The Devastation of Rainforests in Indonesia

Before the devastating effects of deforestation, Muhammed Beni Saputra would have adventurous weekends with his father into the beautiful rainforests of Bukit Tiga Puluh to collect dragon’s fruit among many other things. But he says those unforgettable memories are now just history thanks to the heavy deforestation (Muhamed). These huge forests are natural wonders of the world and they need to be preserved and cherished. All of the people in these areas are losing the pleasures of these beautiful forests at alarming rates due to the immense logging for plantations. The Indonesian government needs to pass authoritative laws and policies included in the Executive Order No. 23 to reduce the illegal logging rate of these forests.

Indonesia’s forests take up 60% of Asia’s total forest area; and these forests also take up 10% of the world’s total forests. In 2001 there were 93,837,970 Ha (hectares) of forests in Indonesia, and as of 2018 due to the many years of logging there is 84,683,971 Ha left of that forest (Butler). These rainforests take up an enormous amount of its land and illegal logging companies are destroying these forests faster than they can regrow. These forests produce a lot of our oxygen supply and people are just destroying it like that doesn’t matter. “[Rainforest Action Network] says its latest evidence from satellite imagery and field reports shows [Plantation Owner Agra Bumi Niaga] cleared 18 hectares of forest in June and razed another 12 hectares in July, seemingly ignoring concerns from campaigners, government and businesses further down the supply chain” (Larsson). There are warnings being given and they are not nice warnings; even though these warnings are strict the logging companies are shrugging them off like they are nothing. Logging companies do not seem to care about the after effects of their jobs which makes everything worse. “The indigenous people who live in the forest have to relocate to another area of forest or out of the forest altogether. This is a complete life change. The infrastructure, the way they provide for their families and the very basic way they live their lives would be completely different” (Watts). Due to the immense smoke of widespread forest burns the native people in villages around these can not live in the environment any longer and must move away. The massive forests that take up a large portion of Indonesia are dwindling fast and a lot needs to be done to solve this problem.

Indonesia is losing the rainforests that cover most of its land mass at an alarming rate. With every hectare lost we are a little closer to unstoppable climate change. “There are many government and corporate efforts to combat deforestation, but they are not proving to be enough” (Seymour). Because of the degree of this destruction these companies can not work fast enough to gain resources to stop the illegal loggers from destroying the forests even more. “The fields outside Kotawaringin village in Central Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, looked as if they had just been cleared by armies. None of the old growth remained — only charred stumps poking up from murky, dark pools of water. In places, smoke still curled from land that days ago had been covered with lush jungle. Villagers had burned it all down, clearing the way for a lucrative crop whose cultivation now dominates the entire island: the oil-palm tree” (Lustgarten). This explains the terrible side-effects of the burning, logging, and just general clearing of these forests. All of this is happening near villages that are being engulfed in smoke from the fires. “The fires are not confined to agricultural concessions, but are also raging in virgin forest and national parks, threatening species already at risk of extinction. These [include fewer] than 400 remaining Sumatran tigers, the Bornean orangutan, [the] Sumatran rhino, which is down to less than 100 surviving animals”(Russell). The consequences of the forest clearing is not just affecting people it is affecting the plants and animals around it as well, even causing some to become endangered as well. The destruction of all of these forests is also causing a buildup of CO2 and Greenhouse gasses which is corroding the ozone layer. These problems are why deforestation needs to be brought to a halt to save and preserve the surrounding people and wildlife.

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Scientists say that Indonesia is headed in the right direction due to their decline of deforestation two years in a row but more needs to be done. “Indonesia has made an international commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020. [All] that is needed to achieve this reduction is for companies to halt draining and development of peatlands” (Harball). The legislature needs to put boundaries and regulations on these peatlands to achieve this 26% goal they are committed to. The main problem is the companies that are taking over the land and destroying it. To end this devastation the companies need to stop with the plantations to let the land regrow itself. “Recent analysis found that protecting the primary forest of Papua, coupled with restoration of degraded lands, could avoid 2.8 – 3.3 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is similar to baseline emissions projected for 2030 in Indonesia’s NDC” (Wijaya). If some focus is placed on the forests that are not completely destroyed the process of reducing these gasses will become even faster. Experts are saying that Indonesia is going the right way to stop deforestation but more needs to be done. Examples include honing in on specific high-carbon areas as well as degraded forests. Not only will this help the rainforests but it will help the people around and in the forests live better, healthier lives.

Some people say deforestation creates more room for civilized growth. Things like businesses and better road systems can be made from the space. “One of the main reasons that these forests are being cut down is to make room for expansion. With all of the free areas that are being created from deforestation, things like economy stimulating businesses and improved road systems can be built” (Chief). Basically the cleared land can be used for more than just peatland and plantations which could help the economy quite a bit. “Developments in crop technologies have resulted in huge volumes of farming yields over the last 2 decades, but it is speculated that this may not be sufficient in the next 2 decades. Fortunately, deforestation can provide enough space to produce enough food for more than 10 billion people who will be hungry in the future” (Chief). With all of the clear land available there is more room for farmers to grow food and raise livestock for surrounding villages. “Timber and paper are created for the whole world to enjoy, and some of the toilet paper, which is used in most households, comes at least in some part from deforestation, unless it was created from purely recyclable items” (Chief). The trees that get cut down will be taken to lumber yard and paper manufacturers which create products that are used all around the world by everybody. Even though deforestation is bad in many aspects there is some good that can come from it. There is still a lot to be done and the pros can be taken advantage of elsewhere so the forest can heal but they are good nonetheless.

So all in all deforestation has devastating effects on the surrounding environment and people. They are attempts to end its effects or even just to slow them down but more still needs to be done to reach our goals. The government should focus on trouble areas to reach the goals they have placed. They need to place boundaries around peatlands and put regulations on illegal logging companies. This is the next step to ending climate change by reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. If Indonesia's government uses all of these methods together they will reach their goals and should put a big dent in the terrible effects of deforestation.