POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesia's relentless commitment during the administration of President Jokowi to safeguarding its precious forests has resulted in a significant reduction in primary forest loss, earning the country the top spot in the global rankings for forest loss reduction.
Through a combination of robust policy measures, collaborative initiatives, and proactive community engagement, the Indonesian government has successfully curbed deforestation, underscoring its dedication to combatting climate change and preserving the nation's rich biodiversity.
According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), Indonesia has witnessed an ongoing downward trend in the moving average rate of primary forest loss from 2016 to 2022.
Joint analysis
The variation between the primary forest data presented by the Global Forest Review (GFR) and Global Forest Watch (GFW), in collaboration with the University of Maryland (UMD), and Indonesia's official primary forest definition and classification has led to discrepancies in the reported figures.
A significant portion of the primary forest loss identified by UMD/GFW falls within areas that Indonesia classifies as secondary forests and other land cover, such as mixed dry land agriculture, estate crops, plantation forests, shrubs, and others.
These discrepancies arise from the divergence in the primary forest definitions between GFW and the official Indonesian classification. Consequently, UMD/GFW statistics on primary forest loss in Indonesia are considerably higher than the official Indonesian deforestation figures.
To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the findings in 2022 as well as to bridge the abovementioned data differences, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) and WRI are collaborating on a joint analysis this year.
Preliminary results have shown a corroborated loss of 107,000 hectares within Indonesia's official forest land cover classes. Less than 12% of this loss occurred within areas officially classified as "primary forest" according to Indonesia's classification.
Minister's reaction
Responding to the joint preliminary analysis by the MoEF and WRI, which revealed that Indonesia experienced forest loss of 107,000 hectares in 2022, with only a minor portion occurring in primary forests, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya emphasized that Indonesia continues to move ahead with its FOLU Net Sink 2030 climate goals.
“I have reported in person to President Jokowi regarding Indonesia's deforestation figure for 2021/2022, which stands at 104,000 hectares, lower than that from the previous period of 2020/2021. Meanwhile, the figure of 107,000 hectares from the joint preliminary analysis was also explained as a comparative figure," the Minister said (Jun 28).
“In the meeting with the President, our discussion focused more on Indonesia's efforts and roles for the upcoming COP28," she added.
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that Indonesia's forest loss in 2022 is lower than in 2021, which can be proven on the ground and through high-resolution satellite images.
"The WRI team has also conducted recent field checks with my team in several primary forest loss spots identified by GFW 2022. It turns out that these spots were related to acacia tree harvesting and the conversion of old palm oil trees. There were even instances where banana trees were classified as primary forests. This proves that field checks are necessary to avoid forming one-sided opinions based on imagination," she explained.
Minister Nurbaya also pointed to a broad set of evidence demonstrating a crucial mistake in the UMD/GFW datasets, whereby 2021’s forest loss was included in the 2022 forest loss data. This resulted in an aggregation of recorded losses from these two consecutive years.
Distribution of GFW’s primary forest loss
By overlaying the UMD/GFW primary forest loss data for 2022 with the MoEF's land cover map, an intriguing picture emerges.
The analysis reveals that 67% of the primary forest loss identified by UMD/GFW occurred within Indonesia's official forest cover classes. The remaining 33% was distributed across various land cover types, including mixed dry land agriculture, shrub, swamp shrub, and others.
It was determined that approximately 107 thousand hectares of loss was found to be both within Indonesia’s official forest land cover classes and with a patch size larger than two hectares.
Only around 12 thousand hectares of this, or 11.2%, were situated within areas legally classified as primary forest in Indonesia.
The forthcoming joint analysis between MoEF and WRI is poised to shed further light on these intricate issues by delving into the data and refining the understanding of primary forest loss.
In the meantime, Indonesia's achievements in reducing primary forest loss serve as a testament to its strong leadership in pursuit of the country’s FOLU Net Sink 2030 climate goals.
Efforts pay off
The Indonesian government's unwavering dedication to forest protection is primarily responsible for the substantial decline in primary forest loss.
In alignment with its goal of achieving a Net Sink (negative CO2 emissions) from the forestry and other land use sectors by 2030, the government has implemented a wide range of policy measures and corrective actions.
According to WRI, these efforts include intensified fire prevention and monitoring actions, termination of granting new licenses on primary forest or peatland (moratorium), strengthened law enforcement, and renewed commitments to protect and restore peatlands as well as rehabilitate mangroves. These measures have proven highly effective, resulting in fewer fires and minimized primary forest loss.
WRI has further stated that Indonesia's proactive approach to fire suppression has been supported by favourable weather conditions and cloud-seeding initiatives undertaken by both the government and private sector.
Additionally, WRI has noted the community-led efforts at the ground level which have contributed to reducing forest fires and ensuring the preservation of vital ecosystems, acknowledging too that mandatory and voluntary corporate commitments appear to be having a positive impact.
Technical partnership
The joint analysis by MoEF and WRI is aimed at gaining deeper insights into primary forest loss findings. The focus is on understanding the primary forest loss findings presented by UMD/GFW through the prism of the MoEF's own data and definitions.
This initiative follows the signing in February of an MOU to establish a technical partnership in support of Indonesia's FOLU Net Sink 2030 by Minister Nurbaya and the President/CEO of WRI Ani Dasgupta.
At the time, Dasgupta noted the progress Indonesia has made towards achieving its net carbon sink target by significantly reducing the rate of forest loss in recent years.
Minister Nurbaya, meanwhile, hailed the partnership between MoEF and WRI as a major step forward in achieving technical alignment.
“We are steadfastly committed to prolonging this technical alignment in the longer term to further reinforce our methodologies and technologies in the FOLU sector,” the Minister asserted.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesia's relentless commitment during the administration of President Jokowi to safeguarding its precious forests has resulted in a significant reduction in primary forest loss, earning the country the top spot in the global rankings for forest loss reduction.
Through a combination of robust policy measures, collaborative initiatives, and proactive community engagement, the Indonesian government has successfully curbed deforestation, underscoring its dedication to combatting climate change and preserving the nation's rich biodiversity.
According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), Indonesia has witnessed an ongoing downward trend in the moving average rate of primary forest loss from 2016 to 2022.
Joint analysis
The variation between the primary forest data presented by the Global Forest Review (GFR) and Global Forest Watch (GFW), in collaboration with the University of Maryland (UMD), and Indonesia's official primary forest definition and classification has led to discrepancies in the reported figures.
A significant portion of the primary forest loss identified by UMD/GFW falls within areas that Indonesia classifies as secondary forests and other land cover, such as mixed dry land agriculture, estate crops, plantation forests, shrubs, and others.
These discrepancies arise from the divergence in the primary forest definitions between GFW and the official Indonesian classification. Consequently, UMD/GFW statistics on primary forest loss in Indonesia are considerably higher than the official Indonesian deforestation figures.
To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the findings in 2022 as well as to bridge the abovementioned data differences, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) and WRI are collaborating on a joint analysis this year.
Preliminary results have shown a corroborated loss of 107,000 hectares within Indonesia's official forest land cover classes. Less than 12% of this loss occurred within areas officially classified as "primary forest" according to Indonesia's classification.
Minister's reaction
Responding to the joint preliminary analysis by the MoEF and WRI, which revealed that Indonesia experienced forest loss of 107,000 hectares in 2022, with only a minor portion occurring in primary forests, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya emphasized that Indonesia continues to move ahead with its FOLU Net Sink 2030 climate goals.
“I have reported in person to President Jokowi regarding Indonesia's deforestation figure for 2021/2022, which stands at 104,000 hectares, lower than that from the previous period of 2020/2021. Meanwhile, the figure of 107,000 hectares from the joint preliminary analysis was also explained as a comparative figure," the Minister said (Jun 28).
“In the meeting with the President, our discussion focused more on Indonesia's efforts and roles for the upcoming COP28," she added.
Minister Nurbaya emphasized that Indonesia's forest loss in 2022 is lower than in 2021, which can be proven on the ground and through high-resolution satellite images.
"The WRI team has also conducted recent field checks with my team in several primary forest loss spots identified by GFW 2022. It turns out that these spots were related to acacia tree harvesting and the conversion of old palm oil trees. There were even instances where banana trees were classified as primary forests. This proves that field checks are necessary to avoid forming one-sided opinions based on imagination," she explained.
Minister Nurbaya also pointed to a broad set of evidence demonstrating a crucial mistake in the UMD/GFW datasets, whereby 2021’s forest loss was included in the 2022 forest loss data. This resulted in an aggregation of recorded losses from these two consecutive years.
Distribution of GFW’s primary forest loss
By overlaying the UMD/GFW primary forest loss data for 2022 with the MoEF's land cover map, an intriguing picture emerges.
The analysis reveals that 67% of the primary forest loss identified by UMD/GFW occurred within Indonesia's official forest cover classes. The remaining 33% was distributed across various land cover types, including mixed dry land agriculture, shrub, swamp shrub, and others.
It was determined that approximately 107 thousand hectares of loss was found to be both within Indonesia’s official forest land cover classes and with a patch size larger than two hectares.
Only around 12 thousand hectares of this, or 11.2%, were situated within areas legally classified as primary forest in Indonesia.
The forthcoming joint analysis between MoEF and WRI is poised to shed further light on these intricate issues by delving into the data and refining the understanding of primary forest loss.
In the meantime, Indonesia's achievements in reducing primary forest loss serve as a testament to its strong leadership toward the country’s FOLU Net Sink 2030 climate goals.
Efforts pay off
The Indonesian government's unwavering dedication to forest protection is primarily responsible for the substantial decline in primary forest loss.
In alignment with its goal of achieving a Net Sink (negative CO2 emissions) from the forestry and other land use sectors by 2030, the government has implemented a wide range of policy measures and corrective actions.
According to WRI, these efforts include intensified fire prevention and monitoring actions, termination of granting new licenses on primary forest and peatland (moratorium), strengthened law enforcement, and renewed commitments to protect and restore peatlands as well as rehabilitate mangroves. These measures have proven highly effective, resulting in fewer fires and minimized primary forest loss.
WRI has further stated that Indonesia's proactive approach to fire suppression has been supported by favourable weather conditions and cloud-seeding initiatives undertaken by both the government and private sector.
Additionally, WRI has noted the community-led efforts at the ground level which have contributed to reducing forest fires and ensuring the preservation of vital ecosystems, acknowledging too that mandatory and voluntary corporate commitments appear to be having a positive impact.
Technical partnership
The joint analysis by MoEF and WRI is aimed at gaining deeper insights into primary forest loss findings. The focus is on understanding the primary forest loss findings presented by UMD/GFW through the prism of the MoEF's own data and definitions.
This initiative follows the signing in February of an MOU to establish a technical partnership in support of Indonesia's FOLU Net Sink 2030 by Minister Nurbaya and the President/CEO of WRI Ani Dasgupta.
At the time, Dasgupta noted the progress Indonesia has made towards achieving its net carbon sink target by significantly reducing the rate of forest loss in recent years.
Minister Nurbaya, meanwhile, hailed the partnership between MoEF and WRI as a major step forward in achieving technical alignment.
“We are steadfastly committed to prolonging this technical alignment in the longer term to further reinforce our methodologies and technologies in the FOLU sector,” the Minister asserted.
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