Indonesia’s forests—among the most biologically rich in the world—also rank among the most threatened. Over 40% of the country’s forests were cleared in the last 50 years. Close to a fifth of forest cover was lost between 1985 and 1997 alone.
Tropical lowland forests, the richest in timber and biodiversity, will have disappeared from Sumatra and Kalimantan within the decade, at current rates of loss.
Deforestation rates have accelerated since 1996, and are now estimated at 2 million hectares a year.
Just over half of Indonesia’s forests qualify as low-access forest, unfragmented by roads, other access routes, or under known development (e.g. plantations or logging concessions).
Illegal logging accounted for up to 70% of total timber production in 2000. Demand for wood fiber exceeds legal supply by 35-40 million cubic meters per year, due to massive expansion of the plywood, pulp and paper production sectors, particularly within the past decade.
Government policies promote clearing of natural forest for timber and agricultural plantations, with at least 16 million hectares having been approved for such conversion. Permits for timber plantation establishment are often used as a pretext to liquidate natural forest (only a quarter of lands allocated for timber plantations have actually been planted).
Indonesia ranks third among all countries, in terms of total area of tropical forest. Despite high deforestation rates, perhaps 98 million hectares of forest remain. In much of Irian Jaya, and portions of Kalimantan in particular, there are still opportunities for the protection and careful stewardship of large tracts of intact forest, if we move quickly.
