Forest Loss in Maros's Minraleng Catchment, Yet Water Quality Remains Sound

Image: article cover, from Ramadhani et al. (2026), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY 4.0.

A research team from Universitas Hasanuddin has recorded a decline in forest area in the Minraleng sub-catchment, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, between 2017 and 2023. Covering approximately 50,957.07 hectares, this sub-catchment forms part of the upper Walanae catchment and plays a vital role in maintaining water stability in the surrounding region. Published in the Jurnal Wasian, the study analysed land-cover change using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery across three observation years.

The results show that primary forest cover fell by 0.95 per cent during 2017–2020 and by a further 0.16 per cent during 2020–2023. The decline in the first period was driven mainly by forest conversion to secondary forest through community activity within and around the area. In the second period, some primary forest was converted to shrubland. Conversely, shrubland expanded by 420.78 hectares during 2020–2023, which the research team interprets as a sign of abandoned farmland or reduced agricultural activity.

Although forest cover has contracted, catchment quality based on permanent vegetation cover remains in the good category, scoring 61 per cent in 2017, 60 per cent in 2020 and 61 per cent in 2023. The researchers caution that continued forest loss still poses a threat to catchment sustainability, particularly in safeguarding hydrological function, regulating river flow and maintaining the ecological balance of the region.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Spatiotemporal Land Cover Dynamics and Their Implications For Watershed Quality in the Minraleng Sub-Watershed, Indonesia by Nisa Nur Ramadhani, Wahyuni Wahyuni, Putri Fatimah Nurdin, Muhammad Daud and Wahyuni Wahyuni, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 13 No. 01 (2026). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Ramadhani, N. N., Wahyuni, W., Nurdin, P. F., Daud, M., & Wahyuni, W. (2026). Spatiotemporal Land Cover Dynamics and Their Implications For Watershed Quality in the Minraleng Sub-Watershed, Indonesia. Jurnal Wasian, 13(01), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.62142/8xa6sc54

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY 4.0.