Asia Tenggara disebut sebagai wilayah dengan hilangnya habitat tercepat di dunia (Duckworth, 2012). Deforestasi adalah perubahan permanen area hutan menjadi nonhutan akibat dari aktivitas manusia. Hutan Indonesia mewakili sekitar 44% luas hutan di wilayah Asia Tenggara yang terus menghadapi peningkatan deforestasi (Abood, 2015).

Berdasarkan data Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia (KLHK, 2018), meskipun mengalami penurunan yang signifikan sejak tahun 2014, deforestasi di Indonesia masih terus berlanjut hingga saat ini.

Greenpeace menyebutkan bahwa industri kelapa sawit dan kertas merupakan pemicu meningkatnya laju deforestasi di Indonesia. 
Riset Disease Emergence and Economics Evaluation of Altered Landscapes (DEAL) merupakan kerja sama antara Indonesia One Health University Network (INDOHUN) dan USAID dalam upaya meringankan dampak negatif akibat perubahan lahan yang mungkin terjadi pada rakyat Indonesia.
Para pemangku kebijakan perlu menyadari bahwa pentingnya keseimbangan antara aktivitas ekonomi dengan keadaan lingkungan sehingga meminimalisir kerugian dalam bidang kesehatan maupun ekosistem.

Prof Wiku Adisasmito selaku Guru Besar Fakultas Kesehatan Universitas Indonesia (UI) menyebutkan, deforestasi merupakan isu sensitif yang berkorelasi dengan faktor politik dan ekonomi.

"Hal ini menyebabkan penelitian terkait deforestasi seringkali ditumpangi oleh berbagai kepentingan. Oleh sebab itu diperlukan riset yang objektif terkait isu sensitif ini sehubungan dengan keterkaitannya dengan kesehatan masyarakat," kata Wiku Adisasmito melalui siaran pers, Selasa (2/10/2018).

"Baik dari segi kesehatan maupun ekonomi, agar pemanfaatan perubahan lahan dapat dilakukan secara bertanggung jawab dan tidak merugikan masyarakat secara umum," tambahnya.

Menurut Wiku, proyek DEAL dilakukan di tiga wilayah di Indonesia, yaitu Riau, Kalimantan Timur, dan Papua Barat. Data luas tutupan lahan di peroleh dari dalam bentuk data spatial dari tahun 1990, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 dan 2015.

Data tersebut diperoleh dari Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutatanan Data. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian DEAL, di Provinsi Riau total luas tutupan lahan berkisar 8.97 juta hektare. Dari tahun 1990 luas tutupan hutan primer dan sekunder adalah masing-masing 4% dan 58.4% dari luas tutupan lahan.

Di Riau hutan sekunder mengalami penurunan luas lahan yang terbesar selama 25 tahun periode, di tahun 2015 luas tutupan hutan sekunder hanya sekitar 15.68% dari luas tutupan lahan. Luas tutupan lahan perkebunan mengalami peningkatan yang cukup signifikan dari 10.3% di tahun 1990 menjadi sekitar 32.1% di tahun 2015.

Perkebunan kelapa sawit berskala besar maupun kecil di Indonesia bertanggung jawab atas 85% deforestasi hutan (Uryu dkk, 2008). Deforestasi di Provinsi Papua Barat mengalami kenaikan yang cukup signifikan sejak tahun 1990-1996 hingga tahun 1996-2000, terhitung sebesar 11372, 99 hektar. Luas tutupan lahan di Papua Barat sekitar 9.78 juta hektare.

Tutupan hutan primer di kawasan Papua Barat juga mengalami penurunan secara bertahap dari 80% menjadi 67% pada tahun 2003, dan terus menurun menjadi 60% pada tahun 2015. Industri kayu, kelapa sawit, dan pertambangan diduga sebagai kontributor meningkatnya deforestasi yang terjadi di Papua Barat.Sebaliknya, deforestasi di Provinsi Kalimantan Timur terutama dipicu oleh menjamurnya perkebunan tanaman komersial, pertambangan emas dan pertambangan batubara.

Southeast Asia is referred to as the region with the fastest habitat loss in the world (Duckworth, 2012). Deforestation is a permanent change in forest areas to become non-forested as a result of human activities. Indonesia's forests represent around 44% of the forest area in the Southeast Asia region which continues to face increasing deforestation (Abood, 2015)
Based on data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia (KLHK, 2018), despite experiencing a significant decline since 2014, deforestation in Indonesia continues to this day.

Greenpeace mentions that the palm oil and paper industry is a trigger for the increasing rate of deforestation in Indonesia. & nbsp;
Research Disease Emergence and Economics Evaluation of Altered Landscapes (DEAL) is a collaboration between Indonesia One Health University Network (INDOHUN) and USAID in an effort to alleviate the negative impacts of land changes that might occur to the people of Indonesia.
The stakeholders need to be aware that the importance of balance between economic activities and environmental conditions so as to minimize losses in the health and ecosystem sectors
Prof. Wiku Adisasmito as Professor of the Faculty of Health, University of Indonesia (UI) said, deforestation is a sensitive issue that correlates with political and economic factors.

& quot; This has led to research related to deforestation often driven by various interests. Therefore objective research is needed regarding this sensitive issue in relation to its relevance to public health, & quot; said Wiku Adisasmito through a press release, Tuesday (10/02/2018)
& quot; both in terms of health and economics, so that the use of land change can be carried out responsibly and does not harm the community in general, & quot; he added
According to Wiku, the DEAL project was carried out in three regions in Indonesia, namely Riau, East Kalimantan, and West Papua. Data on land cover area were obtained in the form of spatial data from 1990, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

The data was obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Data Forestry. Based on research results from DEAL, in Riau Province the total land cover area is around 8.97 million hectares. From 1990 the primary and secondary forest cover was 4% and 58.4%, respectively, of the land cover area
In Riau secondary forest has experienced the largest decrease in land area for 25 years, in 2015 the area of ​​secondary forest cover was only around 15.68% of the land cover area. The area of ​​plantation land cover has increased significantly from 10.3% in 1990 to around 32.1% in 2015.

Large and small scale oil palm plantations in Indonesia are responsible for 85% of deforestation (Uryu et al, 2008). Deforestation in West Papua Province experienced a significant increase from 1990-1996 until 1996-2000, accounting for 11372, 99 hectares. The area of ​​land cover in West Papua is around 9.78 million hectares
Primary forest cover in West Papua also declined gradually from 80% to 67% in 2003, and continued to decline to 60% in 2015. The timber, palm oil, and mining industries are thought to be contributors to the increasing deforestation occurring in West Papua . Conversely, deforestation in East Kalimantan Province was mainly triggered by the proliferation of commercial plantations, gold mining and coal mining.