Indonesia's President Susilo Banbang Yudhoyono signed a decree extending the country's logging moratorium for two more years. This comes as part of a pledge Yudhoyono made to reduce Indonesia's emissions by at least 26 percent by 2020.
The moratorium, originally instated in May 2011, prevents the issuance of new logging permits. The moratorium excludes concessions leased before May 2011 and does not protect secondary forest. However, it does protect the nation's carbon-absorbing peatlands and forests, which are also home to myriad animal species. According to Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia's forestry minister, the moratorium has already slowed the rate of deforestation from 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) per year to 450 hectares (1,100).
