Indonesia

Overview of Forest Sector

In Indonesia all natural resources are authorized and managed by the State. State Forest Area covers about 120.5 million hectares or 64% of its total land area, which includes primary forests, secondary forests, plantation forests, and non-forested areas. Most of the remaining land area is made up of non-forest areas of public land, and is designated as Other Use Areas. In addition, 5.3 million hectares of its territorial waters have been designated as marine conservation areas within the mandate of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. These public forests and marine conservation areas are designated as Forest Areas and Marine Conservation Areas. As of December 2019, the total of these areas stands at 125.8 million hectares.

State Forest Area is categorized into three different functions:  Production Forest (68.8 million hectares), Protection Forest (29.6 million hectares), and Conservation Forest (22.1 million hectares of land and an additional 5.3 million hectares of marine conservation areas). The Production Forest area consists of Permanent Production Forest, Limited Production Forest, and Convertible Production Forest. Conservation Forest area is categorized into Sanctuary Reserve Areas and Nature Conservation Areas. Sanctuary Reserve Area consists of Strict Nature Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Meanwhile, Nature Conservation areas consist of National Parks, Nature Recreation Parks, and Grand Forest Parks. These areas can be terrestrial or marine. 

Forests in Indonesia play important roles in sustaining the economy and conserving biodiversity. For more than four decades, forest resources have played a significant role in facilitating Indonesia`s economic development through timber production. But since the decline of productivity and the euphoria of reform and autonomy in late 1990, Indonesia shifted from timber production to forest management. Forest management is oriented towards multiple uses of the nation’s forests, both timber and non-timber forest products as well as environmental services. From 2011 to 2019, fees and royalties from the forestry sector alone amounted to USD 2.18 billion. Due to its geographical location, Indonesia has an extremely high level of biodiversity and endemism. Indonesia contains 13 land-based ecosystems and six aquatic ecosystems, with 74 systems of vegetation types and abundance of bird, reptile, amphibian, mammal, freshwater fish, invertebrate, arthropod (spider), and insect species.

In accordance with the vision of the President in ensuring the provision of a healthy environment for all citizens, the government through Ministry of Environment and Forestry set nationals programs. Some in highlight are: (1) for addressing deforestation and forest degradation through the One Map Policy consist of 85 thematic maps; the moratorium stood at 66.1 million hectares of the utilization of primary natural forest and peat land;  Peatland restoration with target 2.49 million hectares and mangrove rehabilitation with target 637,000 hectares by 2024; using advance technologies in the National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS); ratification the ASEAN Agreement on Trans boundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), and promoting sustainable forest management practices (2) for enhancing communities involvement in sustainable forest management through the Social Forestry Programs with target 12.7 million hectares; (3) for strengthening biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management through increasing the populations of these 25 threatened species red listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), establishing of Essential Ecosystem Areas outside of the Forest Area, establishing of 1.02 million hectares (so far) of new High Conservation Value Forest outside of the Forest Area, and developing corridors connecting fragmented habitats to promote sustainable biodiversity (4) For improving the economic contribution from forestry sector, Indonesia has a mandatory national system for the certification of forest sustainability and a national chain of custody system which ensures the legality of timber (SVLK).

As part of a global effort, the Indonesian Government just submitted the Update NDC of Indonesia in 2021 and the Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 (LTS-LCCR 2050), which aims to contribute to the global decarbonization goal while maintaining a national balance between emission reduction and economic growth. Indonesia’s NDC targets for reducing emissions are 29% through its own efforts, and up to 41% depending upon levels of international cooperation. 

[Main reference] Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF), 2020. The State of Indonesia’s Forests 2020 – Kementerian LHK (menlhk.go.id). Jakarta: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia. 

Country Profile & Context

Indonesia’s Country Profile and Context provides a general overview of the country, including its geographic profile, administrative setup, population, socio-economic situation, climatic condition and biodiversity. The document also highlights major trends and issues in the forest and forestry sector as well as challenges in forest protection and restoration. The information contained in this document has been gathered mainly through desk-based research and the review of available national statistics, national laws and policies, technical reports, and other secondary data sources, and subsequently validated by the focal agency of Indonesia.

Click to download the document or access the country profiles HERE.
The country profiles will be updated on a regular basis to reflect any changes in national policy or context.

Forest Policy Archive

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