A leading environmental group has called on the government to be transparent about policy changes after the Tripa peat forest in Aceh was scrapped from a protected area.

A map listed the peat swamp as protected when it was first issued in May 2011, but a revised map issued in November changed its status. Muhammad Teguh Surya, a spokesman for the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said future changes should be made with greater transparency.

"Otherwise we are being asked to blindly trust in the Ministry of Forestry and the National Land Agency, two agencies with a long track record of dubious behavior," he said.