Background image courtesy of Bing Maps. The Indonesian government has rejected nearly 932,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of oil palm, timber, and logging concessions due to its moratorium on new…
Mother Sumatran orangutan with baby in Gunung Leuser, North Sumatra.. In a precedent-setting case, an Indonesian court has found a palm oil company guilty of violating environmental laws and ordered…
The year in rainforest news 2013 was full of major developments in efforts to understand and protect the world's tropical rainforests. The following is a review of some of the…
A mob of 150 palm oil workers has disrupted court proceedings against Kalista Alam, an Indonesian palm oil company accused of illegally converting blocks of protected peat forests for an…
Indonesia has finally established an agency to implement the country's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program. The REDD+ agency, established by a decree from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono…
Editor's note: This commentary is an analysis by three experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI). The post originally appeared at Indonesia Extends Its Forest Moratorium: What Comes Next?. Peat…
The Indonesian government has officially extended its moratorium [English translation] on new logging and plantation concessions in 65 million hectares of forests and peatlands for another two years. The move,…
A new UN report exposes serious flaws in Indonesia’s forest governance, serving as a wake up call to policy makers aiming to conserve forests in the country, which boasts the…
Court orders Aceh governor to reverse decision to cancel palm oil concession in protected peatlands Court orders Aceh governor to reverse decision to cancel palm oil concession in protected peatlands…
A major Indonesian palm oil producer continues to clear rainforests in Sumatra despite being a prominent member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), casting doubts on the body's…
Indonesian palm oil companies would support land swaps as a means to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation while simultaneously expanding production, representatives from the country's largest association of palm oil…
Forestry minister says Indonesia will renew forest conversion moratorium, however activists fear possible lapse in the policy could lead to wave of new concessions Indonesia’s forestry minister has again said…
Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry will soon raise fees on forest exploitation activities including logging, mining, and oil and gas exploration as part of an effort to increase income from resource…
Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a forestry giant that has been widely criticized for its role in driving deforestation and contributing to social conflict in Indonesia, today announced a zero…
Deforestation and peat fires in Indonesian Borneo. The Indonesian province of East Kalimantan has imposed a one-year moratorium on new permits for logging, mining, and oil palm plantations, reports Reuters.…
Deforestation in Central Kalimantan. Photo by Rhett Butler. Despite opposition from the powerful palm oil industry, Indonesia should extend its two-year moratorium on new logging and agricultural concessions in carbon-dense…
Conversion of forest to oil palm plantations in Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation could have been reduced by hundreds of millions of tons…
Rainforest in Indonesia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Indonesia should extend its two-year moratorium on new concessions in some 64.8 million hectares of forests and peatlands until its next presidential…
Deforestation for an oil palm plantation in Central Kalimantan. Photo by Rhett A Butler. On Monday Indonesia's House of Representatives moved to establish "North Kalimantan", a new province in Indonesian…
Various estimates of deforestation in Indonesia aggregated by time period. Note that Forest Watch Indonesia's (FWI) estimate is for the 2000-2009 period. The Ministry of Forestry's preliminary estimate for 2009/2010…
Chart: Change in peatland cover in Indonesia and Malaysia between 2000 and 2010. Background satellite image courtesy of Microsoft/Bing Maps and NASA, design by mongabay.com. Click image to enlarge. Indonesia's…
A brief overview of Indonesia's moratorium on new forestry concessions Indonesia has had one of the world’s highest deforestation rates since 1990 due largely to logging, pulp and paper production,…
Tripa peat fires. Courtesy of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program Several fires are burning in a contested concession within Aceh Province's Tripa peat swamp raising questions about the efficacy of…
President Yudhoyono speaking during his address at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia. (Photo: Dita Alangkara; courtesy of CIFOR) Indonesia "has reversed course" from a forest…
Deforestation in Indonesia. Indonesia's deforestation rate fell from 830,000 hectares per year between 2006-2009 to 450,000 hectares per year between 2009–2011, said the Ministry of Forestry Thursday during the unveiling…
Indonesia's forest moratorium - by the numbers. Indicative map May 2012 revision. Indonesia's moratorium on new forest concessions will not be enough to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target says…
Indicative map May 2012 revision. Indonesia is making "encouraging" progress on its push to reduce deforestation by improving governance over its forests and peatlands but still needs to do more…
The location of the Tripa peat swamps (circled) on the west coast of Aceh province, northern Sumatra, showing rivers, forest cover in 1990, peat, and district boundaries. Tripa is the…
Despite 'moratorium', palm oil plantations being widely developed on peatlands in Indonesia, boosting emissions Deforestation in Ketapang District, West Kalimantan Developers in Indonesian Borneo are increasingly converting carbon-dense peatlands for…
The location of the Tripa peat swamps (circled) on the west coast of Aceh province, northern Sumatra, showing rivers, forest cover in 1990, peat, and district boundaries. Tripa is the…
