REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Claim by Greenpeace that Indonesia would lose five million hectare forest after the moratorium of forest, conflicting with Food and Agriculture Organization’s report. Special Staff to the President of Republic Indonesia for Climate Change, Agus Purnomo, said that and asked the international institution not to create a deluding lie.

“The allegation is hard to understand because it is conflicting with the report from UN’s FAO and the note from the Ministry of Forest which say the deforestation has decreased drastically recently. It becomes 500,000 hectare each year,” Purnomo said.

The statement is uttered to address the important notes given by the Coalition of Indonesian Forest Salvation and Global Climate about a year enforcement of Forest and Peat land Moratorium through Presidential Instruction Number 10/2011 issued on May 20, 2011 signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Moratorium is a national strategy to decrease emission from deforestation and also to maintain the continuous economic growth. The instruction is generally related to a moratorium that withholding to issue new license on primary forest and peat land for two years. 

On contrary, Greenpeace noted, the revision of Indicative Map on Moratorium of New License (PIPIB) showed tendency on the effort of deforestation. Greenpeace said the decreasing of forest and peat land area continuously accelerated at about 5.64 million hectare (June-November, 2011) and 4.9 million hectare lost in November, 2011 – May, 2012.

Purnomo said, according to the data from the Ministry of Forest, Indonesian rates on deforestation had decreased in the last 10 years. He added, the success story could be verified through satellite imagery and had been reported by several international organizations. “We invite Greenpeace to explain the methodology on deforestation,” Purnomo added.

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