Jakarta. The deforestation rate in Indonesia showed a notable decline of 8.4 percent for the period of 2021-2022 compared to the previous year's monitoring results. The data reveals that Indonesia experienced net deforestation of 104,000 hectares during that period, whereas the deforestation in the period 2020-2021 amounted to 113,500 hectares.

Ruandha A Sugardiman, the Acting Director General of Forestry and Environmental Planning at the Ministry of Environment, highlighted that this year's deforestation trend in Indonesia demonstrates a relatively low and stable decline.

"This demonstrates that various efforts undertaken by the ministry in recent times begin to deliver results," Ruandha said.

The condition of land and forestland in Indonesia is dynamic and closely tied to land requirements for development and other activities. Changes in forest functions occur over time due to forest conversion for non-forestry sectors, encroachment, forest fires, and forest rehabilitation activities.

To monitor forests and deforestation, the Indonesian government conducts extensive monitoring across the country, encompassing an area of 187 million hectares, both within and outside forest areas. This monitoring utilizes Landsat satellite imagery, provided by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and is visually interpreted by technical experts located across Indonesia.

The results of Indonesia's forest monitoring in 2022 indicate that the total forestland across the country covers approximately 96 million hectares, which accounts for approximately 51.2 percent of the total land area.

Belinda A Margono, the Director of Forest Resource Inventory and Monitoring at the ministry, further explained that the deforestation figure for the period 2021-2022 amounted to 104,000 hectares. This was derived from a gross deforestation of 119,400 hectares, with reforestation efforts totaling 15,400 hectares.

For comparison, the deforestation in the period 2020-2021 reached 113,500 hectares, with a gross deforestation of 139,100 hectares and reforestation of 25,600 hectares. In the period 2021-2022, the majority of gross deforestation occurred in secondary forests, totaling 106,400 hectares (89.1 percent). Around 70.9 percent or 75,400 hectares were within forest areas, while the remaining approximately 31,000 hectares or 29.1 percent were outside forest areas.

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