Banda Aceh — The Aceh Forest, Nature and Environment Foundation (HAkA) noted that throughout 2023, Aceh lost 8,906 hectares of forest cover or the equivalent of 1.5 times the area of ​​Lake Lut Tawar, Takengon.

“So 8,906 hectares is equivalent to 1.5 times the area of ​​Lake Lut Tawar. That’s just one year,” said GIS HAkA Manager, Lukmanul Hakim in a discussion of the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) of Banda Aceh City entitled “Aceh Forest Deforestation and Its Solutions” at the AJI Banda Aceh Secretariat, Thursday (29/2).

According to Lukman, of the 8,906 hectares of forest cover lost, 4,502 hectares were in the Lauser ecosystem area (KEL). While the rest is outside the KEL, which is around 4,854 hectares.

“According to our data, the remaining forest cover area in 2023 will be 2.94 million hectares, but we are sure that the remaining forest area in Aceh is greater than this,” he said.

Lukman explained that the forests in Aceh are currently still considered better when compared to the other nine provinces in Sumatra. Nationally, Aceh is even ranked ninth in terms of the highest forest cover percentage in Indonesia.

“55 percent of our forests are still larger than the average forest in Indonesia. Indonesia’s national average is 51 percent, so we are still above the national average,” he said.

According to Lukman, in terms of trends, deforestation in Aceh continues to decline. Based on HAkA data, in 2015 the deforestation rate was still around 21 thousand hectares. Then it dropped steadily to 15 thousand hectares in the range of 2018 to 2020.

“Meanwhile, in the last three years it has also been stable at three thousand hectares,” he said.

He said, during 2023 there were three districts with the highest deforestation, namely South Aceh 1,854 hectares, Subulussalam 911 hectares, and North Aceh 866 hectares. If the accumulation of 2017-2023, Central Aceh had the highest deforestation compared to other regions.

Lukman added, from 2019 to 2022, Aceh has become the province with the best forest cover in Sumatra. However, Aceh is also the number one most disaster-stricken in Sumatra.

“So the best forest is also in Sumatra, the disaster is also number one. This is the opposite,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Aceh BKSDA Forest Police, Rahmat, said that one of the impacts of deforestation is the narrowing of wildlife habitats.

He said Aceh has four key animals, namely elephants, orangutans, tigers, and rhinos. According to him, rhinos are the most worrying animal in Aceh.

“There is habitat fragmentation, reducing the space for animals to move or roam,” he said.

Editor : Boy Nashruddin

Source: Sumber