Officials at Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government has previously disputed deforestation claims made by environmentalists, and said estimates overstate forest loss by miscounting changes in plantations as deforestation.
Auriga Nusantara said its count excluded loss in timber plantations and plantation forest, but does cover both primary forests and regenerated “secondary” forest.
The report also sounds the alarm on deforestation for biomass production, which has seen forest levelled to plant quick-growing species that will provide wood biomass.
Indonesia is keen to boost domestic use of biomass energy and export, particularly to Japan and South Korea.
And it highlighted deforestation on islands in Raja Ampat, an area known for its teeming coral reefs, as nickel mining advances.
“This area of such national and international acclaim has been unable to withstand the onslaught,” the report said.
Nearly 200 hectares across four islands in the region have been deforested, the group said, with new nickel mining licences already issued for several more islands.
Auriga Nusantara said forest loss was also happening in conservation areas, despite legal protections.
The group said about 42 million hectares of Indonesia’s natural forests are unprotected by law, including millions of hectares already inside concessions.
While the amount of forest loss has risen in recent years, it is still down sharply from a peak around 2016.
Source: CNA
