Minister Siti Nurbaya says the difference between deforestation data and the GFW is not just methodological

MidLand, Jakarta – Minister of Environment and Forestry Nurbaya sites said it met with World Resources Institute (WRI Global) president/CEO Ani Dasgupta and signed a technical partnership memorandum of understanding in February 2023, which included discussion on data correction deforestation from Global Forest Watch (GFW).

According to him, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and WRI have made corrections to the GFW version of Indonesia’s 2022 deforestation data by almost 54%, from the previous area of ​​230 thousand hectares to 107 thousand hectares.

“The results of the joint analysis are accessible on the Global Forest Watch website,” said Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya in a written statement received by Tempo, Thursday, February 25, 2024.

Siti explained that measures to correct Global Forest Watch’s version of deforestation data were carried out after conducting a joint field inspection in June 2023.

“Representatives from the Norwegian government also took part in the field inspection and witnessed firsthand that non-natural forest areas (such as oil palm plantations, plantation forests and community gardens) were included as primary forests,” he said. stated.

He said there was an error in the definition of non-natural forest areas in Global Forest Watch’s calculation of deforestation. According to him, the correction process continues to be carried out through a technical partnership with the WRI.

“I should point out that Global Forest Watch data does not check on the ground, so we and WRI are working together to strengthen forestry data based on facts on the ground,” he said.

In addition to these corrections, Siti explained that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and WRI are also taking technical measures to correct the incorrect version of the Global Forest Watch’s forest and land fire (karhutla) data.

“Forest and land fire data from Global Forest Watch revealed that severe forest and land fires occurred in 2016 and 2020. In fact, they did not happen in those two years, but in 2015 and 2019,” Siti Nurbaya said. provided an example of another technical example correction to Global Forest Watch’s forest and land fire data.

According to him, the first corrections were made by adding technical explanations at the bottom of the Global Forest Watch chart for Indonesia. “You can see it on their website,” he said.

Siti Nurbaya also provided the latest developments regarding the implementation of the MoU with the WRI in Washington DC, where another joint analysis regarding the GFW release of the 2023 deforestation data will be carried out at the end of February next month.

“The team from the University of Maryland (as data provider), Global Forest Watch and WRI DC will travel to Jakarta at the end of February to work together with the team from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to prepare a joint analysis and a ‘field inspection,’ he said.

Announcement

According to him, further corrections to Global Forest Watch data and strengthening data on Indonesian forestry will continue in the technical collaboration between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the WRI DC, which is supported by the Norwegian government.

“So it’s not about different ways of reading the data, but rather parts of the Global Forest Watch data that need to be fixed. “Some have been fixed and some are in the process of being fixed,” he said.

In response to this, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use Programs at the World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia, Tomi Haryadi, also responded to the controversy regarding deforestation data in Indonesia.

According to him, his party has been committed to monitoring and publishing data regarding deforestation around the world, including Indonesia, for decades. “This effort is being carried out using data that has been collected and is available to the public through the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform,” Tomi said in a written response to Tempo, Thursday, January 25, 2024.

Regarding differences in methodology in recording deforestation data, Tomi said that since its launch in 2014, GFW’s primary mission has been to encourage the openness of data and scientific information related to the world’s forests to protect forests. forests and stop deforestation.

His party, Tomi said, is aware that each country has different methods and definitions, so GFW uses methods and definitions that allow users to consistently calculate and compare tree cover loss and forest cover loss in various countries .

“Therefore, the methods and definitions used are universal and based on scientific research principles. GFW uses data and methods produced by the University of Maryland (UMD) research team,” he said.

According to Tomi, the difference in deforestation data provided by GFW and KLHK is due to different definitions of primary forest. He stated that the definition of primary forest used by UMD and referenced by the GFW includes both intact and incomplete natural forests, while the KLHK version of primary forest refers only to intact natural forests.

“This definition is part of the general terminology of natural forest which consists of primary forest and secondary forest, where primary forest is an intact natural forest and secondary forest is an incomplete natural forest that has visible clearing or disturbance,” he said.

“The meaning of primary forest according to the UMD is therefore closer to the terminology of natural forest according to the definition of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry,” added Tomi.

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