POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Two new reports, one published by the CSO Coalition (Feb 11) followed by a technical response from Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Feb 15), concern the levels and sources of deforestation arising from state forest releases in two of the country's most richly-forested provinces, Papua and West Papua.
Almost all of the state forest releases in question were for the development of oil palm plantations.
This news report compares the levels and sources of deforestation from state forest releases in the two provinces with reference to the both new reports.
Jokowi's first five years
The CSO Coalition report states that the extent of deforestation in the 2005-2019 period from state forest releases totaled 597,320 hectares.
The report also concludes that 2015-2019, the first term of President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo's administration, was the period of greatest deforestation in Papua and West Papua.
This assertion is however refuted by the ministry report, which reveals that during the 2015-2019 period, actually only 2,411 hectares of state forest release areas granted during the Jokowi presidency were deforested.
Thus, the contribution from Jokowi’s presidency to total deforestation from 2005-2019 was 0.4%, while the other 99.6% of deforested areas in this period came from state forest releases issued during the presidency of Jokowi’s predecessor, Soesilo “SBY” Bambang Yudhoyono.
The chart below depicts the extent of total deforestation from 2005-2019 according to the CSO Coalition report, and the extent of deforestation from state forest releases during Jokowi's presidency (2015-2019), based on the ministry report.
The chart above demonstrates a strong positive correlation between the extent of state forest release areas and the level of deforestation that occurred.
The CSO Coalition report also divulges that the majority of the state forest releases, especially for palm oil companies, were granted during SBY’s presidency.
Year of greatest deforestation
The CSO Coalition report looking at deforestation from 2001-2019 in Papua and West Papua alleges that 2015, the first year of the Jokowi presidency, saw the highest level of deforestation in the past two decades, amounting to 89,881 hectares.
In contrast, the ministry report reveals that total deforestation in 2015 which came from the release of state forest areas granted during the Widodo presidency stood at a mere 209 hectares.
Thus, the area of deforestation in 2015 originating from state forest releases during the Jokowi presidency accounted for just 0.23% of the total area of deforestation in 2015 mentioned in the CSO Coalition report.
The chart below shows the extent of deforestation in 2015 according to the CSO Coalition report, along with the area of deforestation in the same year that came from state forest releases granted during the Jokowi presidency.
The last two decades
The CSO report also says that total deforestation from 2001-2019 reached 663,443 hectares. Meanwhile, total deforestation that occurred in areas of state forest releases issued during President Jokowi’s first term affected only 2,411 hectares.
The following chart demonstrates the level of deforestation originating from the release of state forest areas issued during the Jokowi presidency in relation to total deforestation that occurred during 2001-2019.
As such, out of the 663,443 hectares of total deforestation from 2001-2019, the level of deforestation arising from the release of state forest areas during Jokowi’s first term (2015-2019) was just 0.36%.
This means that 99,64% of the deforestation that took place from 2001-2019 was not the result of state forest releases granted during the Jokowi presidency.
Planned deforestation, potential conservation forests
The CSO Coalition report revealed that there are still substantial natural forests spanning more than 1.14 million hectares in existing palm oil concessions in Papua and West Papua, which it said would continue to be the source of planned deforestation.
Meanwhile, the ministry report, which referred to monitoring using the latest satellite data, reveals that there was in fact close to zero deforestation from 2019 until the end of January/early February 2021 of the 1.26 million hectares of remaining natural forests within the existing palm oil concessions, an area larger than 17 times the size of Singapore.
Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, as reiterated in the ministry report, has identified these 1.26 million hectares of natural forests as potential high conservation value forests, including high carbon stock forests, as a technical basis for developing possible conservation forests in the existing palm oil concessions.
These ongoing efforts, representing a follow-up to President Jokowi's order for a palm oil moratorium which he signed in September 2018, were previously reported on by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in late October 2020 in a progress update on the second year of the moratorium's implementation.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Two new reports, one published by the CSO Coalition (Feb 11) followed by a technical response from Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Feb 15), concern the levels and sources of deforestation arising from state forest releases in two of the country's most richly-forested provinces, Papua and West Papua.
Almost all of the state forest releases in question were for the development of oil palm plantations.
This news report compares the levels and sources of deforestation from state forest releases in the two provinces with reference to the both new reports.
Jokowi's first five years
The CSO Coalition report states that the extent of deforestation in the 2005-2019 period from state forest releases totaled 597,320 hectares.
The report also concludes that 2015-2019, the first term of President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo's administration, was the period of greatest deforestation in Papua and West Papua.
This assertion is however refuted by the ministry report, which reveals that during the 2015-2019 period, actually only 2,411 hectares of state forest release areas granted during the Jokowi presidency were deforested.
Thus, the contribution from Jokowi’s presidency to total deforestation from 2005-2019 was 0.4%, while the other 99.6% of deforested areas in this period came from state forest releases issued during the presidency of Jokowi’s predecessor, Soesilo “SBY” Bambang Yudhoyono.
The chart below depicts the extent of total deforestation from 2005-2019 according to the CSO Coalition report, and the extent of deforestation from state forest releases during Jokowi's presidency (2015-2019), based on the ministry report.
The chart above demonstrates a strong positive correlation between the extent of state forest release areas and the level of deforestation that occurred.
The CSO Coalition report also divulges that the majority of the state forest releases, especially for palm oil companies, were granted during SBY’s presidency.
Year of greatest deforestation
The CSO Coalition report looking at deforestation from 2001-2019 in Papua and West Papua alleges that 2015, the first year of the Jokowi presidency, saw the highest level of deforestation in the past two decades, amounting to 89,881 hectares.
In contrast, the ministry report reveals that total deforestation in 2015 which came from the release of state forest areas granted during the Widodo presidency stood at a mere 209 hectares.
Thus, the area of deforestation in 2015 originating from state forest releases during the Jokowi presidency accounted for just 0.23% of the total area of deforestation in 2015 mentioned in the CSO Coalition report.
The chart below shows the extent of deforestation in 2015 according to the CSO Coalition report, along with the area of deforestation in the same year that came from state forest releases granted during the Jokowi presidency.
The last two decades
The CSO report also says that total deforestation from 2001-2019 reached 663,443 hectares. Meanwhile, total deforestation that occurred in areas of state forest releases issued during President Jokowi’s first term affected only 2,411 hectares.
The following chart demonstrates the level of deforestation originating from the release of state forest areas issued during the Jokowi presidency in relation to total deforestation that occurred during 2001-2019.
As such, out of the 663,443 hectares of total deforestation from 2001-2019, the level of deforestation arising from the release of state forest areas during Jokowi’s first term (2015-2019) was just 0.36%.
This means that 99,64% of the deforestation that took place from 2001-2019 was not the result of state forest releases granted during the Jokowi presidency.
Planned deforestation, potential conservation forests
The CSO Coalition report revealed that there are still substantial natural forests spanning more than 1.14 million hectares in existing palm oil concessions in Papua and West Papua, which it said would continue to be the source of planned deforestation.
Meanwhile, the ministry report, which referred to monitoring using the latest satellite data, reveals that there was in fact close to zero deforestation from 2019 until the end of January/early February 2021 of the 1.26 million hectares of remaining natural forests within the existing palm oil concessions, an area larger than 17 times the size of Singapore.
Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, as reiterated in the ministry report, has identified these 1.26 million hectares of natural forests as potential high conservation value forests, including high carbon stock forests, as a technical basis for developing possible conservation forests in the existing palm oil concessions.
These ongoing efforts, representing a follow-up to President Jokowi's order for a palm oil moratorium which he signed in September 2018, were previously reported on by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in late October 2020 in a progress update on the second year of the moratorium's implementation.
RELATED STORIES
