Nusantara Blog

Logs being loaded onto a barge within a concession operated by Mayawana Persada, a company that nonprofits claim is connected to Royal Golden Eagle. Photo by Greenpeace.

Industrial Wood Pulp Deforestation in Indonesia Slows in 2024

By TheTreeMap on

Deforestation Pulp&Paper Research

Logs being loaded onto a barge within a concession operated by Mayawana Persada, a company that nonprofits claim is connected to Royal Golden Eagle. Photo by Greenpeace.

In 2024, the conversion of old-growth/primary forests* to fast-growing pulpwood plantations (mostly Acacia sp. or Eucalyptus sp.) decreased compared to 2023 (White bars; Figure 1).

Our analysis, conducted using satellite images from Sentinel-2 and Planet/NICFI, reveals that industrial pulpwood plantations expanded by 74,310 ha hectares in 2024 (White and black bars; Figure 1), a 25% decrease from the previous year. The associated deforestation also declined by 55%, with 13,647 hectares of forest converted in 2024 compared to 30,385 hectares cleared in 2023.

Figure 1. Expansion of pulpwood plantations by year from 2001 to 2024 in Indonesia with emphasis on forest conversion. White bars represent the pulp-and-paper-driven deforestation or the areas of forest cleared and converted to plantations in the same year. The black bars represent areas of non-forest converted to pulpwood plantations. The sum of white and black bars represents the area of plantation added each year. Here, Forest is old-growth/primary, high carbon and has high conservation value. ref to Gaveau et al. 2022 for definitions.
Figure 2. Expansion of pulpwood plantations by year from 2001 to 2023 in Indonesia with emphasis on peat conversion. White bars represent the pulp-and-paper-driven peat conversion or the areas of peat cleared and converted to plantations in the same year. The black bars represent areas of non-peat converted to pulpwood plantations. The sum of white and black bars represents the area of plantation added each year. The 2019 official peatland map from the Ministry of Agriculture was used.

Regional analysis shows a decline in plantation expansion (light and dark bars) and associated deforestation (light bars; Figure 3) in Kalimantan and Sumatra and Papua.

Figure 3. Expansion of pulpwood plantations by region with emphasis on forest conversion. Y-axis represent areas (in 1000-ha, note different scales) of the total area of plantations added each year by rapidly clearing forests (light bars, below), or by using areas already cleared (dark bars, above).

Figure 4. Expansion of pulpwood plantations by region with emphasis on peat conversion. Y-axis represent areas (in 1000-ha, note different scales) of the total area of plantations added each year by rapidly clearing peat (light bars, below), or by using lands on mineral soils (dark bars, above).

Notably, 42% of the pulpwood-driven deforestation in 2024 took place in just two concessions: Mayawana Persada and Industrial Forest Plantation.

Mayawana Persada alone accounted for 33% of the deforestation, highlighting its disproportionately large impact.

Tables 1 and 2 present a comprehensive list of companies involved in converting forests and peatlands into industrial wood pulp plantations in 2024. Each of these companies is catalogued in the Nusantara Atlas, where users can view satellite animations to independently verify the changes.

NoCompany NameGroupConcession (Ha)ProvinceDeforestation 
1Mayawana PersadaAlas Kusuma138,809West Kalimantan4,538
2Industrial Forest Plantati0NNusantara Fiber101,416Central Kalimantan1,239
3Sendawar Adhi Karya 24,077East Kalimantan862
4Indosubur Sukses Makmur 28,215East Kalimantan386
5Buana Megatama Jaya 43,111West Kalimantan377
6Hutan Berau Lestari 12,298East Kalimantan374
7Swadaya Perkasa 16,694East Kalimantan357
8Muara Sungai Landak 11,847West Kalimantan305
9Andalan Karya Pertiwi 29,071Kepulauan Bangka Belitung254
10Meranti LaksanaMeranti Laksana18,460West Kalimantan217
11Intraca Hutani Lestari 41,611North Kalimantan207
12Jaya Bumi Paser 23,597East Kalimantan201
13Hutan Rindang BanuaSinar Mas Group (UFS-DSS)247,618South Kalimantan170
14E-Grenndo 14,613Central Kalimantan137
15Fajar Wana Lestari 17,697West Kalimantan132
16Wana Hijau PesaguanDjarum80,147West Kalimantan104
17Perawang Sukses PerkasaSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated6,361Riau87
18Wahana Agro Mulia 30,893South Sumatera77
19Duta Andalan Sukses 20,533West Kalimantan65
20Bumi Hijau Prima 10,969Central Kalimantan61
21Kalpika Wanatama Unit IiBarito Pacific54,231South Maluku60

NoCompany NameGroupConcession (Ha)LocationClearing on peat (Ha) 
1Mayawana PersadaAlas Kusuma138,809West Kalimantan3,398
2Bumi Mekar HijauSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated250,272South Sumatera1,512
3Buana Megatama Jaya 43,111West Kalimantan1,444
4Paramitra Mulia Langgeng 70,201South Sumatera501
5Muara Sungai Landak 11,847West Kalimantan381
6Riau Andalan Pulp & PaperRAPP owned concession338,228Riau183
7Arara AbadiSinar Mas Forestry296,058Riau176
8Wahana Lestari Makmur SuksRAPP open market suppliers13,860South Sumatera111
9Mitra Hutani JayaSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated9,715Riau74
10Bumi Andalas PermaiSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated189,529South Sumatera69
11Sumatera Riang LestariRAPP supply partner106,627Riau43
12Tiesico Cahaya Pertiwi4,678South Sumatera30
13Tri PupajayaSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated21,583South Sumatera27
14Sumber Hijau PermaiSinar Mas Forestry Affiliated30,055South Sumatera26

*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.

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