Indonesia has an estimated 14 million hectares of degraded land that provides little benefit for people due to its reduced provision of goods and services, or for the climate owing to its diminished capacity to absorb carbon. Following the Paris Agreement in 2015, through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Indonesia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 29 percent compared to a business-as usual scenario by 2030. The country has also committed to new and renewable energy making up 23 percent of its national energy mix by 2025. Bioenergy has an important role to play in realizing these commitments.
Restoration of degraded and underutilized land using biofuel-producing species in climatesmart agroforestry systems can create vast bioenergy potential without causing competition for land required for other purposes, such as food production or nature conservation. Due to high net primary productivity, this presents an important opportunity for Indonesia to develop modern sustainable bioenergy while pursuing ambitious landscape restoration initiatives, such as its NDC target of restoring 14 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
