Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — The Ministry of Forestry reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening sustainable, equitable, and environmentally resilient forest governance through a series of strategic policy measures aimed at safeguarding Indonesia’s forest areas.
Vice Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki delivered the statement during a working meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Monday, January 19. He emphasized that Indonesia’s forest areas constitute a strategic national asset covering approximately 119.67 million hectares, or about 62.5 percent of the country’s total land area. These areas include conservation forests, protected forests, and production forests, each serving vital ecological, social, and economic functions.
Rohmat stated that the Ministry continues to balance national development needs with the protection of forest ecological functions by enforcing stricter, more integrated, and governance-based controls on forest land-use changes.
He also reported positive progress in deforestation control efforts. National deforestation decreased from 175,437 hectares in 2024 to 166,450 hectares by the third quarter of 2025. According to Rohmat, the decline reflects stronger supervision, law enforcement, and consistent deforestation control policies.
To support national food, energy, and water security, the Ministry is advancing Social Forestry as a National Strategic Project under the 2025–2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). The program targets the development of approximately 1.1 million hectares across 36 provinces and more than 3,000 villages through community-based forest management and agroforestry approaches.
Rohmat explained that Social Forestry contributes not only to food and energy resilience but also to community welfare and the long-term sustainability of forest ecosystems.
In the area of monitoring and law enforcement, the Ministry, in coordination with the Forest Area Control Task Force, continues to reclaim forest land from illegal activities, including unauthorized oil palm plantations and mining operations. The government has revoked 40 poorly performing forest utilization permits covering 1.5 million hectares and has regained control over parts of conservation areas.
As part of institutional strengthening, the Ministry proposed the establishment of 35 Regional Forestry Coordination Centers, known as Puskorwilhut, across various regions. The centers aim to enhance coordination, integrate forestry policies, and improve the effectiveness of forest monitoring and control at the regional level.
The Ministry is also reinforcing law enforcement capacity through the expansion of technical units for forest law enforcement and forest fire control, as well as by proposing an increase in the number of forest rangers to improve forest security coverage.
Over the long term, the Ministry targets the rehabilitation of approximately 12 million hectares of degraded forest and land by 2034 as part of broader ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation efforts.
Rohmat concluded by calling for continued support and input from Commission IV of the DPR RI to ensure that forestry policies and programs deliver sustainable forest management and improved welfare for communities across Indonesia. (*)
