishing activities at the local level in Indonesia.
o Blue Finance and the WWF developing ecotourism projects to support Marine Protected Areas including in the Sabang islands off Banda Aceh with a 9% return rate. The THK Forum will try to help understand "why isn’t the private sector investing in these kinds of projects with attractive returns?"
Blended Finance and Innovation: Workshop showcasing Indonesia’s leadership on mobilising capital for the SDGs including plans to establish a “Blended Finance and Innovation Institute” in Bali. The WEF’s Sustainable Development Investment Partnership and the Blended Finance Taskforce provided key input on the concept, which was championed by Chairman Wimboh from the OJK. Special presentations included:
o Sustainable finance and “greening” the domestic financial system with presentations from Bank Indonesia and the Ministry of Finance.
o Blended finance for sustainable infrastructure, with an update from PT SMI on the progress of SDG Indonesia One – including investments in resilient infrastructure in disaster affected communities in Indonesia.
o Innovative solutions to major SDG challenges including The Billion Dollar Fund for Women™ which has over USD 680 million committed.
o Overcoming barriers to mobilising capital for high impact sectors with presentations from entrepreneurs like FeelWell Ceramics (investing in anti-stunting infrastructure), Gobi Partners and Teja Ventures (which have invested millions of dollars into women-founded and Indonesian companies since the launch of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women™ at the 2018 THK Forum in Bali).
Vision for the future
What would we be proud to have achieved 12 months from now? There is a huge agenda that is ahead of us – and everyone will have their own priorities. Throughout the 2019 “THK Dialogues”, we hope to drive some of the following milestones.
First, that we would halved the rate of deforestation and be targeting net zero primary deforestation by [2020]. Second, that we would have reduced the flow of plastics into the oceans by at least 30% by [2020] and 70% by 2025. Third, that we would have increased our supply of clean energy – renewables, geothermal – by another 3-4 gigawatts. Fourth, that we would have created one of the world’s top 3 markets for ecosystem services that protect our forests and our biodiversity. Fifth, that we would have supported 1000 young entrepreneurs, at least 50% of them of women, to bring new SDG-linked products and services into the market. Sixth, that we would be turning the tragedy of natural disasters including Palu and Sulawesi into an opportunity for rebuilding that community on a “stronger than before” basis, shaped around delivering the SDGs on the ground and attracting large-scale blended finance. Seventh, that we would have officially launched the THK “Blended Finance and Innovation Institute” in Bali as a platform to institutionalise the THK values of collaboration, innovative partnerships and action to mobilise large-scale investment for the SDGs in Indonesia and the world. And finally, that we would have mobilised an additional $20 billion of private capital through blended finance and better policies and regulations – and have productively invested the first $10 billion.
“Tri Hita Karana” stands for three simple values. That we are at our best when we have harmony with other people, with nature and with our own inner sense of spirituality. Participants at the THK Forum and the THK Dialogues continue to feel the spirit of THK – making new friends, forming new partnerships and having the chance to reflect on our relationship with nature in the beautiful surroundings of Bali. We have built a THK community. And of course, we have been strengthened in our resolve to take on the challenges of building a better world – and to do so with a deeper spirit of collective and personal leadership. This is THK in action – working its way into our own lives, beliefs and actions.
The organisers of the THK Forum hope that this will endure long after we have moved back into our busy lives and that participants take these values with them, wherever they go. We thank everyone who joined us in Bali, Davos and Jakarta – and especially to those who used the THK Forum as a catalyst to act boldly in their mission to drive sustainable development in Indonesia and the world. We look forward to working with you all throughout 2019 to continue this mission and will see you at the next THK Dialogue!
ANNEX
Blended finance and THK
Blended finance is the use of development finance (public or philanthropic funds) to mobilise commercial capital for the SDGs; it was a central theme of the THK Forum and President Jokowi told the ASEAN Leaders Gathering in Bali that “Indonesia encourages innovative sources of financing like blended finance.”
The THK Forum showed the effectiveness of this approach to financing the SDGs. THK launched over 30 high-impact projects, investments and initiatives, and is estimated to have mobilised up to $10 billion for priority SDG sectors including green infrastructure, sustainable land use, oceans, ecotourism, health, women and innovation. This continues to be showcased and championed through the “THK Dialogues”.
You can learn more about it at www.blendedfinance.earth.
Meaning of “Tri Hita Karana”
Tri Hita Karana is a traditional Balinese philosophy of life, meaning “Three Ways to Happiness”. The literal translation is “Tri” for three, “Hita” for happiness and “Karana” for causes or ways.
The three ways to happiness are: (i) harmony of people with people, (ii) harmony of people with nature and (iii) harmony of people with the spiritual. Participants across the Forum were invited to consider this philosophy as they engage in their sessions and to emphasise how the happiness and harmony of people’s health and livelihoods intersect with the health of the planet, including thriving and resilient ecosystems. Where relevant, participants were also invited to share their personal reflections on the successes and frustrations in developing and financing clean energy and resilient infrastructure projects.