JAKARTA — At the U.N. climate conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Indonesian government announced an ambitious plan to reforest 12.7 million hectares (31.4 million acres) of degraded land, an area 80 times the size of London. The government framed the policy as a critical move to combat climate change, as Indonesia is one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases from the land sector, mainly due to deforestation for agriculture. But critics argue it’s a smoke screen to offset deforestation from a massive agricultural project, raising questions about its sincerity and feasibility. Others warn the plan faces significant challenges, such as logistical hurdles. The reforestation initiative comes as part of Indonesia’s efforts to achieve its FOLU Net Sink 2030 target, which aims to turn the country’s forests into a net absorber of carbon by 2030. The reforestation initiative will help Indonesia achieve the target by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the country’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said. Yet government officials admitted the program is also intended to offset deforestation caused by the controversial food estate program, a mega agricultural project targeting millions of hectares for cultivation. Critics argue that this dual approach means the reforestation initiative might be more about optics than impact, which will undermine the credibility of Indonesia’s climate commitments. Natural forests, like this one in Indonesia, contain hundreds of native species that all contribute to the ecosystem services they provide. Protecting standing forests is quicker…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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