Environment

From Forest to Future Capital: Tracking Land Cover Change in Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN) from 2021 to 2026 with PlanetScope Imagery

Clarissa Rui Min Ong, Elizabeth Tee Inn Loo, Kenneth Woon Hao Soh, William Rachmadi, Qiming Zheng, Hao Li

Featured August 11, 2026

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Simply

Using daily satellite pictures and smart computer programs, the study tracks how Indonesia's new capital is changing its forests into buildings, showing a big drop in green areas and stored carbon.

In depth

The paper develops a robust remote sensing framework to monitor rapid environmental changes in Indonesia's new capital, Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN). It integrates high-resolution PlanetScope satellite imagery with spectral indices and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to accurately map land cover transformations and quantify their impact on vegetation and carbon stock over a five-year period. This approach provides an independent, empirical assessment of the 'Forest City' development vision.

Key Takeaways

1
The study demonstrates a novel framework combining high-resolution PlanetScope imagery with machine learning to overcome challenges of cloud cover and fine-scale detection in tropical environments.
2
The analysis reveals significant environmental degradation in IKN's Core Government Area (KIPP) from 2021-2026, including a 670.42% increase in developed land and an 18.14% decrease in total vegetation cover.
3
The methodology provides a practical, independent monitoring tool for stakeholders to verify the 'Forest City' commitments, tracking Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes and Total Carbon Stock (TCS) dynamics.

Conceptual Flow

HIGH LEVEL

Methodology: How was it done?

They took many daily satellite photos, cleaned up the clouds, and used a smart computer program to sort the land into different types like 'forest' or 'buildings' over several years.

Daily Satellite Photos

Cloudy Pictures

Clean and Sort

Clear Yearly Maps

Land Type Categories

Results: What did they find?

The study found that the new capital area quickly turned green forests into developed land, causing a big loss of trees and the carbon they store.

Forest Land

Green Plants

Turned Into

Building Areas

Less Carbon Stored