JAKARTA (Reuters) — Forest loss in Indonesia surged by 66% in 2025, hitting its highest rate in eight years as a result of weak environmental protections and an ambitious food and energy self-sufficiency drive, an environmental group said on Tuesday.
The archipelago, made up of thousands of islands, has some of the world’s thickest forests and most biodiverse regions, but it leans heavily on mining and palm plantations to support its $1.4 trillion economy, which is the biggest in Southeast Asia.
Auriga Nusantara, a think tank focusing on forestry and biodiversity in Indonesia, used high-quality satellite images combined with on-the-ground visits to 49,000 hectares of forest across…