By AFP - Agence France Presse
Deforestation in Indonesia increases for the third consecutive year: NGO
BANGKOK: Deforestation in Indonesia increased in 2024 for the third consecutive year, a local environmental NGO said on Friday (January 31), based on analysis of satellite images and fieldwork.
Indonesia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, with the main drivers including timber plantations, palm oil cultivation, and, increasingly, the mining of essential minerals.
Its tropical forests are among the most biodiverse in the world and provide essential habitats for threatened and endangered species, as well as being important carbon sinks.
The report by the NGO Auriga Nusantara claims that 261,575 hectares of primary and secondary forests across Indonesia were lost in 2024, more than four thousand more than the previous year.
The group said that the vast majority of the losses occurred in areas opened up for development by the government.
“It's worrying because it shows the increase in legal deforestation,” said Auriga Nusantara chairman Timer Manurung.
He called for the “urgent” protection of forests in Kalimantan, where the greatest losses have been recorded with the construction of the country's new capital, and in Sulawesi.
The report comes at a time when Indonesian environmentalists are warning about the government's plans to convert millions of hectares of forest for use in food and energy.
President Prabowo Subianto, who took office in October, has promised to increase food and energy self-sufficiency, including by expanding bio-based fuels to reduce fuel imports.
Environmental groups warn that the plans would disaster the country's forests.
“We call on President Prabowo to issue a presidential regulation to protect all remaining natural forests,” Timer told AFP.
Auriga Nusantara said the report is based on satellite images, which have been analyzed to confirm deforestation, and accompanied by field visits to areas representing tens of thousands of hectares of forest loss.
CORAL REGION UNDER THREAT
Although deforestation has occurred in all of Indonesia's provinces except the region around Jakarta, the greatest losses have been seen in Kalimantan.
A determining factor in the region was the designation of an area for the new capital, according to the report.
Two regional governments in the area have proposed opening up hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest for potential development, the group warned.
Most of the deforestation, however, has been driven by commodities, including timber, mining, and palm oil.
Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government has previously disputed claims of deforestation made by environmentalists and said the estimates overestimate forest loss by wrongly counting changes in plantations as deforestation.
Auriga Nusantara said its count excludes loss in timber plantations and planted forests, but covers both primary forests and regenerated “secondary” forests.
The report also sounds the alarm about deforestation for biomass production, which has seen the forest leveled to plant fast-growing species that will provide wood biomass.
Indonesia is keen to increase domestic use of biomass energy and export, mainly to Japan and South Korea.
And it has highlighted deforestation on the islands of Raja Ampat, an area known for its abundant coral reefs, as nickel mining advances.
“This nationally and internationally acclaimed area has failed to withstand the onslaught,” said the report.
Around 200 hectares on four islands in the region have been cleared, according to the group, and new nickel mining licenses have already been issued for several other islands.
Auriga Nusantara said that forest loss was also occurring in conservation areas, despite legal protections.
The group said that around 42 million hectares of Indonesia's natural forests are unprotected by law, including millions of hectares already within concessions.
Although the amount of forest loss has increased in recent years, it is still far below the peak recorded around 2016.
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