Reforestation policies and sacred groves: The case study of Brazil and Indonesia
Résumé (anglais)
This study falls within SDG Focus Goal 13: Climate Action — Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning; Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning; Target 13.A: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries. This study examines reforestation policies and sacred groves in Brazil and Indonesia, two countries with the world's largest tropical forests that have experienced high rates of deforestation but have also implemented significant reforestation programs and have rich traditions of sacred natural sites. The research analyzes how each country's reforestation policies address climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and community livelihoods, the role of sacred groves and traditional forest management in forest conservation, the integration (or lack thereof) of traditional knowledge with state-led reforestation, and the lessons for other countries seeking to reduce deforestation and restore degraded lands. A comparative analysis was conducted examining primary and secondary sources including government reports, satellite data (PRODES, INPE), academic research, ethnographic studies, and policy documentation covering recent decades to 2025. Brazil presents a context where reforestation policies have evolved significantly, with the Amazon rainforest as a global climate priority. Key features include the Legal Amazon deforestation monitoring (PRODES) providing annual deforestation rates since 1988, enabling evidence-based policy. The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm, established 2004) reduced deforestation by over 80% between 2004 and 2012 through a combination of enforcement, territorial planning, and sustainable production. The Brazilian Forest Code requires rural landowners to maintain Legal Reserves (80% of property in Amazon, 35% in Cerrado, 20% elsewhere) and restore degraded areas. The National Policy on Native Vegetation Recovery (PROVEG) aims to recover 12 million hectares of native vegetation by 2030. The Amazon Fund receives donations for deforestation prevention and reforestation (Norway, Germany, others). However, challenges include a resurgence of deforestation under the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) with deforestation reaching 15-year highs, illegal logging and land grabbing, weak enforcement, and limited integration of sacred groves and traditional knowledge. Brazil's sacred groves include indigenous territories protected as collective property (over 110 million hectares, 13% of Brazilian territory), which function as de facto sacred groves with spiritual significance. Many indigenous groups (Yanomami, Kayapó, Tikuna, Guarani) consider forests sacred and have traditional forest management practices including managed burning, sustainable harvesting, and fallow rotations. Quilombola (Afro-Brazilian) communities also have sacred forests. Research demonstrates that indigenous territories have significantly lower deforestation rates than adjacent non-indigenous areas, even controlling for accessibility and enforcement. Indonesia presents a context where reforestation policies have been shaped by high deforestation rates from palm oil, pulpwood, and logging, as well as severe peatland fires causing transboundary haze. Key features include the moratorium on new palm oil and logging concessions (2018, extended 2021), the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG, established 2016) restoring 2 million hectares of degraded peatlands through rewetting, revegetation, and community livelihood support. The Social Forestry Program (Perhutanan Sosial) allocates 12.7 million hectares of state forest land to local communities for sustainable management. The One Map Policy integrates conflicting land use data to resolve tenure disputes. The Forest Moratorium on new concessions in primary forest and peatland has been extended. The FOLU Net Sink 2030 operational plan aims for forestry sector to become net carbon sink by 2030. However, challenges include weak enforcement of moratoriums, ongoing illegal logging, fire management difficulties, and tenure conflicts. Indonesia's sacred groves include the Kajang indigenous forest in South Sulawesi (Amma Toa, 300+ hectares of old-growth forest protected by customary law). The Karang customary forest in West Java and the Bukit Peramun forest in Jambi are other examples. Indigenous groups (Dayak of Kalimantan, Kajang of Sulawesi, Baduy of West Java, Karo of Sumatra) have traditional forest management systems (tana ulen, huma, repong) with sacred forest areas where extraction is prohibited. Research demonstrates that customary forests have lower deforestation rates than state-managed forests. Both countries demonstrate that reforestation policies require deforestation monitoring systems with annual data (PRODES in Brazil, similar in Indonesia) to enable evidence-based policy. Strong enforcement of forest protection laws, including moratoriums on new concessions, reduces deforestation. Territorial planning including protected areas, indigenous territories, and sustainable use zones clarifies land use. Community forest management and social forestry programs (indigenous territories in Brazil, social forestry in Indonesia) reduce deforestation when communities have secure tenure. Restoration targets (Brazil's 12 million hectares, Indonesia's 2 million hectares peatlands) provide goals. Sacred groves and traditional forest management (indigenous territories in Brazil, customary forests in Indonesia) have lower deforestation rates than non-protected areas. Recognition of customary land rights reduces deforestation. International financing (Amazon Fund, REDD+) supports implementation. However, the transferability of Brazil's indigenous territories model to Indonesia is constrained by differences in legal recognition of indigenous rights (Brazil's Constitution recognizes indigenous land rights; Indonesia's recognition is weaker), land tenure conflicts and central government control (Indonesia's state forest designation), scale and distribution of indigenous populations, deforestation drivers (cattle ranching in Brazil vs. palm oil and pulpwood in Indonesia), and political context. While Indonesia cannot replicate Brazil's indigenous territories model directly, specific elements including strengthening customary forest recognition, community-based monitoring, integration of sacred groves into formal protected area networks, and benefit-sharing mechanisms can be adapted.
Mots-clés: reforestation, sacred groves, Brazil, Indonesia, SDG 13, Amazon, deforestation, indigenous territories, customary forests, peatland restoration, social forestry, REDD+, climate change mitigation
Résumé (français)
Cette étude examine les politiques de reforestation et les bosquets sacrés au Brésil et en Indonésie, deux pays qui possèdent les plus grandes forêts tropicales du monde, qui ont connu des taux élevés de déforestation mais qui ont également mis en œuvre des programmes de reforestation significatifs et qui ont de riches traditions de sites naturels sacrés. La recherche analyse comment les politiques de reforestation de chaque pays abordent l'atténuation du changement climatique, la conservation de la biodiversité et les moyens de subsistance des communautés, le rôle des bosquets sacrés et de la gestion forestière traditionnelle dans la conservation des forêts, l'intégration des connaissances traditionnelles avec le reboisement mené par l'État, et les leçons pour d'autres pays cherchant à réduire la déforestation et à restaurer les terres dégradées. Le Brésil présente un contexte où les politiques de reforestation ont considérablement évolué, avec la forêt amazonienne comme priorité climatique mondiale. Les caractéristiques clés incluent le système de surveillance de la déforestation PRODES, le Plan d'action pour la prévention et le contrôle de la déforestation (PPCDAm) qui a réduit la déforestation de plus de 80% entre 2004 et 2012, et le Fonds Amazonie. Les territoires indigènes (plus de 110 millions d'hectares) fonctionnent comme des bosquets sacrés de facto. L'Indonésie présente un contexte où les politiques de reforestation ont été façonnées par des taux élevés de déforestation dus à l'huile de palme, la pâte à papier et l'exploitation forestière, ainsi que par des incendies sévères de tourbières. Les caractéristiques clés incluent le moratoire sur les nouvelles concessions d'huile de palme, l'Agence de restauration des tourbières (BRG) restaurer 2 millions d'hectares, et le Programme de foresterie sociale (Perhutanan Sosial). Les forêts coutumières (hutan adat) ont des taux de déforestation plus faibles. Les deux pays démontrent que les politiques de reforestation nécessitent des systèmes de surveillance de la déforestation, une application stricte des lois, une planification territoriale, la gestion forestière communautaire, la reconnaissance des droits fonciers coutumiers, et le financement international. La transférabilité du modèle des territoires indigènes brésiliens à l'Indonésie est contrainte par des différences dans la reconnaissance juridique des droits autochtones et le contexte politique.
Mots-clés: reforestation, bosquets sacrés, Brésil, Indonésie, ODD 13, Amazonie, déforestation, territoires indigènes, forêts coutumières