TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government is set to establish an agency to pool assistance funds or grant for environmental improvement endeavors. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said that the government had set a priority to restore peatlands.

“The Vice President has paid his attention to the matter,” Siti said at the Vice Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta on Thursday, October 27, 2016.

According to Siti, the establishment of the agency, reportedly in the form of a custodian, is necessary to accommodate assistance funds from donor countries. The funds, she added, would be used to finance efforts related to environmental improvement, including those initiated by the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG).

The Minister explained that donor countries had requested the government to establish a custodian so that the assistance funds would not be distributed to the State Budget.

Earlier, the government through the BRG received a grant of US$50 million from Norway to support peatland management programs. The United States had also disbursed US$30 million to help with the restoration efforts.

The establishment of the custodian later will be managed by the Finance Ministry upon a Presidential Regulation issuance. Siti hopes that it will be realized soon.

ADITYA BUDIMAN