Indonesia's Primary Forest Deforestation Rate Ranks 4th in the World

The rate of deforestation of Indonesia's primary forests has continued to decline in recent years. Based on data from Global Forest Watch, Indonesia's primary forest area decreased by only 270,000 hectares (ha) in 2020, lower than the previous year's 323,600 ha.

Nevertheless, Indonesia's deforestation rate remained among the world's top 10 last year, ranking fourth, between Bolivia and Peru.

Brazil still had the largest loss of primary forest globally in 2020, at 1.7 million ha. This was followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, which lost 491,000 ha of primary forest.

Bolivia lost 277,000 ha of primary forest. Peru, ranked below Indonesia, lost 166,000 ha.

Colombia ranked sixth, losing 166,000 ha of primary forest. Cameroon lost 100,000 ha.

Laos and Malaysia lost 89,700 ha and 73,000 ha respectively. Mexico lost 68,400 ha.

Globally, the reduction in primary forest area totaled 4.21 million ha throughout 2020. This is higher than the previous year's 3.75 million ha.

The largest loss of primary forest land occurred in 2016, at 6.13 million ha. This was due to significant forest fires in several countries, coinciding with a prolonged dry season and rising temperatures.