Indonesia to Reverse Course on 'World's Largest Deforestation Project'
Indonesia appears to be reversing course on a plan to turn vast swaths of tropical rainforest into rice and sugarcane plantations. Read more on E360 →
Indonesia may be altering its plans to transform massive areas of tropical rainforest into rice and sugarcane plantations. Since 2023, the Southeast Asian nation has been converting 7 million acres of tropical forest in New Guinea into farms, with a similar project underway in Borneo covering 3 million acres. The goal is to reduce Indonesia's dependence on imported food and energy.
Officials recently announced that the country has already achieved self-sufficiency in rice three years early and will no longer expand rice cultivation in forested areas. They also stated that future food and biofuel production will utilize degraded land. This development has been hailed as a significant shift by conservation group Mighty Earth's Glenn Hurowitz.
However, skepticism remains as forest loss surged to a eight-year high last year, and campaigners question the government's commitment to reducing deforestation. It is unclear how these changes will affect currently converted forest areas in New Guinea and Borneo. A spokesperson for Indonesia's Forest Ministry stated they cannot confirm that all activities in the two regions will stop immediately.
Civil society groups opposing the project in New Guinea remain unconvinced, noting that past government commitments to sustainable development have been mostly rhetoric.
Written by urgent.news from Yale Environment 360's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
