Research area
Socio Bioeconomy
Dedicated research and advocacy team to find nexus between forest, energy and food. We open collaboration with various stakeholders to deliver strong safeguard, and inclusion of IPLC in Socio-bioeconomy agenda.
Indonesia’s food and fuel security drive invites scrutiny in Papua
Indonesia plans to use sugarcane from Merauke as a feedstock for bioethanol as it seeks to reduce fuel imports. The high-cost project has advanced with limited public oversight while posing risks to forests, Indigenous communities, public finances, and Indonesia’s climate credibility ahead of COP31. An opinion article by Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara and Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, published in Asia Times.
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Indonesia Should Bring a Just Forest Agenda to COP31
As Indonesia heads to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, it must address the environmental risks of B50 biodiesel expansion, protect forests and peatlands, recognise Indigenous land rights, and ensure local communities receive direct funding and at least 20% of forest and carbon revenues. Indonesia's green economy must not only keep forests standing but also ensure that the people protecting them share in its benefits. An opinion article by Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, published in Jakarta Globe.
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Burning Forests, Burning the Economy: The Impact of Forest and Land Fires on Economic and Health Costs
The total economic and health costs of forest and land fires in Indonesia in 2026 could reach Rp359.58 trillion–Rp565.03 trillion. Economic losses from the loss of physical assets and economic activity amount to Rp340.38 trillion, or 2.69 percent of GDP, while health costs associated with acute respiratory infections (ARI) are estimated at Rp19.20 trillion to Rp224.65 trillion.
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Synergizing biodiversity conservation and social cohesion for sustainable economic transformation in Indonesia
Ahead of COP30 in Brazil, CELIOS released a policy brief highlighting the importance of a socio-bioeconomic approach—integrating biodiversity conservation and social justice into Indonesia’s economic transformation. The document responds to BAPPENAS’s bioeconomy strategy, emphasizing that sustainable development must go beyond simply replacing raw materials and must ensure the involvement of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and vulnerable groups. CELIOS maps out three stages of transform...
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The green ambition trap for forests: Japan's energy transition and the harmful illegal biomass exports to Indonesia
Indonesia is beginning to look to wood biomass as an alternative in the energy transition, legitimized through the Energy Plantation Forest (HTE) scheme under Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 62 of 2021 on diversifying the functions of forest areas to support national energy security. Wood biomass in the form of wood pellets and wood chips is being promoted for co-firing with coal in power plants and touted as a way to reduce dependence on fossil energy. However, a CELIOS study
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