Indonesia's Land Cover Quality Declined During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Indonesia's Land Cover Quality Index (IKTL) declined during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), before the pandemic, the national IKTL score had steadily increased from 60.31 in 2017 to 61.03 in 2018, and then rose again to 62 in 2019.

However, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the national IKTL score fell to 60.74 in 2020 and further decreased to 60.23 in 2021.

Basically, the IKTL value is obtained by comparing the area of forest with the area of the administrative region. Regions with forest areas covering 30% of their administrative area are given an IKTL value of 50.

The highest IKTL value is 100, given to regions with forest areas covering 84.3% of their area.

Significant Conversion of Forest Cover to Plantations and Rice Fields

IKTL is an index that reflects the performance of land cover management, including aspects of conservation, rehabilitation, and spatial characteristics of the area.

The land cover components included in the calculation of the IKTL value include:

* Forest Cover (including primary dry land forest, secondary dry land forest, primary mangrove forest, secondary mangrove forest, primary swamp forest, secondary swamp forest, and plantation forests)
* Shrubs and swamp shrubs within forest areas
* Shrubs and swamp shrubs in protected areas along riverbanks, lakes, and coasts, and slopes >25%
* Green Open Space (GOS) in the form of urban forests or city parks
* Botanical Gardens
* Biodiversity Parks

According to the KLHK, the decrease in the IKTL value during the 2020-2021 period was influenced by the decrease in secondary dry land forest cover, plantation forest cover, and shrub cover.

The decrease in forest cover mostly occurred because the land was converted into plantations, dry land and mixed agriculture, or mixed gardens.

This resulted in the national land cover quality in 2020 and 2021 not reaching the target of the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024, which set a target IKLH score of 62.9.

(See also: Forest Cover in Papua is the Largest in Indonesia)