Children fleeing floodwaters that wreaked havoc at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya on Sunday, April 28, 2024. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country’s western and central regions.
The latest data from the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory was shared on Global Forest Watch—a platform run by WRI that provides data, technology and tools for monitoring the world’s forests. The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry said the expansion occurred in concessions granted before the current administration took office in 2014.
Indonesia has the world’s largest reserves of nickel—a critical material for electric vehicles, solar panels and other goods needed for the green energy transition. And part of this deforestation can be directly linked to the expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry, said Timer Manurung, director of Auriga Nusantara, a nongovernmental conservation organization based in Indonesia.
In 2023, primary forest loss in patches greater than 100 hectares made up just 15 percent of the loss, according to the analysis.