Deforestasi dan Isu Pemanfaatan Lahan yang Berkelanjutan di Indonesia

The purpose of this article is to assess some views on deforestation problems and to examine the existence of some economic problems facing Indonesia in relation to its high rate of deforestation. Further, using an optimal control model, the author tries to estimate Indonesia's forest stock in the steady-state and to analyze the sensitivity of the stock to changes in some economic variables. Relating to Indonesia's high rate of deforestation, the author argue that (1) deforestation in this country is mainly caused by population pressures, which made the cycle of shifting cultivation shorter; (2) agriculture-related factor is the largest contributor to deforestation rather than logging activities; (3) relatively short period of timber concession and low taxes and royalties have encouraged private concessionaires to maximize short-run profits, hence discouraging reforestation program; (4) it is estimated that economic losses resulted from deforestation (in terms of erosion, water pollution, etc.) in Java alone is around USSfOO million per year. Indonesia's forest stock in the steady-state is shown to be positively related to forestry returns and negatively related to agriculture returns. Social discount rate and prices, however, do not show significant influences on the stock.