Major Deforestation Project Halted to Protect Forests

Indonesia has announced plans to halt the expansion of a major agricultural development project into Papua’s forests, protect vital ecosystems, and shift future food and biofuel production to degraded land.

“President Prabowo and the Indonesian government have made a globally significant decision for people, nature and climate today,” says Glenn Hurowitz, Founder and CEO of environmental organisation Mighty Earth.

The decision ends plans to expand rice cultivation into forest areas under the two-million-hectare Food and Energy Estates programme. Instead, the government will focus on improving agricultural productivity on existing farmland and using more than 12 million hectares of degraded land for future development. The shift also supports Indonesia’s ambition to restore 12 million hectares of forests, peatlands and other ecosystems, creating opportunities to protect endangered wildlife, absorb carbon and strengthen the rights of local and Indigenous communities.