Forest Status in West Sumatra: Mostly for Conservation

According to data from the Ministry of Forestry, the forest area in West Sumatra Province reached 1.88 million hectares in 2024.

This figure refers to the area of forested land, or places where trees and natural ecosystems grow, located within "forest areas" (kawasan hutan) and "other use areas" (area penggunaan lain).

"Forest areas" (kawasan hutan) are areas legally designated by the government for forestry functions, encompassing conservation forests, protected forests, and production forests.

Meanwhile, "other use areas" (area penggunaan lain) or APL are areas outside "forest areas" (kawasan hutan) used for non-forestry activities, such as agriculture, plantations, mining, infrastructure development, and settlements.

In 2024, approximately 1.71 million hectares (91%) of West Sumatra's forests were within "forest areas" (kawasan hutan), and the remaining 172 thousand hectares (9%) were within APL.

Of the 1.71 million hectares of West Sumatra's forests located within "forest areas" (kawasan hutan), approximately 39% are designated as conservation forests, and 33% as protected forests.

Conservation forests are forests that function to preserve the diversity of plants, animals, and ecosystems with specific characteristics.

Meanwhile, protected forests function to protect life support systems, such as regulating water systems, preventing floods, controlling erosion, preventing seawater intrusion, and maintaining soil fertility.

The remaining 28% are designated as production forests, including permanent production forests, limited production forests, or convertible production forests.

Production forests are forests whose primary function is to produce timber and non-timber forest products. Generally, production forests are planted with a few types of commercially valuable plants, such as teak trees, acacia trees, rubber trees, and so on.

Some production forests can also be converted for uses outside the forestry sector, such as agriculture, plantations, and settlements.

The following are the details of forest area within "forest areas" (kawasan hutan) in West Sumatra based on their functional status in 2024:

• Conservation forests: 666.1 thousand hectares (39% of the total forest area within "forest areas" in West Sumatra)
• Protected forests: 569.7 thousand hectares (33%)
• Permanent, limited, and convertible production forests: 470.4 thousand hectares (28%)