TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar hopes the UN`s Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) can document the condition of Indonesia`s forests.

"The FAO is strong in methods and data. In the future, I hope they can take pictures of the real condition of Indonesia's forests," Siti said after attending the 40th anniversary of FAO's permanent presence in Indonesia, held at the Tourism Ministry building in Jakarta, March 15.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's forest area reaches 126.09 million hectares in 2017. The size encompasses, among others, 27.42 million hectares of conservation forest; 29.67 million hectares of protected forest; 29.25 million hectares of permanent production forest; and converted 12.94 million hectares of convertible production forests.

Read: Most Mangrove Forests in Indonesia in Poor Condition

"If anyone says that our forest is widely used—well, that's the way it is. What they do not know is what we have done and planned for Indonesia's forest," said Siti.

Therefore, Siti said the government aims to compile a document of Indonesian forests' portrait with the FAO. She said that the most important thing is to implement policies on forestry, so that outsiders will know about it.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry said that in 2017 the rate of deforestation is estimated at 450,000 hectares per year. The rate is slower compared to some previous periods. The rate is only an estimate that has not been supported by accurate data.

Meanwhile, Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) says the highest deforestation rate in Indonesia occurred between 1985 and 2000 when the forest cover in Sumatra disappeared by 60 percent and in Kalimantan by 58 percent.

Moh Khory Alfarizi