JAKARTA — The Indonesian government is working on improving and synchronizing its forest and supply chain data to comply with increasingly strict sustainability standards and requirements in markets where it exports to, including the European Union. Earlier this year, the Indonesian government discovered discrepancies between the forest map and data that it uses, and those used by the EU as a reference for the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR bans imports of seven forest-related commodities — soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, timber, rubber and beef — associated with deforestation and illegality. It requires producers and companies trading these commodities into the EU to provide detailed evidence proving they weren’t produced from land deforested since 2020. The new regulations give producers and companies until Dec. 30, 2024, to fully comply. To implement the EUDR, the EU is using forest data published on its Forest Observatory platform, which monitors changes in the world’s forest cover and related divers. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has its own forest monitoring system called SIMONTANA. It also has its own definition and classification of forest and deforestation. When comparing the EU Forest Observatory maps and the maps in SIMONTANA, the government found discrepancies, with the EU overestimating Indonesia’s forest cover. The government found that some shrublands and farmland, like oil palm plantations and coffee estates, had been categorized as forest cover by the EU. These discrepancies could make it difficult for Indonesian producers to comply with the EUDR and to export their products to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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