Improved access to forest information in Indonesia

Organisation: World Resources Institute (WRI)

Forest Watch Indonesia and its partners initiated a legal procedure to have the data released, and in 2015, the Indonesian Central Information Commission ruled that the Ministry had to share the information publically.

The ruling was highly significant, as it creates the enabling conditions for more transparency in the forest sector. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is now providing the information on logging. Forest Watch Indonesia and their partners are in the process of analyzing the data, with the aim to share it with relevant stakeholders.

Why: Lack of access to information hampers participation of communities

Limited access to information has been a challenge in the forestry sector in Indonesia, the World Resources Institute argues. The lack of data on allocation of logging and other permits makes it difficult to track illegal activities in the forest and is therefore a challenge to the local communities’ participation in decisions that affect them.

WRI and its local partner Forest Watch Indonesia worked with the overall objectives to strengthen national and local forest governance in Indonesia. In particular, they aimed to improve transparency in decision-making and increase communities’ participation in order to make the government more accountable to the needs and interests of forest-dependent communities.

What: Law suit and capacity building

Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) and partners brought a case to Indonesian Central Information Commission in 2013. It concerned the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s obligation to release public information about logging permits and commercial logging plans, as required by the Public Information Disclosure Law and Forestry Law.

In May 2015, the Commission ruled that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry was obligated to release the information. The Jakarta State Administration Court upheld the ruling in August 2015, as it denied an appeal from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

In parallel to the legal process, FWI and its partners were building the capacity of district authorities and civil society actors. The purpose was to prepare the actors for the handling of the new
information and thereby strengthening the effect of the court ruling.

Learn more about the process and the effect of this case by watching this video from Forest Watch Indonesia.