Enviro News Asia, Nusa Dua — The Ministry of Forestry, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), officially opened the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) Plenary 2025 in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Tuesday (October 21). The prestigious forum, held until October 23, brings together more than 300 participants from various countries, donor agencies, international development partners, space agencies, academia, NGOs, the private sector, and global forestry experts.
In her opening remarks, the Ministry’s Expert Staff for Climate Change Affairs, Haruni Krisnawati, emphasized the vital role of Indonesia’s forests as the “lungs of the world” and the backbone of millions of people’s livelihoods.
“More than 95 million hectares of Indonesia’s forests not only hold extraordinary biodiversity but also play crucial social, cultural, and economic roles,” she stated.
Haruni further highlighted that Indonesia possesses one of the world’s largest carbon reserves, positioning its forests at the forefront of global climate change mitigation efforts. Through its Net Zero Emission vision and FOLU Net Sink 2030 target, Indonesia demonstrates that environmental protection and economic growth can progress hand in hand toward sustainable development.
As a concrete step, Indonesia continues to strengthen its forest monitoring systems through the National Forest Monitoring System (SIMONTANA) and the Forest Fire Monitoring Information System (SIPONGI). These platforms enable real-time monitoring of forest cover and early detection of fires based on transparent and verifiable scientific data.
With advancements in technology, forest monitoring systems are now enhanced with remote sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), and integrated digital data platforms. These innovations have gained international recognition for adhering to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and are regularly reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Indonesia views GFOI as a strategic platform to strengthen technical cooperation, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer in sustainable forest management.
“Let us build stronger bridges between science and policy, technology and tradition, and between developed and developing nations,” Haruni urged in her closing remarks.
Throughout the three-day event, the GFOI Plenary 2025 will address key topics ranging from forest inventory and monitoring, fire prevention, to sustainable forest commodity governance. The Ministry of Forestry will also host a side event titled “Monitoring Indonesia’s Forests Towards FOLU Net Sink 2030”, showcasing Indonesia’s experience in integrating data, science, and technology toward sustainable and globally competitive forest management. (*)
