On the International Day of Action on Big Biomass, EPN’s Biomass Action Network Asia-Pacific working group published a report on Indonesia’s Gorontalo forests and how they are being destroyed for the expansion of the biomass energy industry. This report was the work of Trend Asia, Solutions for Our Climate, Global Environmental Forum, Friends of the Earth Japan, Forest Watch Indonesia, EPN’s Biomass Action Network, Earth Insight and Auriga Nusantara.
The report depicts how Gorontalo Province is increasingly becoming a centre of industrial woody biomass production. Located in the Wallacea biodiversity hotspot on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, the province’s landscape is changing rapidly, driven by domestic energy policies and growing international demand for wood pellets, particularly from Japan and South Korea. The expansion of energy plantation forests (referred in Indonesian as Hutan Tanaman Energi, HTE) is placing increasing pressure on natural forests, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
This report challenges the assumption that industrial large-scale woody biomass is inherently a climate-friendly energy source, highlighting how the conversion of natural forests into monoculture plantations can undermine climate mitigation objectives while generating high ecological and social costs.
Ten Energy Plantation Concessions
There are ten energy plantation concessions in Gorontalo, covering more than 265,000 hectares. Trend Asia’s latest analysis of four of them, operated by PT Banyan Tumbuh Lestari (BTL), PT Inti Global Laksana (IGL), PT Gorontalo Citra Lestari (GCL), and PT Gema Nusantara Jaya (GNJ), found 9,617 hectares of deforestation between 2020 and 2026, while 44,685 hectares of forests still standing inside these concessions remain at risk. The scale of forest conversion is particularly evident in the concession of PT BTL which has lost 42% of the forest it contained in 2020, and where satellite imagery analysis by Auriga Nusantara identified approximately 720 hectares of deforestation between January and April 2026 alone. Field investigations indicate that wood harvested is processed at the PT Biomasa Jaya Abadi pellet mill in Pohuwato Regency which supplies Japanese trading company Hanwa, illustrating the connection between forest conversion and industrial biomass production.
The consequences of forest conversion extend beyond forest loss. Gorontalo’s tropical moist forests provide critical habitat for endemic and threatened species, support watershed functions, store carbon, and sustain local livelihoods and cultural identities.
Energy plantation concessions overlap around 75,412 hectares of Key Biodiversity Areas, 59,623 hectares of Important Bird Areas, and forests used by the Indigenous Polahi People, raising concerns about habitat fragmentation, ecosystem degradation, and the long-term resilience of these landscapes. In Pohuwato, residents who are demanding unfulfilled benefit-sharing obligations have reportedly been detained and criminalised, raising questions about the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the equitable distribution of benefits from the energy transition.
Reconsider large-scale woody biomass altogether
The evidence from Gorontalo demonstrates the need to reconsider the role of large-scale woody biomass in energy transition strategies. A credible transition must deliver measurable climate benefits without accelerating deforestation, undermining biodiversity, or compromising the rights of IPLCs.
Responsibility for what is happening in Gorontalo is shared along the entire supply chain. Japan and South Korea, whose subsidies and import demand drive this expansion, should phase out public support for large-scale woody biomass and make deforestation-free, rights-respecting sourcing a binding condition for imported biomass. Power utilities, trading companies such as Hanwa, and the banks and investors that finance them should stop sourcing from converted natural forests and carry out due diligence that engages directly with affected communities.
Certification schemes such as FSC and SBP should enforce their own rules on forest conversion rather than lend it credibility. Indonesia, for its part, should legally protect all remaining natural forests, close the loopholes in SVLK (Indonesia’s mandatory timber legality and sustainability certification scheme), and uphold community rights, including FPIC. In both producer and consumer countries, the energy transition should prioritise energy efficiency, electrification, solar, and wind alongside the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems.
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