Indonesia's Permenhut 6/2026: Forest Carbon Trading Opens to Communities — and Requires Standardised dMRV

Indonesia's Minister of Forestry issued Regulation No. 6/2026 (Permenhut 6/2026) on 16 April 2026, establishing the most comprehensive legal framework yet for forest carbon trading in the world's fourth-most-populous nation and third-largest tropical forest country. The regulation expands participation beyond corporations to include social forestry groups, indigenous communities, private forest owners, and conservation managers — while mandating standardised validation by accredited third parties and national registry recording for all carbon units.

What Permenhut 6/2026 Changes

The regulation is a follow-up to Presidential Regulation No. 110/2025, which established Indonesia's national carbon market framework and formally recognised Verra, Gold Standard, and Plan Vivo as eligible certification bodies. Permenhut 6/2026 operationalises forest sector participation by setting out the procedural requirements: electronic document submission, standardised service timelines, and mandatory recording in Indonesia's national carbon registry to prevent double counting.

Community participation is a central innovation. For the first time, social forestry cooperatives and indigenous forest managers can directly access carbon markets — not just as subcontractors to large concession holders, but as primary project proponents. This unlocks millions of hectares of community-managed forest that were previously outside the tradeable carbon system.

MRV Requirements and dMRV Implications

All carbon units issued under Permenhut 6/2026 must undergo validation and verification by bodies accredited under Indonesia's national accreditation system. The regulation's requirement for electronic processing and national registry integration creates natural demand for digital MRV — particularly for community-scale projects where traditional field-survey-based MRV would be cost-prohibitive.

TrustVal Commentary

Indonesia's forest carbon market — long promised but long delayed — is now open for business with institutional credibility. The Permenhut 6/2026 framework addresses two historic weaknesses of Indonesia's carbon sector: exclusion of community land managers and inadequate integrity safeguards. Both problems are now addressed structurally. What remains is the operational challenge: providing cost-effective, auditable MRV for a diverse portfolio of project proponents across one of the world's most complex forest landscapes.

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Sources: Ecobiz Asia · ANTARA News · Ecobiz Asia (Community Participation)