Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry signed a memorandum of understanding to expand strategic cooperation linking financial services and the forestry sector, including work to introduce and develop the economic value of carbon in Indonesia’s Social Forestry areas. The MoU was signed in Bandar Lampung on 29 August by OJK Chairman Mahendra Siregar and Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni as part of a kick-off programme on Social Forestry carbon value potential. The updated cooperation framework covers policy development, sustainable finance products and infrastructure, data and information sharing, joint studies and research, provision of expert resources, and capacity-building, including financial literacy and inclusion in forestry areas. The ministry highlighted the aim of improving social forestry farmers’ access to capital, particularly through banking, while OJK pointed to financial literacy and education as a pathway to broaden access to financing for sustainable forestry. The MoU replaces a prior cooperation arrangement with the former Ministry of Environment and Forestry, reflecting the post-2024 separation of environmental and forestry functions.