Business as usual in Indonesia: governance factors effecting the acceleration of the deforestation rate after the introduction of REDD+

Abstract

Indonesia has the third largest extent of tropical forest in the world and has been extensively involved in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Despite significant commitments from the Government of Indonesia (GOI) and the international community, the deforestation rate in Indonesia has not stabilized or decreased in the initial years after REDD+’s introduction in 2007, and as of 2012 was arguably the highest in the world. Globally, it is essential to understand how REDD+ is going to affect the deforestation rate as it is implemented in many countries. In order to constructively evaluate these continued increases in rates of deforestation in Indonesia, this article will explore some of the challenges of forest governance in Indonesia as identified by stakeholders of REDD+ and as described in the policy documents and other literature. Despite a number of changes in laws and regulations that came about as a result of REDD+ in Indonesia, weak institutional capacity and corruption have resulted in a situation that might be described as essentially, business as usual. Furthermore, new policies that have resulted from the introduction of REDD+ designed to help forest governance, such as the presidential moratorium on new licenses for forest use, may in fact have motivated some parties to initially act in ways that have contributed to the increase in deforestation—particularly through leakage from institutionally recognized forests to non-institutionally recognized forest areas. Problematic governance and corruption continue to pose problems that haunt the forestry sector and allow encroachment onto protected areas.