- Norway’s Climate & Forest Initiative (NICFI) last month singled out Indonesia for continued deforestation reductions, citing stronger law-enforcement and rapid-response fire management.
- Norway warned that the 2030 zero-deforestation pledge is off track; officials urged other forest nations to emulate Indonesia’s long-term policy mix.
- EU officials should recognise Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to reduce deforestation in the EUDR benchmarking.
New data released by Global Forest Watch and the University of Maryland show tropical forest clearance surged to 6.7 million ha in 2024. Fires—often deliberately lit to clear land—spiralled in drought-stricken Brazil, making Latin America the epicentre of last year’s losses. Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen described the figures as “a wake-up call for the world.”
Despite the grim global picture, Norway last month pointed to “signs of hope in Southeast Asia.” Indonesia, home to the planet’s third-largest rainforest, continued a multi-year trend of declining deforestation through tighter law enforcement, early-warning satellite systems and faster fire-response teams.
Those national measures have already translated into historically low palm-driven forest loss: industrial-scale palm clearing fell to 16,900 ha in 2021 and 19,900 ha in 2022, or roughly 7 % of Indonesia’s total forest loss each year. FAO’s independent review likewise found a 90% drop in Indonesia’s net deforestation rate over the past decade.
Why Indonesia’s Model Matters
Indonesian policymakers have brought together a set of reforms. A permanent moratorium on new permits now shields 66 million ha of primary forest and peatland and has been in force, with minor refinements, since 2011. Spatial transparency has improved through the One Map Policy, whose 2.0 geoportal launched in July 2024 and has already reduced overlapping concessions and clarified village boundaries. Early-warning technology has moved into the field: the SIMONTANA remote-sensing platform streams daily hotspot alerts to district fire brigades and concession managers, accelerating response times and limiting repeat burns.
Norwegian officials argue that this blend of prohibitions, public data, real-time monitoring and community rights explains why Indonesia has kept palm-related forest loss below 20 000 ha a year even as other tropical regions backslide . The message, they say, is that durable gains come from coherent domestic policy, not one-off donor projects.
With only five years left to meet the Glasgow 2030 zero-deforestation goal, NICFI warns the world is “still off track.” Brazil’s fire-led surge and rising clearance in Colombia and Central Africa offset the gains recorded in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Unless large-scale fires are curbed and agricultural frontiers are better regulated, annual losses could climb further.
Norway’s message is clear:
“Indonesia proves rainforest loss can be curtailed with sustained political will and community engagement. The rest of the world must act—now.” – Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen
The question for the EU is how these measures should be rewarded under the EUDR. Indonesia has made clear achievements that no-one else has and reduced deforestation risks massively. That should be worth something going forward.