Indonesia’s forests are paying the price for the growing demand for global biomass energy

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Dozens of virgin forests are being cut down across Indonesia to supply fast-growing international demand for biodiversity seen as essential to many countries’ transition to clean energy sources.

Almost all biomass from forests destroyed by wood pellet production from 2021 has been sent to South Korea and Japan, The Associated Press found in an examination of satellite images, company records and Indonesian export data. Both countries have provided millions of dollars to support the development of biomass production and consumption in Indonesia.

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Indonesia’s state-run agency also has plans to dramatically increase the amount of biomass it burns to generate electricity.

Experts and environmentalists fear increased international and domestic demand, coupled with weak domestic law, will accelerate deforestation while simultaneously increasing the use of more polluting fossil fuels. Biomass is organic matter such as plants, wood and waste, and many coal-fired plants can easily be converted to be burned alongside coal to generate energy.

“Biomass production – which has just begun to be seen on an industrial scale in Indonesia – is a new threat to the country’s forests,” said Timer Manurung, director of Auriga Nusantara, an environmental and conservation organization in Indonesia.

As countries accelerate their energy transition, the demand for biomass is increasing: Bioenergy consumption will increase by an average of 3% per year between 2010 and 2022, says the International Energy Agency.

Experts including the IEA say it is important for that demand to happen in a sustainable manner, such as using waste and crop residues rather than converting forest land to grow bioenergy crops. Deforestation contributes to erosion, damages biodiversity, threatens wildlife and people who depend on forests and increases disasters due to extreme weather.

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And many scientists and environmentalists have completely rejected the use of biomass. They say that burning woody biomass can release more carbon than coal and cutting down trees significantly reduces the ability of forests to release carbon into the atmosphere. Critics also say that using biomass for co-heating, instead of switching to clean energy, only extends the use of coal.

In Indonesia, biomass production is causing deforestation throughout the archipelago.

Auriga Nusantara reports that more than 9,740 hectares (24,070 acres) of forest have been cut down in areas where biomass production is allowed as of 2020. Permits have been issued for more than 1.4 million hectares (3,459,475 hectares) of forests for plantations in Indonesia, more than one. -the third time in that country became an undisturbed forest. More than half of these concessions are home to endangered species such as Sumatran rhinoceros, elephants, orangutans and tigers, Manurung said.

In the carbon-rich forests of Gorontalo, Sulawesi, the felling, splitting and shipping of old trees for the production of dense wood planks has been simplified. More than 3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) of forest have been destroyed in the Banyan Tumbuh Lestari concession, from 2021 to 2024, according to a satellite analysis shared with AP by the international environmental organization Mighty Earth. Another 2,850 hectares (7,040 acres) were cleared for roads.

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After the trees are cut down, they are converted into wood chips in the nearby area with the permission of Biomasa Jaya Abadi, the largest exporter of wood chips in Indonesia from 2021-2023, according to data Auriga Nusantara compiled by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment. and a forest database. The database has no records of wood pellet shipments prior to 2020.

Biomasa Jaya Abadi did not respond to repeated requests for interviews or comment. Banyan Tumbuh Lestari has no publicly available contact information; The AP reached out to their major shareholders for comment but did not receive a response. Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry; Energy and Mineral Resources and Marine and Investments did not respond to requests for comment.

Almost all of Indonesia’s wood pellets are exported to meet international demand, said Alloysius Joko Purwanto, an energy economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.

Most of Indonesia’s wood products go to South Korea (61 from 2021-2023, according to government data.

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“It is clear that the Japanese and South Korean governments are trying to buy more biomass from Indonesia to reduce their domestic gas emissions,” said Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of the Indonesia-based Center for Economic and Legal Studies.

Both countries have provided millions of dollars in financial support for biomass development in Indonesia through research, policy, construction and other support, according to a review of publicly available business and government agreements by the AP.

South Korea’s Forest Service, which oversees South Korea’s biomass expansion and policy, did not respond to requests for comment. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also did not respond to a request for comment.

The promotion of biomass production and consumption has been accompanied by the accumulation of domestic biomass consumption in Indonesia.

The country’s power company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), plans to use 10% biomass co-firing in 52 coal plants across the country. PLN estimates that it can take 8 million tons of biomass per year – much larger than the wood pellet industry’s capacity by the end of 2023 of less than 1 million tons, according to Indonesian civil society organization Trend Asia.

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To achieve the PLN’s ambitions, a 66% increase in forested area would be needed – “potentially resulting in intact, carbon-rich and carbon-absorbing forests,” according to the Mighty Earth report.

PLN spokesman Gregorius Adi Trianto told the AP that the company’s plan relies on biomass “from organic waste such as tree branches, rice waste, and wood industry waste … instead of from deforested forests.”

Since Indonesia lacks clear regulations and oversight of its growing biomass industry, experts fear that deforestation could continue for years to come.

“We are far behind when it comes to monitoring and controlling issues related to biomass production in Indonesia,” said Yudhistira. “There is definitely a lack of due diligence, and the forests are suffering.”

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Associated Press reporter Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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