Coalition Submits Statement of Position on Forestry Law Revision to DPR

The Reset Forestry Coalition submitted a letter of statement to the House of Representatives (DPR) at the DPR/MPR Building in Central Jakarta on Thursday, 4 June 2026. The submission was made to commemorate World Environment Day on 5 June 2026. Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner Anggi Prayoga stated that the coalition is requesting the DPR halt the deliberation process for the revision of the Forestry Law. This is because the revision is being discussed only partially, covering just a few articles. They want the discussion on amending the law to be comprehensive. “We want not a patchwork revision, but a total overhaul of the Forestry Law,” he said in the DPR area, Central Jakarta, Thursday, 4 June 2026.

According to Anggi, a partial discussion of the Forestry Law revision will not resolve problems such as deforestation in Papua. The coalition wants the Forestry Law to formulate genuinely anti-deforestation policies in Indonesia. Wahli National Executive Campaign Division Head Uli Arta Siagian stated that a partial discussion is vulnerable to being exploited by certain parties to push their own interests. She observed that several articles in the draft revision of the Forestry Law accommodate the commercialisation of forests. For example, she pointed to an article that governs how forest functions can be turned into management areas. “Both in protected forests and conservation forests, they can be managed. The question is by whom,” she said.

Uli also highlighted the article governing state authority to recognise customary community rights over forests. She saw no significant change in that article. “For instance, the recognition of customary community rights over forests is still done bureaucratically, taking a long time and involving complicated procedures,” she said. She assessed that the revision of the Forestry Law actually strengthens the authority of the Ministry of Forestry. The Ministry is increasingly being given broad authority to verify groups referred to as customary communities. “Even though that is not their authority,” she said.

This partial change, according to Uli, also maintains the state’s principle of controlling forests. The state is regulated as the sole authority in determining forest management. The state should merely be a manager. “So its status is equal to that of citizens as forest managers,” she said. According to Uli, the revision of the Forestry Law should comprehensively resolve forest management problems. Without such a resolution, she fears conflicts between customary communities and the government will continue. “In fact, current forest conservation projects are seizing customary territories and managed areas. Now, this must be answered, and it can only be answered with a fundamental paradigmatic change,” she said.

Forest Watch Indonesia member Sabit stated that DPR members did not meet the coalition when they delivered the statement script. The script was only received by security officers. “Even though the coalition contacted DPR members a long time ago,” he said at the same location. According to him, this attitude indicates the DPR’s lack of willingness to accept public aspirations. The Coalition consists of various community organisations. Among them are Greenpeace, Walhi, the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), Forest Watch Indonesia, ICW, Garda Animalia, and the Consortium for Agrarian Reform.

Tempo attempted to contact the Chairman of the DPR Legislation Body (Baleg), Bob Hasan, regarding this, but he had not yet responded. Bob previously stated that the harmonisation process of the revision of the Law on the Fourth Amendment to Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry must adhere to the essence of forest management for the community. This process must also consider prevailing legal developments, including the Constitutional Court’s ruling on customary forests. According to Bob, the basic principle contained in the Forestry Law remains relevant today, namely making forests a natural resource that must provide benefits for the community and the surrounding environment. “As I recall, the essence of the Forestry Law is that forests are natural wealth given by God Almighty and must provide benefit for the communities living around them. That is actually the core and essence of the Forestry Law,” he said in a Baleg DPR RI Plenary Meeting regarding the Harmonisation, Rounding, and Strengthening of the Conception of the Bill on the Fourth Amendment to Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry at Nusantara I Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, 2 June 2026, as quoted from the official DPR website. He added that Baleg would review the bill through a harmonisation process covering technical, substantive aspects, and the principles of statutory regulation formation. From a substantive perspective, the review ensures the bill’s material aligns with Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Bob mentioned that changes to the Forestry Law need to consider developments in other regulations currently under discussion by the DPR, including the Bill on Indigenous Peoples. According to him, the interrelation of these two regulations is essential to ensure forest management provides sustainable benefits for communities, particularly those living around forest areas.