NTB to Revise Spatial Plan, 87 Percent of Agricultural Land Protected from Conversion

The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) will revise the NTB Regional Spatial Plan (RTRW). Under the new plan, 87.04 percent of agricultural land in NTB will be prohibited from conversion. This total overhaul of the RTRW has received approval from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN). The revision is expected to break the deadlock on investment permits and infrastructure development in the region. Director General of Spatial Planning at the Ministry of ATR/BPN, Suyus Windayana, revealed that the current spatial planning regulations in NTB are outdated, having been created before 2015. Suyus assessed that a comprehensive revision also aims to provide legal certainty. ‘We will first map out which areas are for food security and which are for other activities. God willing, next year we will revise all spatial plans at the provincial and district/city levels,’ Suyus said after attending a Disaster Management Coordination Meeting in Mataram on Friday. According to Suyus, the revision mandates the existence of 87 percent permanent paddy fields. If land is forcibly converted for development, it must be replaced in accordance with statutory provisions. ‘The existing 87 percent of paddy fields cannot be converted. This certainty is important so that the public and investors wishing to enter NTB have clear legal guarantees,’ he added. Meanwhile, NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal explained that investment permits and infrastructure projects have often been hampered by regional regulations on Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (LP2B). Iqbal stated that the minimum threshold of 87 percent agricultural land is calculated on a provincial scale, not at the district/city level. According to him, this scheme is a breath of fresh air for urban areas that lack agricultural land. ‘If measured at the district/city level, it is very difficult for Mataram City or Bima City to reach 87 percent. So we agreed that the 87 percent is at the provincial level, allowing for cross-subsidisation of land between districts/cities,’ Iqbal explained. He added that investment permits can now be issued because the land has been released from LP2B status, and infrastructure projects can proceed as land has been swapped. Beyond the spatial plan revision, Iqbal is also integrating strict disaster risk mapping in NTB, given the region’s vulnerability to earthquakes, tsunamis, and drought.