Indonesia steps back on commitment to end deforestation by 2030

Indonesia is backtracking on its participation in the agreement to end deforestation by 2030. The country questioned Thursday, November 4 this commitment, signed at COP26 by a hundred countries including this archipelago of He Southeast Asia is home to the third largest rainforest in the world. The multibillion-dollar plan aims to end industrial-scale logging in less than a decade, according to the UK government, host of the climate summit.

But two senior Indonesian officials have denied that their country has officially committed to completely stop deforestation by 2030. Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar said the commitment to end deforestation was “false and misleading”, stressing that the press release on this agreement had been released before the end of the discussions. The leaders meeting on forests on Tuesday 2 November in Glasgow and the final declaration “do not refer to the end of deforestation by 2030”, he noted.

Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, who took part in the discussions in the United Kingdom, for her part argued that environmental objectives could not hamper the economic development of her country. “Forcing Indonesia to achieve zero deforestation by 2030 is clearly inadequate and unfair”. “Indonesia’s natural wealth, including forests, must be managed sustainably, but also equitably”, she added on Twitter.

Asked about this by journalists, the spokesman for the British Prime Minister said he saw no contradictions in the statements of Indonesian officials. “As I understand what the Indonesian government said, it must be able to continue legal logging and farming to support economic development.”, he said. “This would be consistent with the commitments. What countries have committed to is to end net deforestation, by ensuring that any lost forest is replaced in a sustainable manner,” he added.