After decade-long declining trend deforestation in Indonesia on the rise again
Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer for palm oil. After a decade-long decline in forest loss, deforestation for palm oil plantations is now increasing again as an analysis by TheTreeMap shows.
After a record deforestation of 227 000 hectares in 2012, there has been a consistent declining trend (see Figure below). After less than a tenth of the 2012 value was reached in 2022 (22 000 hectares), the area cleared for palm oil production accounted for 30 000 hectares in 2023. The area of forest converted to oil palm plantations (Fig. 1, white bars) is increasing again for the second year in a row.
Figure 1: Expansion of industrial oil palm plantations in Indonesia by year from 2001 to 2023 with emphasis on forest conversion. White bars represent the oil palm-driven deforestation, or the areas of forest cleared and converted to plantations in the same year. The black bars represent areas of non-forest converted to oil palm. The sum of white and black bars represents the area of plantation added each year. (source: Mongabay)
TheTreeMap identifies 53 companies behind the plantation expansion, the biggest one being Ciliandry Anky Abadi (CAA).
The ongoing deforestation is particularly severe as a third of the 2023 deforestation occurred on carbon-rich peatlands, which results in high greenhouse gas emissions when those areas are cleared and drained. Moreover, those areas become susceptible to fire and can burn for weeks due to the large, accumulated quantity of combustible peat soil, resulting in even more emissions and air pollution.
Within Indonesia, deforestation has shifted geographically. Historically palm oil plantations and subsequent deforestation were concentrated on the island of Sumatra and Kalimantan. After a declining trend Kalimantan is again witnessing increases in deforestation during the last two years. Additionally, increases are also observed on Papua.
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