282
R. Rosemary and D. Evensen
overall from 2000 to 2012; this rate of decline steadily rose on average by 47,600 ha
per year (Atmadja and Wollenberg 2010).
By 2012, the annual primary forest loss in Indonesia was 0.84 Mha, which
was estimated to be higher than in Brazil (0.46 Mha) (Margono et al. 2014;
Springate-Baginski and Wollenberg 2010). Fibre plantation, illegal logging, and
palm oil industry in Indonesia significantly contributed to the deforestation not just
in Indonesia but also within the Southeast Asia region (Abood et al. 2015).
Between the mid-1990s and 2015, the high global demand for Indonesian timber
and oil palm has led to illegal logging and the enlargement of permanent agricultural
areas (Tsujino et al. 2016). In 2013, the Ministry of Forestry (now The Environment
and Forestry Ministry) also reported that 53% of the timber harvested from natural
forests came from illegal logging—4000% more than the ministry predicted in 2007
(Purwanto 2014).
Despite government plans to eradicate illegal logging that has been occurring
since 2011 (Murdiyarso et al. 2011), encroachment on the country’s forests remains
rampant. The significant growth of forest deprivation in the country has dire consequences for climate change mitigation and the government’s efforts in biodiversity
conservation (Margono et al. 2014). Palmer (2001) indicated that the institutional
failures—high culture of corruption and weak law enforcement and monitoring
capacity across government sectors—contributed to logging concession practices.
Moreover, actors at the district, sub-district, and village levels in Indonesia have
shown increasing political and economic interest in governing the forest resources,
including timber operation, due to the illegal logging practices, particularly in forest
on the Island of Sumatra (Ardiansyah et al. 2015; McCarthy 2002a, b).
Illegal logging leads to unsustainable outcomes for the forest’s natural resources—
with economic, social, and environmental consequences. This is further complicated
by the government’s ‘double standard’ of, on one hand, seeking to reduce deforestation, but on the other, placing forestry and agriculture as key economic pillars in
government policy. The forestry and agriculture focus has produced inadequate and
ineffective measures to address the increasing emissions that resulted from forests
and peatland fires (Miranda 2018). From an economic perspective, deforestation has
led to changes in livelihood and uptake of unsustainable economic practices, such as
massive opening of forest areas for agricultural production which initially aimed to
support economic growth. However, local people appear not to have been the ones
receiving the primary benefits (Idris 2016). Indonesia experienced major economic
loss annually due to illicit trade of timbers overseas, leading national timber companies to collapse (Hein 2018; Margono et al. 2014; Tsujino et al. 2016); furthermore,
the palm oil plantations have contributed to the 300,000 ha of forest loss in the
country (Buttler 2013).
Environmental impacts from the deforestation brought on by illegal logging have
occurred particularly on Sumatra and in the Province of Aceh (Joy 2010; Panaligan
2010; Swainson 2016b), causing unique habitats or ecosystem types within the
Sumatran rainforest to be at heightened risk of disappearing altogether (e.g. tigers,
elephants and orangutans) (Guardian 2013; Nellemann 2007). In Aceh province
R. Rosemary and D. Evensen
overall from 2000 to 2012; this rate of decline steadily rose on average by 47,600 ha
per year (Atmadja and Wollenberg 2010).
By 2012, the annual primary forest loss in Indonesia was 0.84 Mha, which
was estimated to be higher than in Brazil (0.46 Mha) (Margono et al. 2014;
Springate-Baginski and Wollenberg 2010). Fibre plantation, illegal logging, and
palm oil industry in Indonesia significantly contributed to the deforestation not just
in Indonesia but also within the Southeast Asia region (Abood et al. 2015).
Between the mid-1990s and 2015, the high global demand for Indonesian timber
and oil palm has led to illegal logging and the enlargement of permanent agricultural
areas (Tsujino et al. 2016). In 2013, the Ministry of Forestry (now The Environment
and Forestry Ministry) also reported that 53% of the timber harvested from natural
forests came from illegal logging—4000% more than the ministry predicted in 2007
(Purwanto 2014).
Despite government plans to eradicate illegal logging that has been occurring
since 2011 (Murdiyarso et al. 2011), encroachment on the country’s forests remains
rampant. The significant growth of forest deprivation in the country has dire consequences for climate change mitigation and the government’s efforts in biodiversity
conservation (Margono et al. 2014). Palmer (2001) indicated that the institutional
failures—high culture of corruption and weak law enforcement and monitoring
capacity across government sectors—contributed to logging concession practices.
Moreover, actors at the district, sub-district, and village levels in Indonesia have
shown increasing political and economic interest in governing the forest resources,
including timber operation, due to the illegal logging practices, particularly in forest
on the Island of Sumatra (Ardiansyah et al. 2015; McCarthy 2002a, b).
Illegal logging leads to unsustainable outcomes for the forest’s natural resources—
with economic, social, and environmental consequences. This is further complicated
by the government’s ‘double standard’ of, on one hand, seeking to reduce deforestation, but on the other, placing forestry and agriculture as key economic pillars in
government policy. The forestry and agriculture focus has produced inadequate and
ineffective measures to address the increasing emissions that resulted from forests
and peatland fires (Miranda 2018). From an economic perspective, deforestation has
led to changes in livelihood and uptake of unsustainable economic practices, such as
massive opening of forest areas for agricultural production which initially aimed to
support economic growth. However, local people appear not to have been the ones
receiving the primary benefits (Idris 2016). Indonesia experienced major economic
loss annually due to illicit trade of timbers overseas, leading national timber companies to collapse (Hein 2018; Margono et al. 2014; Tsujino et al. 2016); furthermore,
the palm oil plantations have contributed to the 300,000 ha of forest loss in the
country (Buttler 2013).
Environmental impacts from the deforestation brought on by illegal logging have
occurred particularly on Sumatra and in the Province of Aceh (Joy 2010; Panaligan
2010; Swainson 2016b), causing unique habitats or ecosystem types within the
Sumatran rainforest to be at heightened risk of disappearing altogether (e.g. tigers,
elephants and orangutans) (Guardian 2013; Nellemann 2007). In Aceh province