The forestry and environment minister didn’t say that the COP26 declaration on forests and land use was unfair. The nuance lies in the difference between deforestation and net zero deforestation. But neither the statement nor Indonesia is without any ambiguity.
On November 3, Indonesia’s forestry and environment minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, published a post on Facebook and her personal website.
But the message created confusion and could be considered as a statement that Indonesia thought the COP26 declaration on forests and land use was “unfair.”
However, a few days earlier and with 132 other countries, Indonesia signed the declaration and committed to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.”
Minister Nurbaya wrote in the first sentence of her Facebook post that the pledge “should not be interpreted as zero deforestation. This needs to be understood by all parties.”
However, she also considered that “forcing Indonesia to zero deforestation in 2030 is clearly inappropriate and unfair.”
The nuance lies between the definitions of zero deforestation and net zero deforestation. Zero deforestation means not cutting down trees, while net zero deforestation would mean compensating any forest loss.
The minister defends the right to be able to cut down trees for the development of the country and compares the situation of Indonesia with developed nations where their infrastructure is mostly completed.
For Indonesia, net zero is different from no deforestation
She gave the example of 34,000 villages isolated in the forest and the consequences of no deforestation. Not being able to cut a single tree would prevent the building of roads through forest areas, connect these villages and offer opportunities for development to the population.
On November 2, she spoke at the University of Glasgow by the Indonesian Student Association. According to her personal website, she defended a vision where “Indonesia cannot embrace zero deforestation. […] Indonesia is actively building following sustainability values. This is not the same as saying it is not possible to build because we are not allowed to touch the forest”.
For Indonesia, it committed to a net zero goal. In August, Oxfam considered net zero climate targets to be dangerous distractions.
For a spokesperson of the UK Prime Minister, the statement would be consistent with the pledge, The Guardian reports. “What countries have committed to is to end net deforestation, ensuring that any forest lost is replaced sustainably.”
Indonesia is home to one of the world’s largest rainforests. One of the largest carbon emitters, it has also been criticized for clearing its forests in profits of palm oil plantations. Indonesia is the largest exporter of palm oil.
On Facebook, the minister also wrote in a more ambiguous tone that “the massive ongoing development […] must not stop for the sake of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation.”
In October, an analysis from Greenpeace Indonesia showed that at least “600 plantation companies have illegal operations set up inside the forest estate” despite being designated as off-limit areas for plantations. The results shared by the organization before COP26 were “a clear indication that the Indonesian government is not willing to enforce laws to stop deforestation on public lands or follow through on its climate commitments.”
During COP26, 28 governments also committed to removing deforestation from the global trade of food, which could affect products with Indonesian palm oil.
