A mangrove forest in South Papua, Indonesia. Jurnasyanto Sukarno / Greenpeace

Indonesia is obstructing access to government data on the state of its forests. The new restrictions come as the country witnesses a surge in deforestation.

Users of an online mapping tool maintained by the Ministry of Forestry were previously able to download the latest data on tree cover, fires, groundwater levels, and other factors in protected and unprotected forests. But for the last several weeks, an onscreen pop-up has warned that anyone who downloads data without written permission from the ministry “will be prosecuted,” Mongabay reports . Violations, the website says, could be penalized with up to nine years in prison.

In September, the Ministry of Forestry outlined a new process for accessing data, which requires users to disclose their research aims.…