Indonesia’s new government has merged environment and forestry ministries in a move that many hope will “reduce a persistent dichotomy between the ecological and economic values of forest resources,” says an article in the Jakarta Post.

Edi Purwanto, Director of the Tropenbos International-Indonesia program, writes how Indonesia has lost a large amount of its primary forests and most of its secondary forests are degraded, driven largely by the pursuit of short-term economic gains in the timber industry.

“This has resulted in conflict over land resources, human and wildlife conflicts and more frequent environmental disasters such as haze and flooding, which absorb huge amounts of government resources to mitigate the problems,” says Purwanto.

Merging the 2 ministries can help to achieve environmental gains by managing on the basis of watershed or natural and ecological boundaries. However this will rely on greater integration of government and relevant sectors to address issues such as forest fires, rampant illegal logging, encroachment, and the management of protected forests and conservation areas.

Currently there are 40 million hectares of state forest land in Indonesia that are unproductive and unmanaged. Purwanto sees the development of community-based agroforestry systems in state forests on outer islands as a way to ensure these areas are effectively managed and benefit communities.

Read the full story: Environmental values of forest resources