September 11, 2026 | 06:18 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s forests are critical to global climate action and the livelihoods of over 40 million citizens. To support data-driven sustainable forest management, the Ministry of Forestry and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a US$4.83 million project on Thursday, September 10, 2026, to modernize the national forest monitoring system with support from the Government of Norway.
Indonesia has 96 million of hectares of forest, covering 51 percent of its landmass. The country is home to the world’s third-largest tropical forest area, known for its rich biodiversity. To monitor the condition, management, and use of these vast forest resources, Indonesia has developed its National Forest Inventory (NFI) for decades with FAO’s technical support.
The Ministry of Forestry and FAO now aim to further improve the NFI by using digital tools and combining it with remote sensing data to deliver reliable forest data through their joint project, Monitoring and Enhancement of Remote Sensing for National Forest Inventory (MERANTI).
MERANTI will support Indonesia in collecting accurate forest data more rapidly through NFI 2.0, expanding coverage to previously hard-to-reach areas such as mangrove coastlines and community-managed forests. NFI 2.0 serves as the primary benchmark for gathering detailed ground-truth data, including species composition, biomass, forest degradation, and soil conditions, that satellites alone cannot capture.
“A crucial prerequisite for sound forestry management is the availability of accurate, up-to-date, consistent, and reliable data. Forestry data serves as the foundation for policy formulation, development planning, monitoring of forest resource conditions, evaluation of forest management, and the preparation of various national and international reports,” said Director General of Forestry Planning at the Ministry of Forestry Ade Tri Ajikusumah during the launch of MERANTI project in Jakarta.
Reliable Forest Data Key to Sustainable Development
The launch of MERANTI comes amid growing demand for high-quality forest data to help Indonesia meet its national and global climate commitments.
Under its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (ENDC), Indonesia has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unconditionally by 31.89 percent by 2030, and up to 43.2 percent with international support. The forestry and other land use (FOLU) sector is expected to account for approximately 58 percent of these reductions.
Beyond supporting informed policy decisions, transparent and credible forest data will expand Indonesia’s access to results-based climate finance to accelerate sustainable, low-carbon development.
"Strong climate action depends on reliable data and evidence. Indonesia’s forest inventory and monitoring systems play a critical role in providing this foundation. This is why Norway supports the MERANTI. The project will modernize the National Forest Inventory and ensure better integration with the national forest monitoring system. Better and more reliable data strengthens Indonesia’s position in international climate cooperation and enhances evidence-based decision-making for sustainable forest and land-use management," said Esben Marcussen, Counsellor for Forest and Climate at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta.
FAO’s Technical Support to Indonesia
Scheduled to run from 2026 to 2028, the MERANTI project will see the FAO assist Indonesia in gathering field data from at least 500 NFI clusters nationwide, combining ground observations with satellite data for comprehensive analysis.
The FAO will also provide technical support to build capacity among key government personnel in NFI implementation, data analysis, and quality assurance. A new NFI web portal will be integrated into SIMONTANA, Indonesia’s existing National Forest Monitoring System platform.
"This is Indonesia's system, and Indonesia's data. Our part is to help strengthen it by bringing international experience, standards, and technical approaches; supporting the modernization of remote sensing and the national monitoring system; and, most importantly, transferring knowledge and building capacity that stays here in Indonesia, with Indonesian institutions and experts, long after the project ends," said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
Complementing MERANTI, the Ministry of Forestry and the FAO are also implementing the Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) initiative, funded by the United Kingdom. AIM4Forests introduces modern monitoring solutions to enhance remote sensing, improve dataset interoperability, strengthen readiness for climate finance, and promote knowledge exchange through initiatives such as the Young Forest Champions.
Read: Fact Check: Are Kalimantan Forest Fires Caused by Natural Coal Evaporation?
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