A hill that has been cleared from trees to make way for a corn plantation is visible in Polewali Mandar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia , Saturday, April 20, 2024. From trees felled in protected national parks to massive swaths of jungle razed for palm oil and paper plantations, Indonesia had a 27% uptick in primary forest loss in 2023 from the previous year, according to a World Resources Institute analysis of new deforestation data.
Since 1950, more than 74 million hectares of Indonesian rainforest — an area twice the size of Germany — have been logged, burned or degraded for development of palm oil, paper and rubber plantations, nickel mining and other commodities, according to Global Forest Watch. Indonesia is the biggest producer of palm oil, one of the largest exporters of coal and a top producer of pulp for paper. It also exports oil and gas, rubber, tin and other resources.
The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry did not respond to questions and a request for comment sent by The Associated Press. Indonesia has the world’s largest reserves of nickel — a critical material for electric vehicles, solar panels and other goods needed for the green energy transition. And part of this deforestation can be directly linked to the expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry, said Timer Manurung, director of Auriga Nusantara, a nongovernmental conservation organization based in Indonesia.
In 2023, primary forest loss in patches greater than 100 hectares made up just 15% of the loss, according to the analysis.
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