Indonesia’s deforestation surges to highest levels in years as massive food estate project threatens rainforests

Indonesia is experiencing a dramatic reversal in its fight against deforestation, with forest losses in 2025 reaching their highest levels since 2019. The country’s forestry minister, Raja Juli Antoni, revealed in December that Indonesia lost more forest in just the first nine months of 2025 than in entire years during the early 2020s, signaling a troubling acceleration of environmental destruction.

The surge is driven by widespread logging, expanding palm oil plantations, and mining operations across the archipelago nation. At the center of concern is Indonesia’s ambitious Merauke Food Estate project in South Papua province, which plans to clear at least 2 million hectares—an area roughly the size of New Jersey—of pristine rainforest. This massive agricultural development threatens to undo years of conservation progress that Indonesia achieved under former President Joko Widodo’s administration.

Environmental advocates warn that this deforestation spike could have serious economic consequences for Indonesia. As the European Union implements stricter import regulations requiring companies to prove their products don’t contribute to deforestation, Indonesian commodity exporters may find themselves shut out of major markets. “The tragedy of this project is that it is undermining Indonesia’s recent success in the battle to halt global deforestation,” said Amanda Hurowitz from the nonprofit organization Mighty Earth.

The reversal is particularly concerning given Indonesia’s status as home to some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests and its role as a major contributor to global carbon emissions when forests are cleared.