The Forest Development Financing Center (PPPH) which has become the Public Service Agency (BLU) authority will cooperate with bank BRI to provide at least Rp3 trillion for community forest development, a minister said.
“We want to maximize the function of BLU. We will cooperate with BRI to channel Rp3 trillion,” Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the sidelines of the popularisation of one million tree plant program to forestry service heads throughout Indonesia here over the weekend.
The cooperation with BRI is an effort to accelerate the channelling of funds for people’s forest development. BRI constituted the extended hand of the central governmet, he said.
However, he said, the cooperation which is to be realized through a memorandum of understanding could not yet be carried out right now because talks are still in progress, including on the details of its implementation.
The minister said that the BLU funds would be used to finance small-holder’s forest (HTR), people`s forest (HKM) and village forest schemes covering a total areas of 600,000 hectares this year.
The minister said that if the cooperation with BRI could be realized villagers could directly apply for THR development financing.
That’s why the BRI has been chosen as a partner because it has branches until the sub district level throughout Indonesia, the minister said.
