2023 Deforestation by the Wood Pulp Industry in Indonesia Surges, Hits Record Highs in Kalimantan

Rising global demand for wood pellets, wood pulp, viscose for clothing, paper, tissue and packaging is fueling a new wave of expansion in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

In 2023, the conversion of Indonesian primary¹ forests into fast-growing, intensively managed monoculture pulpwood plantations (mostly Acacia sp. or Eucalyptus sp.) saw another increase over the previous year.

Our study, utilizing Sentinel-2 and Planet/NICFI satellite imagery, reveals that 28,000 hectares of primary forest were converted to pulpwood plantations in 2023, representing a 15% increase from 2022, as illustrated by the white bars in Figure 1.

The amount of peatlands converted, remained stable with 26,694 ha cleared in 2023 compared to 26,997 ha cleared in 2022 (white bars; Figure 2).

In 2023, Kalimantan, plantation area increased by 74,000 hectares, a 12% growth from 2022, as shown in Figure 3. This expansion led to the conversion of 27,000 hectares of primary forest, a 13% increase from the previous year, representing 95% of Indonesia’s deforestation caused by pulpwood production.

Peatlands conversion in Kalimantan also increased, with 15,585 ha cleared (Figure 4), a 79 % increase since 2022 (8,727 ha converted).

Notably, 80% of the deforestation in 2023 took place in just two concessions: Mayawana Persada and Industrial Forest Plantation.

Mayawana Persada alone accounted for 57% of the deforestation, highlighting its disproportionately large impact.

This trend is consistent with the previous years. Between 2019 and 2022, these two companies cleared >40,000 hectares of prime orangutan forest habitat.

The ultimate beneficial owners of Mayawana Persada and Industrial Forest Plantation are concealed because their ownership is distributed among undisclosed companies based in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands and Samoa.

However, a recent investigation indicates that Industrial Forest Plantation is linked to APRIL/Royal Golden Eagle (RGE).

Using tracking devices, another investigation determined that the forest cleared and pulpwood trees grown in the concession of Industrial Forest Plantation are processed in China by two subsidiaries of APRIL/RGE: Asia Symbol and Sateri.

Along with Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), APRIL/RGE leads in Indonesia’s pulp production and exports, channelling almost three-quarters of the country’s pulp exports to China.

APRIL/RGE currently supply a quarter of the world’s viscose, to the clothing and home goods sector through its Chinese and Indonesian subsidiaries.

Tables 1 and 2 present a comprehensive list of companies involved in converting forests and peatlands into industrial wood pulp plantations in 2023. Each of these companies is catalogued in the Nusantara Atlas, where users can view satellite animations to independently verify the changes.

Table 1. List of companies converting forest to industrial monoculture acacia and eucalyptus plantations in 2023. This table only shows conversion >50 ha.

No	Company Name	Group	Concession (Ha)	Province	Deforestation
1	Mayawana Persada	Alas Kusuma	138,809	West Kalimantan	16,118
2	Industrial Forest Plantation	Nusantara Fiber	101,416	Central Kalimantan	3,781
3	Jaya Bumi Paser		23,597	East Kalimantan	2,476
4	Sendawar Adhi Karya		24,077	East Kalimantan	640
5	Baratama Putra Perkasa		36,038	Central Kalimantan	590
6	Intraca Hutani Lestari		41,611	North Kalimantan	553
7	Hutan Rindang Banua	Sinar Mas Group (UFS-DSS)	247,618	Kalimantan Selatan	465
8	Bumi Hijau Prima		20,533	Central Kalimantan	349
9	Grace Putri Perdana		29,221	Central Kalimantan	282
10	Swadaya Perkasa		16,694	East Kalimantan	253
11	Muara Sungai  Landak		11,847	West Kalimantan	196
12	Buana Megatama Jaya		43,111	West Kalimantan	119
13	Indosubur Sukses Makmur		28,215	East Kalimantan	113
14	Fajar Wana Lestari		17,697	West Kalimantan	101
15	Bumi Persada Permai (Sk 79)	Sinar Mas Forestry Affiliated	24,706	South Sumatra	76
16	Hutan Berau Lestari		12,298	East Kalimantan	75
17	Siemon Agro		10,161	Central Kalimantan	74
18	Limbah Kayu Utama		19,549	Jambi	66
19	Sumatera Riang Lestari	RAPP supply partner	173,918	Riau	64
20	Selaras Inti Semesta	Medco	166,751	Papua	55
21	Bukit Raya Mudisa	RAPP supply partner	28,004	West Sumatra	54

Table 2. List of companies converting peatlands to industrial monoculture acacia and eucalyptus plantations in 2023. This table only shows conversion >50 ha.

No	Company Name	Group	Concession (Ha)	Location	Clearing on peat
1	Mayawana Persada	Alas Kusuma	138,809	West Kalimantan	13,528
2	Bumi Mekar Hijau	Sinar Mas Forestry Affiliated	250,272	South Sumatra	2,509
3	Buana Megatama Jaya		43,111	West Kalimantan	1,728
4	Sumatera Riang Lestari	RAPP supply partner	173,918	Riau	1,024
5	Satria Perkasa Agung (Sk 244)	Sinar Mas Forestry	76,778	Riau	375
6	Sekato Pratama Makmur	Sinar Mas Forestry Affiliated	45,980	Riau	317
7	Muara Sungai  Landak		11,847	West Kalimantan	238
8	Bumi Andalas Permai	Sinar Mas Forestry Affiliated	189,529	South Sumatra	50
9	Tri Pupajaya	Sinar Mas Forestry Affiliated	21,583	South Sumatra	26
10	Baratama Putra Perkasa		36,038	Central Kalimantan	23
11	Seraya Sumber Lestari	RAPP supply partner	19,672	Riau	20

(1) Our definition of ‘Primary forest’ includes intact primary forests as well as primary forests that have been degraded by selective timber harvesting during the 1980s and 1990s. Intact forests have not been severely disturbed by humans in recent decades, or disturbances were too old to be detected by the satellites. Selectively logged forests include forests that have been impacted by both artisanal tree cutting as well as by more extensive mechanized timber cutting and extraction.  A comparison against available above-ground biomass and tree height maps indicates a mean ± SD above-ground carbon of 116 Mg C/Ha and mean ± SD tree height of 28 ± 11 metres for ‘Primary forests’. Intact and selectively logged forests are similar to “primary” and “secondary” forests on the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Environment’s forest maps. Our definition of “forests” excludes young forest regrowth, agro-forests, mixed gardens, scrublands, tree plantations, agricultural land, and non-vegetated areas.