The Indonesian government wants to turn 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of forest into areas for food and energy production and water reserves, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni recently said in a statement.
The government has identified 1.1 million hectares of land that could produce up to 3.5 million tonnes of rice annually, equal to Indonesia’s total rice imports in 2023, he said, adding that the government also plans to plant sugar palm trees as a source for bioethanol.
But the plan, which will affect an area nearly twice the size of Indonesia’s main Java island, contradicts the government’s food and energy security goals, the Clean Transition Coalition of environmental NGOs said in a statement.
The proposal has raised concerns that more forest areas would be cleared to pave ways for oil palm plantations –- Indonesia’s top export commodity and one of the key deforestation drivers in the archipelago—said activists.
Environmental NGO Satya Bumi’s research showed that existing oil palm plantations already cover 17.77 million hectares throughout the archipelago.