POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian forestry sector has overseen two major points of progress in the first half of the year; a significant fall in the number of hotspots that potentially lead to forest and land fires, along with a substantial surge in forestry product exports.
“Both of these outstanding successes have been achieved with hard work amidst the increasingly widespread pandemic. They certainly haven't happened on autopilot," said the country’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya.
The minister gave this update on the first semester's forestry sector progress during a virtual discussion (June 30) on forest and land fires as well as forestry export performance, among other things.
Minister Nurbaya revealed that there has been a decrease in the number of hotspots based on Terra/Aqua satellite data (LAPAN) - at a confidence level equal to or more than 80% - over the last six months to 63.62%; from 778 hotspots in the same period last year to 283 hotspots.
“We are targeting a continuation in the downward trend of hotspots beyond the peak of the dry season to ensure there are no-haze causing fires, just as we managed to do in the first year of the pandemic,” she asserted.
“The second year of implementing permanent solutions to tackling forest and land fires should run just like the first year which was last year,” she added.
The following chart, presented by the minister, demonstrates the level of decline in potential fire spots from January to June this year, compared to the same period last year. The second chart, meanwhile, depicts the trend over the last three months compared to the same period last year.
Stable at double-digits
Minister Nurbaya also pointed out the solid progress in the performance of forestry exports in the first semester of this year, which enjoyed an increase in growth of over 20% compared to the same period last year.
“The fantastic performance of forestry exports until the middle of this year is thanks to the tireless efforts of forestry business players in the corridor of the government's economic recovery efforts, at a time when we are all striving to do our best during the pandemic," she enthused.
The first chart below, also provided by the minister, shows the remarkable progress of forestry exports up to June 2021 compared to last year, while the second chart portrays the trends from January to March 2021 and January to June 2021 compared to the same period last year.
"Looking at our forestry export growth which remains stable at the double-digit level, the first thing that crosses my mind is that companies should, as much as possible, ensure that no lay-offs occur during this pandemic which is still causing uncertainties," said Minister Nurbaya.
She added that the forestry industry continues to play a role by aligning with other industries to contribute to Indonesia getting out of minus GDP growth.
“The all-inclusive target is for Indonesia to escape from this recession level (minus GDP growth) as soon as possible, and the forestry industry is part of achieving this most important target,” the minister affirmed.
“We are also consistently sticking to our target of ensuring that there will be no haze-causing fires this year, as was achieved last year, in order to strengthen the sustainability of the government's economic recovery efforts,” she added.
In the midst of the growing pandemic, Minister Nurbaya is confident that Indonesia will meet its forestry and land use carbon neutrality target by 2030, and also remains optimistic about Indonesia's ability to achieve the country's overall carbon neutrality target earlier than 2060, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jun 22).
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The Indonesian forestry sector has overseen two major points of progress in the first half of the year; a significant fall in the number of hotspots that potentially lead to forest and land fires, along with a substantial surge in forestry product exports.
“Both of these outstanding successes have been achieved with hard work amidst the increasingly widespread pandemic. They certainly haven't happened on autopilot," said the country’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya.
The minister gave this update on the first semester's forestry sector progress during a virtual discussion (June 30) on forest and land fires as well as forestry export performance, among other things.
Minister Nurbaya revealed that there has been a decrease in the number of hotspots based on Terra/Aqua satellite data (LAPAN) - at a confidence level equal to or more than 80% - over the last six months to 63.62%; from 778 hotspots in the same period last year to 283 hotspots.
“We are targeting a continuation in the downward trend of hotspots beyond the peak of the dry season to ensure there are no-haze causing fires, just as we managed to do in the first year of the pandemic,” she asserted.
“The second year of implementing permanent solutions to tackling forest and land fires should run just like the first year which was last year,” she added.
The following chart, presented by the minister, demonstrates the level of decline in potential fire spots from January to June this year, compared to the same period last year. The second chart, meanwhile, depicts the trend over the last three months compared to the same period last year.
Stable at double-digits
Minister Nurbaya also pointed out the solid progress in the performance of forestry exports in the first semester of this year, which enjoyed an increase in growth of over 20% compared to the same period last year.
“The fantastic performance of forestry exports until the middle of this year is thanks to the tireless efforts of forestry business players in the corridor of the government's economic recovery efforts, at a time when we are all striving to do our best during the pandemic," she enthused.
The first chart below, also provided by the minister, shows the remarkable progress of forestry exports up to June 2021 compared to last year, while the second chart portrays the trends from January to March 2021 and January to June 2021 compared to the same period last year.
"Looking at our forestry export growth which remains stable at the double-digit level, the first thing that crosses my mind is that companies should, as much as possible, ensure that no lay-offs occur during this pandemic which is still causing uncertainties," said Minister Nurbaya.
She added that the forestry industry continues to play a role by aligning with other industries to contribute to Indonesia getting out of minus GDP growth.
“The all-inclusive target is for Indonesia to escape from this recession level (minus GDP growth) as soon as possible, and the forestry industry is part of achieving this most important target,” the minister affirmed.
“We are also consistently sticking to our target of ensuring that there will be no haze-causing fires this year, as was achieved last year, in order to strengthen the sustainability of the government's economic recovery efforts,” she added.
In the midst of the growing pandemic, Minister Nurbaya is confident that Indonesia will meet its forestry and land use carbon neutrality target by 2030, and also remains optimistic about Indonesia's ability to achieve the country's overall carbon neutrality target earlier than 2060, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jun 22).
RELATED STORIES
