Tropical Forest Landscape Restoration in Indonesia: A Review

Background

Indonesia has an exceptionally high amount of biodiversity and endemic species. As the timber industry has grown, deforestation and degradation drive biodiversity loss, air pollution, deteriorating water quality, and greater emissions. Restoration projects and policies are in place to balance ecological health and human livelihood across landscapes like the ones in Indonesia. Restoration projects are particularly complex in Indonesia due to land tenure clarity issues, disorganized institution, and other social aspects. The authors review forested landscape restoration progress in Indonesia and examines inhibiting factors in institution and policy as well as indicators of restoration benefits.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Overall, restoration governance in Indonesia focuses on wetlands, peatlands, and mangroves. Forest restoration strategies to fuel livelihoods are a more recently adopted part in governance. Restoration efforts appear to be mostly active replanting due to the heavy levels of degradation. The authors emphasize the necessity for region- and site-specific restoration practices to include the level of site degradation, desirable species, and more. The authors conclude that building a greater understanding of socioeconomic and institutional issues will break down many barriers to successful restoration projects. Engaging with local communities is crucial to this success.