Indonesia's Deforestation Rate Has Decreased Over the Last Two Decades

Indonesia's deforestation rate, defined as the permanent conversion of forest areas to non-forest areas due to human activities, has shown a downward trend over the past two decades, specifically from 2000 to 2023.

This is evident from the report *The State of Indonesia's Forests 2024*, released by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).

According to KLHK data, during the period 1990-1996, Indonesia experienced a net deforestation rate of 1.87 million hectares (ha) per year, which then surged to 3.51 million ha per year from 1996-2000.

However, the rate began to decline from the 2000-2003 period. By the 2022-2023 period, the area of forest converted to permanently non-forested land was only 0.12 million ha per year.

According to Professor Matthew Hansen of the University of Maryland, this trend contrasts with that of other countries.

"In the last decade (2014-2023), there has been a trend of increasing deforestation in countries with large tropical forests, such as Brazil, Congo, and Bolivia, which are the three largest," said Professor Matthew Hansen in a KLHK press release on Thursday (July 25, 2024).

"However, surprisingly, deforestation data in Indonesia shows a declining trend, the opposite of the global trend," he added.

Minister of KLHK Siti Nurbaya also stated that Indonesia places great importance on efforts to combat the global challenge of deforestation and forest degradation.

"We are fully aware of the impact of these challenges on our country's reputation and sovereignty, especially regarding indicators such as deforestation, conservation, and carbon emissions, which are significant challenges for developing countries," said Minister Siti in a KLHK press release on Thursday (July 25, 2024).

Note that the figures above represent the net deforestation rate, which is the change/reduction in the area of forested land cover over a specific period, also taking into account the area of forest recovery/reforestation detected by satellite imagery during the same period.