44% cleared land in Indonesai sits unused

A study has found that nearly half of land cleared in Indonesia is left idle for more than 5 years.

Indonesia has lost 25% of its old-growth forest since 1990, and while much of it has been converted to other use like palm oil, US and Indonesian researchers have found that 44% of cleared lands stay unused for at least half a decade.

The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Old-growth tropical forests are an extremely valuable resource, both locally and globally,” says Diana Parker, a postdoctoral associate at the department of geographical sciences in the University of…