Jakarta – After several years of declining deforestation, 2025 marked a significant regression for Indonesia's environmental health as forest cover loss surged. A recent report by the environmental watchdog Auriga Nusantara revealed that over 430,000 hectares were cleared last year – a 66 percent increase from 2024.
Representing an area six times the size of Singapore, this rate reverses nearly a decade of progress made since 2017, when annual losses remained below the 300,000-hectare threshold.
While Kalimantan remains a primary site of concern, Papua experienced the most dramatic spike, with land clearing increasing fourfold compared to the previous year. Auriga attributes this trend to President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious pursuit of energy and food self-sufficiency. These findings align with earlier reports suggesting that National Strategic Projects (PSN), specifically the massive rice and sugarcane estates in Merauke, South Papua, are the primary drivers of this ecological destruction.
These developments are particularly alarming as thousands of people in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra struggle to recover from the devastating floods and landslides of last November. The severity of these disasters is widely believed to have been exacerbated by the loss of northern Sumatra's forests to industrial plantations and commercial expansion.
A steady supply of food and energy sources is imperative for any nation. Disruptions – such as those occurring now with the escalation of war in the Middle East – can spell disaster. However, we believe that securing these resources should not come at the cost of our remaining forests and, ultimately, the lives of the many who depend on those ecosystems.
Numerous studies have suggested that massive forest clearing for commercial purposes – whether through mining or transforming land into plantations – triggers long-term damage that outweighs short-term benefits. This damage impacts both the health of the environment and the well-being of the people.
Furthermore, the benefits gained from cutting down forests are usually reaped only by a few political and business elites in Jakarta. Meanwhile, indigenous communities and countless species suffer as they lose their homes beneath the vast canopies of Kalimantan, Papua and other islands.
The government must stop viewing forests as empty spaces to be utilized at will for personal gain. Indonesia's forests are rich, living spaces upon which millions of lives depend, especially during the current multi-crisis era.
It is also concerning that one of the government's first responses to the Auriga report was to debate the methodology of what constitutes deforestation. A Forestry Ministry spokesperson claimed the group miscounted the temporary loss of tree cover because they were not following the specific definitions provided by the United Nations climate body.
What the ministry should have done instead was appreciate Auriga for analyzing thousands of satellite images, and then compared notes to draft a sound, collaborative plan to follow up on those findings. The time and energy spent arguing over methodology should instead be used to chart the most feasible way to protect and conserve these lands.
Furthermore, we urge the government to abandon what observers call "fake solutions" for our forest crisis, such as designating areas solely as carbon market projects or commercializing the pristine nature of the country's national parks. While such projects may help keep a forest physically intact, we must question who actually benefits. Profits from carbon trading hardly reach the pockets of the indigenous people and local communities who do the actual work of preserving the forest they call home.
The government should acknowledge these efforts by designating more areas as customary forests. This would provide these communities with the legal recognition they deserve for their lifelong stewardship of the ecosystem.
There is no other way to protect our remaining forests: We must stop cutting them down for the sake of a few and return them to those who preserve them most.
Source: https://asianews.network/alarming-deforestation-the-jakarta-post