Indonesia's forests Towards Extinction 

Indonesia has 10% of the world's tropical forests remaining.Indonesia's forests have 12% of mammal species / mammals, 16% owner of the animal species of reptiles and amphibians, 1519 species of birds and 25% of the world's fish species. Most of dianataranya are endemic or found only in the area. Area of ​​natural forests native to Indonesia shrank at a pace that is alarming. Until now, Indonesia has lost its original forest cover by 72 percent [World Resource Institute, 1997]. Indonesia deforestation is not controlled for decades and lead to shrinkage of tropical forests on a large scale. Deforestation 1985-1997 period recorded 1.6 million hectares per year, whereas in the period 1997-2000 to 3.8 million hectares per year. This makes Indonesia is one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. In Indonesia based on the interpretation of Landsat imagery in 2000 there were 101.73 million hectares of forest and degraded land, including an area of ​​59.62 million hectares are in forest areas. (Ministry of Forestry Planning Agency, 2003). In the 16th century until the mid-18th century, natural forests in Java is estimated to about 9 million hectares. In the late 1980s, the natural forest cover in Java, only 0.97 million hectares, or 7 percent of the total area of ​​Java Island. Currently, the land cover in Java by 4% live trees. Java since 1995 has had a deficit of water as much as 32.3 billion cubic meters annually. 

Why We Can Damage Rimba Forest

Timber industry in Indonesia has a very high production capacity than the availability of wood. Timber companies logging out of control and ruin, planters opened a vast plantation, and mining entrepreneurs open forest areas.

Meanwhile, displaced and marginalized people in forest management that resulted in people no longer have access to their forests.

And this is also exacerbated by conditions of unbridled government and corrupt, where the forest is considered as a source of money and can be drained out for personal and group interests.

Impact Of Forest Damage

With the reduction in forest cover Indonesia, the large areas of Indonesia has become an area prone to disasters, both droughts, floods and landslides. From 1998 to mid 2003, there were 647 disasters have occurred in Indonesia in 2022 of casualties and losses of billions of dollars, of which 85% of these disasters are floods and landslides that caused damage to forests (National Coordination for Disaster Management, 2003).


In addition, Indonesia will also lose a variety of animals and plants that have been the pride of the nation of Indonesia. Meanwhile, Indonesia's forests has been a source of life for the rest of Indonesia. Forest is where the provider of food, medicine providers as well as a place to live for most of the people of Indonesia. With the loss of forests in Indonesia, causing them to lose their source of food and medicine. Along with the increasing destruction of Indonesia's forests, indicating the increasing levels of poverty the people of Indonesia, and most of the poor in Indonesia to co-exist with the forest.

Efforts must be made

To stop forest destruction in Indonesia, the government must get serious to stop issuing new licenses forestry, timber and plantation, as well as enforcing the law against perpetrators of export of logs and raw shale. The government should also conduct a thorough test of the performance of the forestry industry and law enforcement for the troubled industry. After this stage, it is necessary realignment of the damaged forest area and also address the social impact of the cessation of logging, for example by employing the forestry industry in the tree planting project.


Then, when it was ordered back to the forest management system, the granting of timber harvesting on forest plants only or managed forests based on local communities.
During the temporary suspension of [the moratorium] is executed, the wood industries can still be the way by importing raw materials. To facilitate supervision, it must be imported timber species with different types of wood in Indonesia.


And the important thing is to restore the sovereignty of the people in forest management, because the people of Indonesia have long been able to manage the forests of Indonesia.


Governmental organizations to rejuvenate forests should continue to be encouraged by planting forests around the place they live. All must come to think from the top to the bottom though. Consciousness to restore our forests should start now.