Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A study published by Nature Climate Change revealed that the deforestation rate in Indonesia increased despite the forestry moratorium being enforced since May 2011.

Green Peace Southeast Asias Forest campaigner Yutun Indradi stated during a press statement made available to Antara here on Tuesday that the study was an urgent warning for Indonesia as its deforestation had leaped ahead of Brazils and become the highest rate in the world.

Indonesia had lost 840 thousand hectares of forest in 2012, much higher than Brazil that lost 460 thousand hectares during the same period.

"This is an urgent warning that the deforestation also increased greenhouse emissions in Indonesia that caused fauna, such as Sumatran tigers, to reach the brink of extinction and also forest fires and haze disaster in the Southeast Asian region," Yuyun noted.

Thus, Yuyun hinted to the fact that Indonesias forestry moratorium had failed and law enforcement in forests and national conservation efforts were not up to the mark.

Yuyun pointed out that Indonesias President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should have taken urgent steps to control forest deforestation by strengthening law enforcement during the remaining term of his rule.

"More importantly, the forest moratorium was part of his commitments to resolve climate change," she emphasized.

In 2009, President Yudhoyono made a commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions to 26 percent by 2020 or to 41 percent with the help of the international community.

The commitment was followed up with a Presidential Decree in 2011 regarding the moratorium on new forest concessions and permits and forestry and peatland clearings.

On July 5, 2014, the two presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo, will attend an official debate on environment held by the General Elections Commission (KPU).