Indonesia

Indonesia has over 90 million hectares of forest, equivalent to almost 50% of the country´s land area. It ranks third amongst all countries in terms of total area of tropical forest and is of one of the five most species-diverse countries in the world. Indonesia's annual net loss of forest and resulting emissions of greenhouse gases are the second highest in the world. According to the FAO Forest Resources Assessment, Indonesia lost more than 28 million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2015. For the period 2010-15, the annual deforestation rate was 0.7%.

 

Drivers of deforestation and degradation

The main drivers of forest loss and greenhouse gas emissions are:

• Logging
• Large-scale tree and oil palm plantations
• Coal mining
• Forest and peat fires

In May 2011, Indonesia imposed a two-year moratorium on new licences for logging, mining and conversion of forests for plantations. This was intended primarily to create space for more comprehensive forest governance reform. Limited to primary forest and peat, the moratorium did not prevent increased deforestation in 2011 and 2012. The increase followed a rush of new permits being issued before the moratorium began. Although Indonesia extended the moratorium for additional two-year periods in 2013, 2015 and 2017, rates of tree-cover loss have remained high.

 

REDD+ actors and activities

In 2010, Norway agreed to provide Indonesia with up to USD 1 billion for results achieved in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and peatlands. 
 
As part of that agreement Indonesia created a REDD+ Task Force, which produced a national REDD+ strategy in 2012. In 2013, Indonesia replaced the task force with a ministry-level National REDD+ Agency to coordinate activities and integrate REDD+ into the broader economy. In 2015, responsibilities for REDD+ were integrated into the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. 
 
NGOs and international organisations are implementing REDD+ demonstration activities across the archipelago. 
 
Civil society organisations involved in REDD+ aim to ensure that the process increases transparency in the forest sector and contributes to broader forest governance reform. 
 
Indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities are involved in REDD+ to ensure that implementation respects environmental and social safeguards. 
 
Civil society also contributes to the National REDD+ Agency's One Map initiative. The initiative aims to harmonise overlapping permits for forest use and conversion, and contribute to more rational land-use in terms of carbon, biodiversity and livelihoods. 
 
Indonesia is a beneficiary of the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and is a partner country of UN-REDD.

 

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Status of FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA)

Indonesia ratified its VPA with the EU in 2014 and began issuing FLEGT licences in November 2016. For more information, see the Indonesia page on the EU FLEGT Facility's website.