The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) noted that Indonesia’s land area was 187.8 hectares in 2020. Of this amount, it was 88.4 million hectares or 47.1 % of forest area. West Papua is the province with the most significant forest area percentage, 87.3%. The ratio of forest in West Papua is obtained from the land area of West Papua of 9.6 million ha, while the forest area reaches 8.39 million ha.
Indonesia’s Last Intact Forest in West Papua
Papua occupies the second position, with the percentage of forest area reaching 78.5%. After that, there is Maluku, with forest area reaching 63% of its land area. The percentage of forest area in North Maluku is 61.2%. Then, the percentage of forest area in Central Sulawesi reached 55.4%.
Papua’s forest cover is 8.8 million hectares. According to the Manokwari Declaration, 70% of this area will be used as a protection function. It indicates that a 6.16 million hectare region won’t be a part of the industrial use zone.
Charlie claims that the canceled palm oil licenses would be given to indigenous peoples through ecotourism collaborations, non-timber forest products, or other activities that support sustainable development.
Forestry Development Program
He said that the open forest initiative would directly monitor the usage of protected forests for various types of development to stop the destruction.
“We can monitor the open forest in West Papua to cover in real-time with the technology we have today. If we don’t take immediate action, the international community will speak up,” said Suhardiman.
With the help of international forces, it is hoped that it will be able to preserve the forests in Papua and West Papua.
According to him, the ideal land area for absorbing greenhouse gases is still perfect in Papua because of the large number of primary forests that need to be preserved.
Save Forest in West Papua for Greener Indonesia
Here are three things you should be aware of about preserving the forest in West Papua. A necessary action if Indonesia is to accomplish its emission reduction goals and promote sustainable growth in Papua.
In Most Cases, Forest Loss Happens Legally
Some deforestation incidents take place inside the lines of legal concessions. However, these concessionaires occasionally operate outside the boundaries of authorized permissions, sometimes even inside peat conservation zones. 2015 saw a sharp increase in the pace of forest loss in West Papua, much exceeding earlier years. Only 3% of all occurrences in 2015 were brought on by unauthorized incursion.
It is possible to classify most of the deforestation in the Papua and West Papua provinces as planned deforestation since it takes place in Production Forests and Other Use Areas. However, this technique still irreversibly harms the variety of forest ecosystems.
Keeping Peatlands Safe Resulted in Lower Carbon Emissions
Peatlands release more carbon even if the pace of forest loss is still lower than on non-peatlands. Suppose we do not quickly alter development strategies to address this issue. In that case, emissions brought on by the loss of forests in West Papua on peatlands may be more significant than those brought on by the loss of other forest types.
For instance, in West Papua Province, emissions from degraded peatlands contributed around 50–55 percent more than from removing forests in 2015 and 2016.
In contrast, during the past 17 years, there have never been more than peatland emissions from tree cover loss in Papua Province.
Indonesia Can Fulfill its Commitments Under the Paris Agreement by Protecting the Forests of Papua
The Indonesian government can save 2.8–3.0 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions. It will happen if it can retain at least 70% of Indonesia’s Papua region (29 million hectares). The region inludes conservation areas and rebuild damaged land inside protected areas. As a result, the Paris Agreement’s objective of 1.8 to 2.0 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions saved by 2030 would have been surpassed if Indonesia could just conserve Papua’s forests.
Wrapping Up
The land area of Indonesia was 187.8 hectares in 2020, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The province with the highest forest land percentage is West Papua, with 87.3%. The protection function will use 70% of this space. Peatlands still see less forest loss than non-peatlands but release more carbon into the atmosphere. If Indonesia could have saved just the forests in West Papua, the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions that might have been averted would have exceeded the goal outlined in the Paris Agreement.
