Hannah Pettit
Evaluate the impact of deforestation in Indonesia.
Indonesia is the larges archipelago in the world with over 3000 islands including Borneo, Java and Sumatra. The islands lie on or close to the Equator. The climate is equatorial – hot and wet – and the typical vegetation is tropical rainforest giving Indonesia the name of the ‘Amazon of south-east Asia’. Indonesia had 10% of the world’s tropical rainforest but rapid deforestation is a major issue for the country.
Deforestation is a global issue; it brings both advantages and disadvantages to the countries that have areas of rainforest and to those who depend on the rainforest products. Many are opposed to the development of rainforests because of the negative impact on the ecosystem and the indigenous people. This loss of rainforest and the associated fauna and flora is particularly significant in Indonesia because the country has the largest number of mammal species in the world, with over 20 000 plant species and 17% of the worlds birds. Several species of both flora and fauna are facing extinction and continued deforestation is likely to lead to reduced bio-diversity, reduced biomass and lower rates of net primary productivity. The impact f this is worsened because there are no replanting policies in place to replace the deforested areas. There are serious conflicts between indigenous people such as the Moi people and the logging companies e.g. the Intimpura Timber Company. The logging company threatens the way of life of the Moi people. The government granted a logging licence to the company in 1990 for 339 000 hectares of land. The traditional landowners were not informed and representations by the Moi people to the local governments, the army, the company, and to the forestry service have had no effect. None of them will recognise any form of land rights by the Moi people. As a result of their protests the Moi have been labelled ‘security disturbers’ – an official term used to silence any form of indigenous protest.
