The forest moratorium was enacted two years ago and prohibits the award of new licences to clear or convert primary natural forests and peat lands to agriculture.
Forest users with existing licences are allowed to operate in those regions and there are several exceptions to the prohibition.
“While it’s good news, the president did not strengthen the moratorium to cover all forests and peatland. That is what’s really needed from the threat from relentless palm oil and pulp and paper expansion,” said Yuyun Indradi, political forest campaigner with Greenpeace South-east Asia in Jakarta.
“Finding out where and who is responsible for deforestation is not transparent enough. The government must review existing concessions, increase transparency in the way licences are grants, establish a credible database of low carbon land and undertake clear spatial and land use planning.”
