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Indonesia lost less forest in 2024, with caveat
Indonesia saw 258,000 hectares of primary forest lost in 2024, slightly down from the 290,000 ha in the previous year, according to a recent report issued by research group World Resources Institute (WRI).
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This aerial photo shows a part of the protected mangrove forest near the Bram Itam River in Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi that has been cut down, on May 11, 2025. (Antara/Wahdi Septiawan)
W
hile the world saw an increase in primary tropical loss to wildfires fueled by the climate crisis, Indonesia bucked the global trend by recording a rare decline in such deforestation last year compared with the figure in 2023, according to a recent study.
But experts have warned the government not to be complacent about the figure and urged the administration of President Prabowo Subianto to work harder than his predecessor to cut deforestation in the country as much as possible.
The report, published by global environmental research group World Resources Institute (WRI) on Wednesday, revealed more than 6.7 million hectares of tropical primary forests, an area twice the size of Belgium, were lost throughout last year, mainly due to human-induced forest and land fires. The figure was double the forest loss recorded in 2023.
Indonesia, however, did not follow the global trend, as the country recorded a decrease in primary forest loss in 2024. From 94 million ha of primary forest that covers half of the country’s landmass, the WRI recorded around 258,000 ha of forest were lost last year.
While the figure was almost equivalent to four Singapores, it was an 11-percent drop from the 292,374 lost in 2023. Of the total 2024 figure, nearly 11,500 ha were lost due to wildfires.
Read also: Indonesia braces for forest, land fires ahead of dry season
The research group believed that the declining figure was thanks to the combination of various policies and work done by authorities, private companies and local communities to protect the remaining forest, which includes preventing forest and land fires, said WRI Indonesia managing director Arief Wijaya.
