Fast
economic expansion coupled with political apathy has led to rapid deforestation
in Indonesia, threatening biodiversity. Activists say the government should not
place GDP growth over environmental protection.
Deutsche Welle, 14 July 2014
Over the
past decade, Indonesia has been experiencing strong economic growth, which has
lifted millions of people out of poverty. However, the country's growth story
has a negative side: rapid deforestation. High demand - both local and foreign
- for forest products such as palm oil, pulp and paper is driving
deforestation, according to the Indonesian research organization Center for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
A recent
study by University of Maryland researchers concluded that Indonesia has the
highest rate of deforestation in the world. Between 2000 and 2012, the country
lost almost 16 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Greece. Forest
land is being increasingly converted into either industrial zones or
agricultural fields. Furthermore, illegal logging, mining and land fires have
concerned environmentalists as they pose a threat to biodiversity and increase
greenhouse gas emissions.
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| Lack of political interest in the protection of nature has led to growing rate of deforestation in Indonesia |
A lack of
political interest in the protection of nature and poor governance are
responsible for the growing rate of deforestation in Indonesia, said Bruno
Vander Velde, senior writer at CIFOR.
Lack of
political will
In an
attempt to curb deforestation, the Indonesian government declared a moratorium
in December 2011, which prohibited the approval of any licenses to convert
primary forests and peatlands for agriculture or any other use. But the measure
has so far failed to slow down the loss of forest area.
Environmentalists
blame the failure on a lack of coordination between central and provincial
governments, weak monitoring and widespread irregularities in local
administration. Moreover, they add that the politicians' indifference towards
the issue of climate change is exacerbating the problem.
Abetnego
Tarigan, executive director of Jakarta-based environmental organization Friends
of the Earth Indonesia's (WALHI), told DW that there has hardly been any
discussion on environmental issues in the country's parliament.
"Economic
growth and maximizing revenues by destroying natural resources is the only
priority for the political class. Many lawmakers have business interests and
they only have their profits in mind," Tarigan added.
Indonesia is
rich in natural resources, but political parties pay little heed to protect
them. For instance, during the campaign for the recently held presidential
election, none of the candidates "showed strong commitment to protect the
environment," Bustar Maitar, global head of Greenpeace's Indonesia forest
campaign, told DW, adding that this lack of political will has become a big
challenge for the protection of forests.
Weak
monitoring
The latest
data showed that while 38 percent of all tree cover loss in Indonesia occurred
in the protected primary forests, the overall forest loss was increasing by an
average of 47,600 hectares each year.
Environmentalist
Tarigan said that there was evidence of illegal logging and deforestation in
the restricted forest area. "Local authorities have too little capacity to
monitor such a vast forest area and in many areas dishonest businessmen are
taking advantage of it," he explained.
Moreover,
one of the reasons for the failure to curb the forest loss is that a large
amount of deforestation has been taking place outside the restricted primary
forest area, say experts. "That is why the moratorium should be expanded
to natural forests so that forest conversion can be monitored and reduced,
stressed Greenpeace activist Bustar Maitar.
Threat to
biodiversity
According
to United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), total forest
vegetation in Indonesia produces more than 14 billion tons of biomass,
equivalent to approximately 20 percent of the biomass in all of Africa's
tropical forests.
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| Sumatran and Javan rhinos have been categorized as critically endangered |
Indonesia covers
only 1.3 percent of the world's landmass, but it is home to 11 percent of the
world's plant species, 10 percent of mammal species and 16 percent of bird
species. But continuous deforestation, illegal hunting and trading are having a
negative impact on biodiversity in the country.
According
to CIFOR, elephant population fell by 35 percent between 1992 and 2007 due to
continuous deforestation. While the number of Sumatran tigers has decreased to
some 400 to 500, Sumatran and Javan rhinos have already been categorized as
critically endangered.
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