Jakarta, March 26, 2021: Indonesia has the opportunity to achieve its Long-Term Vision, which aligns with the Paris Agreement. This can be achieved by reducing Indonesia's deforestation quota in its Updated NDC for the 2020-2030 period to 10.7 thousand hectares per year, ultimately to zero. To achieve this, various policies to protect remaining natural forests must be further strengthened, including strengthening the policy to halt the granting of new permits to unprotected natural forests, continuing the palm oil moratorium policy, and reviewing various strategic programs and national economic recovery programs that threaten forests. This was conveyed by Yosi Amelia, Forest and Climate Program Officer at the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation.
" Based on a scenario aligned with the Paris Agreement, Indonesia's natural forest deforestation rate for the 2010-2030 period should not exceed 241,000 hectares per year. Therefore, Indonesia's natural forest deforestation quota for that period is only 4.82 million hectares. Based on Ministry of Environment and Forestry data, from 2011-2012 to 2019-2020, Indonesia lost approximately 4.71 million hectares of natural forest, leaving only 107,000 hectares of natural forest deforestation for the 2020-2030 period, or 10.7 thousand hectares per year. However, if we include the 2010-2011 deforestation data based on the 2009-2011 average deforestation of 196,750 hectares, the deforestation quota for the 2020-2030 period even reaches minus. This means that Indonesia no longer has a deforestation quota until 2030 ," Yosi added. Amelia.
The Indonesian government has announced three scenarios in its 2050 Long-Term Strategy on Low Carbon and Climate Resilience , targeting net zero emissions by 2070, 20 years later than the UN's call. In the most ambitious scenario, aligned with the Paris Agreement ( Low Carbon Compatible with Paris Agreement – LCCP), Indonesia targets peak emissions for all sectors, with the forestry and land sector becoming a net sink, in 2030.
Thus, Indonesia's forests and land will be heavily relied upon not only to reduce emissions from the sector itself, but also to absorb carbon emissions or pollution from other sectors, namely energy, waste, industrial processes and product use, and agriculture.
" Based on Madani's initial analysis, there are approximately 9.4 million hectares of natural forest, or almost the equivalent of 16 times the size of Bali Island, outside of permits/concessions, social forestry allocation areas/PIAPS, and new permit termination areas/PIPPIB that are not yet protected by the policy of stopping the issuance of new permits, making them vulnerable to deforestation ," said Fadli Ahmad Naufal, GIS Specialist at the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation. " These 9.4 million hectares of natural forest must be protected to achieve Indonesia's long-term vision in line with the Paris Agreement ."
Furthermore, the government must also review various Economic Recovery programs and National Strategic Projects, such as the Food Estate, to prevent the destruction of natural forests. " Madani's initial analysis indicates that there are 1.5 million hectares of natural forest in the Food Estate Area of Interest in Papua, Central Kalimantan, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra, with a potential timber value of 209 trillion rupiah, that must be protected ," Fadli added.
Protecting natural forests already within Industrial Plantation Forest (Hutan Tanaman Industri) permits and concessions and oil palm plantations must also be a priority. One effort to save natural forests within oil palm plantation permits/concessions is through the palm oil moratorium policy, which will expire in September 2021. " Therefore, continuing the palm oil moratorium policy, which includes elements of saving natural forests and increasing oil palm plantation productivity, is crucial for achieving Indonesia's Long-Term Vision ," said Trias Fetra, Program Officer for Palm Oil Governance at the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation.
To achieve the Long-Term Vision aligned with the Paris Agreement, Indonesia must transform land use by utilizing unproductive lands both inside and outside forest areas to achieve food and energy security and protect the remaining natural forests and peat ecosystems as a whole.
" Our future and that of future generations depends on transforming Indonesia's current economic development to prevent further damage to forests and the environment. This change must begin now, as the worsening impacts of the climate crisis no longer afford us the luxury of time, " Yosi concluded.
Media Contact :
Yosi Amelia, Forest and Climate Project Officer, Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, HP.0813 2217 1803
Trias Fetra, Program Officer for Palm Oil Governance at the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, WA. 0877 4403 0366
Luluk Uliyah, Senior Media Communication Officer, Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, 0815 1986 8887
