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Initiatives · Overview · Forests · Publications & Maps · News
Indonesia: Overview
Indonesia is an archipelago of about 17,000 islands straddling the equator in Southeast Asia. These islands span the Indomalayan and Australasian biological realms; they include seven major biogeographic realms and an extraordinary diversity of habitat types. Indonesia is home to some of the most magnificent tropical forests in the world. In extent, they rank third behind Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), and their biological richness is unique. The major forest types range from evergreen lowland dipterocarp forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan to seasonal monsoon forests and savanna grasslands in Nusa Tenggara and nondipterocarp lowland forests and alpine areas in Irian Jaya (sometimes referred to as Papua). Indonesia also contains the most extensive mangrove forests in the world, estimated at 4.25 million hectares in the early 1990s. Although Indonesia comprises only 1.3 percent of the earth’s land surface, it harbors a disproportionately high share of its biodiversity, including 11 percent of the world’s plant species, 10 percent of its mammal species, and 16 percent of its bird species. The majority of these species are found in the country’s forests. Many millions of forest-dwelling or forest-dependent people also rely on Indonesia’s forests for their livelihoods. Many of these communities live by traditional “portfolio” economic strategies that combine shifting cultivation of rice and other food crops with fishing, hunting, harvesting and selling of timber, and gathering non-timber forest products such as rattan, honey, and resins for use and sale. The cultivation of coffee, rubber, and other tree crops is also an important source of income. Indonesia began to exploit its forests in earnest in the early 1970s, with the development of the country’s wood-processing industries. Today, Indonesia is a significant producer of tropical hardwood logs and sawn wood, plywood and other boards, and pulp for papermaking. More than half the country’s forests, some 54 million hectares, are allocated for timber production (although not all are being actively logged), and a further 2 million ha of industrial wood plantations have been established, supplying mostly pulpwood. Agricultural plantation crops including tea, coffee, rubber and oil palm are also important for domestic consumption and export. Thanks to unchecked development, most of Indonesia’s unique forest habitats are under serious threat. The country is losing nearly 2 million ha of forest every year, through legal and illegal logging, clearance for plantations and agricultural estates, and fires. The most recent and authoritative survey of the country’s forest cover predicts that lowland dipterocarp forests – the richest tropical habitat of all – will have vanished from Sumatra and Kalimantan by 2010 if current trends continue. Forest policy reform and the strengthening of forest management institutions in Indonesia depend largely on factors unrelated to forests. Indonesia is in the midst of multiple economic, political, and social crises. Following more than three decades (1966-1998) of relatively stable rule and rapid economic growth under the “New Order” regime of President Suharto, Indonesia entered a period of chaotic political transition that has degenerated into almost complete political paralysis. Regional separatist movements, conflicts over land ownership and use rights, widespread corruption and lawlessness, all contribute to continuing destruction of the country’s forests. Since 1999, Indonesia’s principal aid donors have coordinated their assistance through a consortium called the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), chaired by the World Bank. Improved forest management has been declared a priority, and the Government of Indonesia has committed to a 12-point plan of policy reform. But continuing political turmoil seems likely to undermine these efforts. Recent experience suggests that the ability of donors to influence implementation of forest policy reforms is limited. Given the overwhelming political, social, and economic problems that Indonesia faces and the near-complete absence of action on any forest policy reform agenda item over the past few years, the prognosis for Indonesia’s forests remains grim. The report, The State of the Forest: Indonesia, is a product of Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) and Global Forest Watch (GFW). FWI was initiated in late 1997 by some 20 nongovernmental organizations to play its role as a civil society component, which encourages acceleration of the democratization process in terms of forest resources allocation and management in Indonesia. GFW was launched in 1998 by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to work in alliance with nongovernmental organizations and local leaders from forested countries around the world. Sources[1] Holmes, D. 2000. Deforestation in Indonesia: A View of the Situation in 1999. Jakarta, Indonesia: World Bank. Draft Report of July 3. [2] Seymour, F. and N. Dubash. 2000. The Right Conditions: The World Bank, Structural Adjustment, and Forest Policy Reform. Washington D.C.: World Resources Institute. |
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