As Indonesia navigates rising demands for food, energy and climate mitigation, a strategic question sits at the centre of national development debates: how can growth continue without converting more natural forests?
A recent perspective published in the Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science offers a clear, compelling and science-based response. The answer, the authors argue, lies not in further forest conversion, but in harnessing and making productive use of degraded, marginal and underutilized lands through integrated food and energy systems that support livelihoods, restore ecological function and store carbon, without compromising forests.