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Hopes high permanent ban on forest, peatland clearance will stop deforestation
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo signed a presidential instruction on a permanent ban on the issuance of new business permits for use of forest and peatland areas.
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A fire burns through a protected area of the Rawa Singkil wildlife reserve, part of the Leuser Ecosystem, in Trumon, South Aceh, to clear land for an oil palm plantation. (AFP/Januar)
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ollowing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s signing of a presidential instruction to upgrade a moratorium on the issuance of new business permits for use of forest and peatland areas to a permanent ban, hopes are rising that Indonesia’s remaining forests can be protected.
In mid-June, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar explained the country’s move to impose a moratorium on the issuance of forest and peatland clearance permits in front of an international audience during a discussion in Incheon, South Korea.
The instruction was first issued in 2011 under then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, and has been extended every two years, with the latest extension made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in June 2017.
The minister said the moratorium had been effective in helping the government reform the forestry sector, including in preventing wildfires and resolving land conflicts. Siti added that the government was also planning to make the restriction permanent in the near future.
Fast forward to one and a half months later, the very same minister said the government had kept its promise by issuing a permanent ban on new permits for forest and peatland areas.
“I made sure the President signed the instruction on Aug. 5. It will upgrade the previous instruction to a permanent ban and improve primary forest and peatland management,” Siti said.
She added that the instruction would be followed by an executive order.
