Deforestation

Forests

“land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of more than 10% (FAO)

• Cover approx. 30% of global land area

• Average annual loss due to deforestation: 4.3 million ha

Deforestation and Forest Degradation timeline

Since 1990, some 420 million ha have been lost

Between 2015-2020, rate of deforestation estimated at 10 million ha per year

More than 100 million ha lost to fires, pests, diseases, invasive species, droughts and adverse weather

Classifying Forests - Tropical

Climate influenced
- Tropical - 45 to 50% of global forests, rainforest dominant

• Loss of average 5.5 million ha/year - 1990-2015

• Loss generated more than 50% more greenhouse gases than the global transport sector

Classifying Forests - Temperate

- Temperate - rainforest and dry land forest

• Increase of 2.2 million ha/year - 1990-2015

Classifying Forests - Boreal

- Boreal - higher latitude/altitude, conifers dominate

• No net loss or gain

Forest Distribution - changes overtime

- Estimated 1.9 million square ha cleared over the last 5000 years

- Until 1950, temperate forests were the main location for deforestation. Post 1950, tropical forests have become the main areas for deforestation

Characteristics of Forests and Deforestation - Deforestation

long-term reduction of tree canopy cover to below 10-30%

Characteristics of Forests and Deforestation - Reforestation

replanting forest which has previously been present in a place

Characteristics of Forests and Deforestation - Afforestation

planting trees on land not previously forested

Characteristics of Forests and Deforestation - Forest degradation

deforestation to levels of 10-30% tree cover achieved via processes such as logging or development of secondary forest

Classification of Forests - Primary Forest

- Intact forests dominated by natural processes

- Sometimes referred to as ‘old growth’ forests, trees within can be centuries old

- Covers 34%

Classification of Forests - Secondary Forests

- Regrowth or regenerated forests

- Consist of native species but recently disturbed by human activity or humans have intervened in development through planting

- Will eventually develop into a community similar to old growth/primary forest

- Covers 59%

Classification of Forests - Plantation/Planted Forests

- “Tree farms” - monocultures of native or non-native trees planted for commercial control or environmental services

- Lack the species diversity of primary and regrowth forests

- Covers 7%

How Forests are Monitored

• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) gather information about the world’s forests

• Annual Report - Global Forest Resource Assessment

• Use of remote sensing and satellite (spatial technology)

• Dependent in part on information provided by member nations

Forest Management - Clear-felling

Large sections cleared

Forest Management - Selection

Selected trees felled, understory remains

Forest Management - Group Selection

Section of the forest is completely cleared

Forest Management - Shelterwood

Only mature trees felled, interval left

Forest Management - Seed-tree retention

Most trees removed but some left to reduce environmental impact

Human Process Influencing Deforestation

- Agriculture estimated to be responsible for around 73% of global deforestation, Logging makes up 19% and wood fuel collection 6%, the remainder is due to infrastructure development

- In 2019, the world lost 5.4 million ha to deforestation, with Brazil and Indonesia accounting for 52% of it

- The expansion of pasture land to raise cattle was responsible for 41% of tropical deforestation 2.1 million ha each year

- 80% of deforestation in Brazil is driven by cattle ranching

- Beef, soy, palm oil, wood pulp and paper products are responsible for the loss of nearly 5 million ha annually

- Exports tied to illegal deforestation are worth US $61 billion annually, responsible for 25% of total global tropical deforestation

Human Process Influencing Deforestation - Economic Drivers

- Development of infrastructure

- Construction of the ‘Trans-Amazonian Highway’ paved the way to deforestation at the start of the 1960s increase access to forested areas, increasing deforestation

- Pursuit of economic development often underlying drivers to ‘alleviate poverty.’ Often food security and economic progress trumps environmental concern

Human Process Influencing Deforestation - Political Drivers

-Enforcement of forest protection laws is challenging – isolated and remote, also tends to cost large amounts and requires resources and logistics

-Many Newly Emerging Economies and Low Income Countries have been prone to poor forest management due to corruption and the above – illegal foresting is more financially viable

-INTERPOL have estimated forestry crimes of around US$51b to US$152b per year – ¾ from Indonesia and Brazil

Human Process Influencing Deforestation - Social Drivers

- Land rights and forest ownership causes issues for indigenous and forest dependent communities. This can lead to exploitation and manipulation.

-War and civil disruption has led to large scale deforestation through history. E.g. Rwanda 1994 led to mass migration (750,000) and led to large scale deforestation of protected mountain gorilla habitat.

Human Process Influencing Deforestation - Environmental Drivers

-Climate change - Forests ‘ migrating’ due to climate patterns, and due to increased extreme weather events forest cover has been dramatically affected.

-Areas of forest in drier regions experiencing ‘forest dieback events’ whereby more than 10% of the dominant canopy species is lost

Natural Process Influencing Deforestation - ‘Biotic disturbances’

-Pest and disease outbreaks – affect less than 2% of forest worldwide annually , but cause significant damage in some regions. E.g. Bagworm outbreaks have damaged over 50,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia since the early 2000s, stripping trees of foliage and significantly reducing productivity.

Natural Process Influencing Deforestation - ‘Abiotic disturbances’

-Forest fires, climactic events and tectonic events – usually occur on a regional scale – affect around 3% of forest worldwide each year.

-Generally this is degradation rather than loss, and in places fires are needed for regrowth.

-ENSO influence on drought, tropical storms and flooding affects 0.5% of forest annually.

e.g. in Indonesia forest fires burned over 2.6million ha of land in 2019, mainly across Sumatra and Kalimantan

Indonesia - Physical Characteristics

• Archipelagic country (group of islands close together)

• Average elevation 367m above sea level

• Only about 12.34% of the country is suitable for agriculture due to forests and mountains

• Total area = 1904569 sq km

• Ranked 3rd in number of species found, high biodiversity

Indonesia - Human Characteristics

• Presidential republic

• In 2023 population was 281.19 million

• Population growth rate of 0.99%

• Relocated capital in August 2024 from Jakarta to Nusantara in Borneo

• 135.2 people per km² in 2013

Indonesia - Location

• In Southeast Asia, some islands extend into Oceania

• Between Pacific and Indian Oceans

• 1.905 million km²

• Coastline is 95,181 km long

• Over 18,000 islands and islets

Indonesia - Evidence on Rate of Change and Deforestation

• From 2001 to 2020, Indonesia lost 27.7m ha of tree cover, 17% decrease in tree cover

• Average deforestation rate of 650 thousand ha per year between 2015 and 2020

• From 2000 to 2012 more than 6 million ha of primary forest lost

Indonesia - Human Drivers - Palm Oil

• Largest single driver of deforestation… resulting in 23% of deforestation nationwide from 2001 to 2016

• Peaked in 2008 to 2009, when Palm Oil was 40% national deforestation

• In 10 of Indonesia’s most forest rick provinces which hold 80% of remaining forest cover, deforestation annually increased from 1.8 million ha in 2010 to 2014 to 1.85 million ha in 2015 to 2019

Indonesia - Human Drivers - Economic

• Exports of Palm Oil in 2018 were valued at US $16.5 billion, in 2021 they were $27.3 billion

• In 2021, produced 46 million tons of palm oil, contributing to 4.5% of GDP

• Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of Palm Oil, 55% of global supply (2018) as of 2023 Indonesia and Malaysia account for 83%

Indonesia - Human Drivers - Political

• 90 million ha of Indonesian forests are controlled by the government from 1967, 2.7 million ha privately owned

• Corruption within the government has led to granting illegal concessions

  • E.g. Tessa Nilo National Park on Sumatra. This 86,000 ha national park was reduced to 18,000 ha within 10 years of creation

Indonesia - Human Drivers - Social

• Rapid population growth (115 million in 1970 to 277 million in 2023) demand for land for housing, agriculture industry and jobs

• Rural poverty rate is 14% double that in urban areas, contributes to illegal clearing of forests to survive

Indonesia - Human Drivers - 2021 Deforestation Low

• 27.4 million ha were in designated protection areas

• Palm oil prices decreased by 1% which was associated with a 1.08% decrease in new plantations and 0.68% decrease in forest loss

Indonesia - Human Drivers - 2023 Low Trend Did Not Continue

• “In 2023, Indonesia saw an increase in deforestation caused by the expansion of … Palm Oil plantations, following a record 21 year low in 2021”

• Industrial plantations grew by 116,000 ha in 2023, a 54% increase from 2022

• Fallen by 82% over past decade to 45,285 ha annually from 2018-2020

Indonesia - Natural Drivers - Fires

• Nearly 2.47 million ha burned in Indonesia between Jan - Oct 2023, influenced by El Nino and burning for new plantations

• In 2019, fires burnt 1.65 million ha

• The 2023 fires burned 5 folds more land than in 2022 but still showed a 30.8% decrease compared to the same period in 2019, which also occurred during an El Niño event.

• “The 200,000 ha of burning were mostly on savanna”

• Worst hit provinces

  • South Kalimantan - 187,574 ha

  • Central Kalimantan - 114,576 ha

  • South Sumatra - 109,460 ha

Indonesia - Social Impacts - Positive

• The UNFAO estimates that 114,000 people are employed in the forestry industry

• The UNDP estimates that 16 million jobs are dependent on the Palm Oil industry

• The ‘ASEAN Post” stated that in 2019, Palm Oil industries lifted 2.6 million rural Indonesians out of poverty

• “Palm Oil is important to Indonesia’s development because it reduces poverty by bringing roads, schools and other infrastructure to rural communities”

Indonesia - Social Impacts - Negative

• In Borneo, an estimated 2.5 million people have been displaced since the 1970s as a result of the government taking control of native forests and then granting concessions

• An Indonesian nongovernment organisation, documented more than 650 land-related conflicts affecting over 650,000 households in 2017, and about 410 conflicts affecting 87,568 households in 2018

• Deforestation induced forest fires have severely affected air quality. During the 2015 fire season, 500,000 Indonesians suffered from respiratory ailments, promoting state of emergency

Indonesia - Economic Impacts - Positive

• Approx. 16 million jobs depend on the palm oil industry

• Palm oil exports were valued at US $16.5 billion, representing 4.5% of Indonesia’s GDP

• Franky Widaja family is worth an estimated US $8.6 billion from Palm Oil from his company Golden Agri-Resources

Indonesia - Economic Impacts - Negative

• Forest fires in Eastern Kalimantan caused economic losses exceeding $9 billion (CIFOR estimate).

• 73-88% of Indonesia’s timber is illegally logged, causing $2 billion in annual losses (UNEP, 2007).

• The 2024 EU Deforestation Regulation could reduce Indonesia’s palm oil exports to the EU by 30% and disrupt supply chains.

Indonesia - Environmental Impacts - Positive

Indonesia - Environmental Impacts - Negative

• 62% of Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions come from land use change and forestry

• 12.5 billion metric tonnes of carbon stored in its forests, creating a major environmental risk if deforestation persists

• Orangutan populations in Borneo have declined by over 50% in the past 60 years, driven by habitat loss, which has reached 55%

• “Our rate of biodiversity loss is the highest in the world. Thousands of species are endangered by deforestation in Indonesia”

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Overview

• Launched in 2014 by World Resources Institute, works with Google and NASA

• Aims: to promote transparency and accountability by provide near real time information and data on the world’s forests through satellite imagery and remote sensing

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Assess Land Cover Change

• Collects Satellite Data high resolution imagery from sources like NASA’s Landsat program

• GIAD Alerts providing weekly deforestation alerts, Indicated that Indonesia reduced primary forest loss by 64% during 2020-2022 compared to 2015-2017 average

• Carbon emission estimations based on biomass loss, showing deforestation resulted in approx. 221 mega tonnes of CO2 emissions

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Manage Land Cover Change

• Works with enforcement agencies to track illegal deforestation and land grabs. In 2022, Peruvian law enforcement used GFW data to seize illegal timber worth over $4 million

• GFW pro and Palm Oil Risk Tool tracks deforestation risks in supply chains.

• In Brazil, authorities used GFW data to monitor illegal deforestation in Amazon, leading yo a 61% reduction in deforestation in early 2023

• In 2010, Indonesia signed a letter of intent with Norway to establish a two-year moratorium on new logging concessions. Declared in 2011, extended in 2013

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Limitations

• In Indonesia, GFW tree cover loss data sometimes over estimates deforestation by up to 15%

• Lack of enforcement despite detecting 1.69million ha of forest loss in Indonesia in 2022, enforcement actions only covered 30% pf illegal deforestation cases

• Technological Barrier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 70% of deforestation is illegal, fewer than 35% of local officials used GFW data for enforcement

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Palm Risk Tool

• Satellite based data for around 800 mills analysing fire activity and tree cover loss overtime

• Creation of the ‘risk ranking’ for each ill to help narrow down focus on plantations feeding the mill

• Allows ‘high-risk’ countries to manage supply chains or face repercussions from organisations like RSPO

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Palm Risk Tool Successes

• Made companies such as 101 accountable and revoked a license affected operations

• Creates transparency and accountability around the impacts of palm oil supply chains, empowering both companies and consumers alike

• Intan Sejuti Andalan Mill in Indonesia, Palm Risk Tool can identify the impacts on clouded leopards and Sumatran rhinos to develop strategies and make progress towards deforestation free commitments

Indonesia - Global Forest Watch Spatial Technology - Palm Risk Tool Limitations

• Companies face challenges with monitoring and controlling supply chain - tricky to make tools to address this easily

• The 1 to 2 year lag in official deforestation statistics can hinder immediate policy response

• Government will priorities economic growth so potentially companies won’t face backlash from the government

Indonesia - Responses - REDD+ - Context

• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation

• Global Response

• Supported by the UN beginning in 2013 at COP19

• In 2015 REDD+ was developed to link Paris Climate Agreement

• Aims: work with developing nations to provide financial incentives to developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by establishing a baseline of forest cover and carbon shocks and defining the scenarios of REDD+ absence

Indonesia - Responses - REDD+ - Successes

• The fund supported by Norway and Germany under REDD+, has distributed over $1.3 billion for forest conservation projects

• 16 countries including Indonesia due to REDD+ reduced almost 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide

• As of end of 2022, REDD+ activities implemented by developing countries cover a forest area of approx. 1.35 billion ha

Indonesia - Responses - REDD+ - Limitations

• Deforestation often shifts to areas not covered by REDD+ projects

• National REDD+ payments attenuated the effect of increases in gold prices, an internationally traded commodity driving deforestation in Guyana

• Difficult to source adequate funding - “without continued payments, forest protection is not guaranteed”

Indonesia - Responses - Social forestry - Context

• National Response

• Adopted in 2016 as part of the UN-REDD program

• Aims: to empower local communities and their land rights by accessing 12.1 million ha of state forest, to manage forest sustainability while reducing deforestation and improving livelihoods

Indonesia - Responses - Social forestry - Successes

• By the end of 2023 nearly 10,000 Social Forestry permits had been issued nationally, covering 6.4 million ha

• World bank support efforts through Social Forestry programs promotes community based sustainable management of 300,000 ha of forest. By 2025 expected to benefit 150,000 people and reduce 9.2 million tonnes of CO2

• Tangible results with over 84,000 households gaining legal access to state forest land

Indonesia - Responses - Social forestry - Limitations

• Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry set a target of allocating 12.7 million ha of Social Forests by 2019, but by 2020 only 4.4 million ha granted

• The program is vulnerable without government funding as it it primarily funded through the national budget approx. 39.8% annually

Indonesia - Responses - Health in Harmony - Context

• Local for the region of West Kalimantan in Borneo

• Founded in 2007 by Dr Webb

• Aims: to provide local people with access to high quality healthcare, providing opportunity to develop organic farming, driving community change

• Meets 12 of the 17 total sustainable development goals

• Providing a 70% discount on treatments and medicine to locals if they avoid logging

• Focus: ‘reversing tropical forest deforestation to halt the nature and climate crisis’

Indonesia - Responses - Health in Harmony - Successes

• Efforts resulted in the protection of over 120,000 acres of rainforest in Borneo preventing over 1 million tons of CO2

• Health in Harmony hospital served over 70,000 patients since 2007, training 400 healthcare workers improving child morality rates by 65%

• Implemented eco-tourism programs which generated over $1 million in revenue for the local community

Indonesia - Responses - Health in Harmony - Limitations

• Heavy reliance on donor funding from international foundations, government grants, individual donors and institutional partnerships such as Rockefeller Foundation awarded Health in Harmony $475,650 in 2024

• Without support can not reach the wider community in Borneo