Digital applications are highly required and important for landscape management.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Digitalization can play an important role in helping the forestry and environmental sectors achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has said.

"Digital applications are highly required and important for landscape management," she highlighted during a virtual discussion on the implementation of digitization for achieving the SDG targets, which was held by Think 20 (T20) and accessed from here on Wednesday.

T20 is one of the engagement groups within the 2022 Indonesian G20 Presidency, which aims to address global problems through the application of ideas from scientists and researchers across the world.

One example of digitization carried out by the Environment and Forestry Ministry is the implementation of the National Forest Monitoring System (SIMONTANA).

The system provides information regarding spatial-based forest resources data, hotspot monitoring, forest and land fire surveillance, as well as water pollution monitoring.


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Indonesia, which has been striving to meet the SDG targets, has managed to achieve a number of them, such as the ones covered under Goal 15 concerning terrestrial ecosystems.

According to the United Nations' Resolution Number A/RES/71/313, the goal aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage forests sustainably, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, as well as halt biodiversity loss.

Minister Bakar informed that forest coverage in Indonesia has continued to increase, while the rate of deforestation has shown a declining trend in the period from 2014 to 2020.

In 2014, deforestation was recorded over an area of 1.09 million hectares, while in 2020, it declined to 115 thousand hectares.


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Bakar also said that the government had implemented a moratorium on new permit issuance for primary natural forests and peatlands utilization in 2011.

The government permanently halted the provision of the permits by issuing Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 5 of 2019.

In addition, Indonesia has continued to improve preventive measures against forest and land fires, the minister noted.

"Attempts to prevent forest and land fires in Indonesia are carried out by various stakeholders, (including the) Environment and Forestry Ministry, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), police, military, forest fire mitigation volunteer group Masyarakat Peduli Api, as well as local government, figures, and community," she informed.


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Translator: Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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