TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Minister, Siti Nurbaya, became a trending topic on Twitter, following her tweet about deforestation.

On Thursday, November 4, Siti's name was mentioned on the social media more than 2,000 times after she tweeted about zero deforestation. "The massive construction in President Jokowi's era must not be stopped on behalf of carbon emissions or deforestation." The tweet was protested by people on the internet and public figures.

She explained that Indonesia Forestry and Other Land Uses (FoLU) Net Sink 2030 is not deforestation. Through FoLU Net Carbon Sink, Indonesia is committed to control emission from forestry and land use sector to obtain carbon neutrality.

Siti went on to say that zero deforestation means there would be absolutely no felling of trees. Forcing Indonesia to attain zero deforestation by 2030 is simply not right and not fair, she said.

She pointed out that in Kalimantan and Sumatra, roads are cut off by forests area. Meanwhile, there are more than 34,000 villages around the forests. "If the concept is 'no deforestation', meaning that [constructing] roads are not permitted, then what about the people? Do they need to stay isolated? While the country needs to be there for the people," Siti said on her tweet.

An account, @Rival_****, commented on Siti's tweet, saying that a construction is not a problem. "But would another tree be planted after being cut? Is there any follow-up surveillance? Considering there are a lot of mines in Kalimantan left unattended without revitalization. I'm worried after reading your post."

Another Twitter account also protested against the minister's statement and said that she should revive the environment, instead of killing it. "In this age, forests and rivers have been damaged due to forest encroachment and constructions have caused disasters for human such as flooding, landslides and climate changes," tweeted @mhbmuhi****.

Read: Greenpeace Indonesia Slams Environment Minister's Tweet on Deforestation

Friski Riana | Graven (Intern)