Indonesia aims to redraw UNESCO site boundaries to allow geothermal projects

JAKARTA — Indonesia is seeking to redraw the boundaries of a UNESCO World Heritage rainforest to pave the way for geothermal projects — part of its renewable energy push but a move environmentalists warn could devastate biodiversity and tarnish the country’s green reputation. The Ministry of Forestry has proposed excluding two degraded areas — Suoh and Sekincau in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Lampung province — from the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS). The TRHS is a 2.5 million-hectare (6.2 million-acre) site that also spans Gunung Leuser and Kerinci Seblat national parks, making it one of the largest conservation areas in Southeast Asia and the last habitat for many endangered animals. Officials say the boundary change would free up some of the site’s vast geothermal potential, estimated at 5 gigawatts (GW), while maintaining TRHS’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) required by UNESCO. “TRHS sites cannot [be used for geothermal], but we know there is huge potential there. It would be a pity not to make use of it,” said Satyawan Pudyatmoko, the ministry’s director-general of ecosystem conservation, as quoted by local media Sept. 18. The government submitted the proposal in November 2023, with a decision expected in 2027. Location of Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS), UNESCO 2017 A clash of definitions As a country that heavily relies on coal for its power generation, Indonesia has pledged to transition away from fossil fuels and scale up renewable energy as part of its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. Geothermal, which…This article was originally published on Mongabay