Indonesia

Indonesia is a treasure chest of biodiversity; it is home to between 10 and 15 per cent of all known species of plants, mammals and birds. Orang-utans, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, more than 1,500 species of birds and thousands of plant species are all a part of the country's natural legacy.

The mass destruction of Indonesia's rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands for palm oil and paper threatens this and is the main reason why Indonesia is one of the world's largest emitters of climate changing greenhouse gases.

The lives of millions of Indonesians who depend on the forests for food, shelter and livelihoods are also changing beyond recognition as the forest disappears.

This destruction also threatens our wider world; peatlands are perhaps the world's most critical carbon stores, and Indonesia's peatlands are vast, storing about 35 billion tonnes of carbon. When these peatlands are drained, burned and replaced by plantations, carbon dioxide is released and the conditions are set for devastating forest fires, which were responsible, for instance, for Singapore's 'haze wave' in 2013

The latest updates

 

When palm oil companies get banned, are they willing to change?

Blog entry by Kiki Taufik | 25 April, 2016 1 comment

As Indonesia's president announces a temporary ban on palm oil development, one of the world's biggest palm oil traders faces a customer revolt over its deforestation in Borneo… and it could lead to some big wins for forest protection.

Sumatran rhino found while forest habitat is lost

Blog entry by Jamie Woolley | 1 April, 2016 1 comment

Last week, researchers announced the first live encounter with a Sumatran rhino in Borneo for over 40 years. But the human pressures that have pushed this species to the brink of extinction are still very much in play. A rhino...

8 ways people are fighting for forests this International Day of Forests

Blog entry by Dawn Bickett | 20 March, 2016

Love trees? Then celebrate – 21 March is the International Day of Forests! Without healthy, thriving forests, our planet cannot sustain life. But they are facing serious threats from human activity. As much as 80 percent of the...

In Indonesia, a new tool helps communities protect their land from fire

Blog entry by Teguh Surya | 16 March, 2016 1 comment

One morning in early 2009, Pak Manan a resident of Sungai Tohor, a coastal village on one of Indonesia’s islands in Riau, Sumatra, took his regular walk to community land about four kilometres away from the village. When he arrived he...

Cutting Deforestation Out Of Palm Oil

Publication | 3 March, 2016 at 7:00

In recent years, the world’s biggest companies have woken up to the environmental costs associated with palm oil and the other commodities they buy. Nowhere are those costs more evident than in Indonesia, which has lost 31 million hectares of...

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