Indonesia repeats folly of clearing forests for failed food estate program, reports say

Indonesia’s latest “food estate” program, designed to establish large-scale agricultural plantations across the country, is causing tremendous environmental harm, including deforestation in peatlands and other critically important habitats that are home to endangered species. Reports indicate that forest loss is widespread, with more than 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of forest being cleared in Central Kalimantan in Borneo alone. Tewai Baru village in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan, has been hit particularly hard, with 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of forest being cleared to make way for cassava plantations under the food estate program. Deforestation for the program is ongoing in other parts of the country, including North Sumatra province, where forest clearing was happening in the village of Ulu Merah, with a plan to clear 500 hectares (1,240 acres). Peatland watchdog Pantau Gambut’s analysis has found that the food estate program is damaging peatlands, despite the government’s promise that the program would protect this vital ecosystem. Environmentalists worry that this could exacerbate climate change, given the significant role of peatlands in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Peatlands store 20 times more carbon than tropical rainforests or mineral soils and are home to a rich biodiversity. The World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia recommends that the food estate program should avoid peatland areas where the peat layer is deeper than 1 meter (3 feet) as these are intensive carbon sinks and also less suitable for crop cultivation. The program should also avoid peatland with primary and secondary forest cover, as clearing such vegetation could release 62.25 metric tons of CO2 per hectare per year. The food estate program should be re-evaluated, especially as it is facing signs of failure. The cassava plantations in Tewai Baru village, for instance, are withering away, with the plants stunted and the tubers undersized. Aboriginal communities feel threatened by the food estate program, as it encroaches on their land rights, leading them to advocate passionately for forest restoration.