Indonesia
Archipelago
The Riau Forest Rescue Network (Jikalahari) said its records showed that 66 percent of Riau’s natural forest had disappeared over the past 25 years, falling from 3.91 million hectares in 2000 to 1.31 million ha in 2025.
Imam Taufik, a coconut grower in Kuala Selat, Indragiri Hilir, Riau, points on July 26, 2023 to the land that used to be his coconut plantation. He has lost six plantations because of coastal erosion and seawater intrusion following mangrove deforestation. (JP/Tonggo Simangunsong)
Illegal logging continues in Riau province despite raging wildfires that have engulfed the province in recent months, with authorities arresting 11 people in the past few weeks for allegedly clearing protected forests.Five people have been named suspects in Rokan Hilir regency for allegedly illegally clearing 133 hectares of mangrove forest to make way for oil palm plantations.
