From 2000 to 2012, Indonesia has lost 38 per
cent of its primary forest, adversely affecting the country's biodiversity, a
new study of the World Resources Institute (WRI) showed.
“Indonesia’s
deforestation rate is increasing, with significant consequences for the
country’s greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity,” the WRI said.
WRI
researcher Ariana Alisjahbana said the most notable aspect of deforestation was
that it occurred within official areas that were supposed to restrict forest
clearing, such as national parks and protected forests.
The new
data showed that the problem was worsening, with the country’s primary forest
loss increasing by an average of 47,600 hectares (ha) each year, with an
increasing proportion occurring in wetlands, triggering massive greenhouse gas
emissions from peat soils.
President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a moratorium on deforestation in 2011 with the
intention of synchronising economic, social and cultural development with
environmental development.
In
2013, however, with another presidential instruction, Yudhoyono began directing
efforts aimed at improving the management of forest and peat soils.
Both
presidential instructions were issued with the express purpose of reducing gas
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
However,
a researcher from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR),
Daniel Mudiyarso, said the government had never been serious about stopping
deforestation.
He said
the first moratorium relating to forestry, which was issued in 2011, was
actually intended to set up better forestry management and delay the issuance
of new permits.
Daniel
said there was no relation between the moratorium issuance in 2011 and attempts
to decrease deforestation.
In the
attempt to protect forests and peat soils, the government has established a
moratorium map, which would be updated every six months, according to an
agency.
Reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+) management
agency spokesperson Sari Soegondo said the moratorium map provided a complete
picture of forests with licensing to be exploited and areas covered by the
moratorium.
Sari
said more than 72 million ha — consisting of 55 million ha of primary forests
and 17 million ha of peat soil — would be covered by the moratorium map,
according to the first policy issuance in May 2011.
Sari,
however, said that more than 2.8 million ha of forest and peat soil had
disappeared between May and December 2011.
Furthermore,
within the period between December 2011 and June 2012, the country lost 3.769
million ha of forests and peat soil.
The
deforestation occurred in spite of the issuance of a forest moratorium map in
December 2011.
Between
June 2012 and June 2014, the country lost 1.2 milllion ha of forest and peat
soil, with the biggest loss of 575,809 million ha happening between December
2013 and June 2014.
“Currently
we have 64.12 million ha of forests recorded in the sixth version of the
moratorium map, which shows the distribution of primary forest and peat soil
related to ownership and licensing,” Sari said in a written statement made
available to The Jakarta Post.
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