Indonesia's Forest Moratorium

This executive summary by the World Resources Institute evaluates the Indonesian forest moratorium, a policy designed to protect a land area comparable in size to Japan. While the moratorium has created a window for critical forest governance reforms and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, its effectiveness is currently limited by a lack of technical guidance and poor understanding among local officials who hold the decentralized authority for enforcement.

• The effectiveness of the forest moratorium is undermined by a lack of knowledge among local officials regarding protected lands and prohibited activities. For instance, only three out of eight interviewed district forest agency officials were aware of the specific areas protected by the official moratorium map within their own district boundaries, and five out of eight knew which land types were protected from new conversion permits.
• The moratorium's success depends on local-level implementation, yet the national government has provided insufficient technical guidance for monitoring, enforcing, and implementing the policy. Because regulatory and administrative authority is decentralized to the district level, clear local understanding is essential for the policy to be effective.
• The moratorium has served as a catalyst for forest governance reforms, including improvements in data coordination, transparency, spatial planning, and permitting processes. The extension of the moratorium in May 2013 for two years provides a window to further reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, though long-term success requires sustained leadership and aligned incentives.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Indonesia's Forest Moratorium. https://www.wri.org/research/indonesias-forest-moratorium

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Indonesia's Forest Moratorium. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/indonesias-forest-moratorium.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Indonesia's Forest Moratorium |url=https://www.wri.org/research/indonesias-forest-moratorium |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendindonesias, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Indonesia's Forest Moratorium}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/indonesias-forest-moratorium}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }