Prabowo to Establish National Park Financing Task Force, with Hashim as Chair and Raja Juli as Deputy

President Prabowo Subianto will establish a Task Force for National Park Financing to identify funding sources for the management of national parks. Prabowo’s brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, has been appointed as chair of the task force, while Environment Minister Raja Juli Antoni and Mari Elka Pangestu will serve as deputies.

“This task force will be chaired by Hashim Djojohadikusumo. I will serve as deputy, along with another deputy, Mari Elka Pangestu,” said Raja Juli after meeting Prabowo at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday (12 March 2026).

The task force will be established through a Presidential Decree concerning Innovative Financing and Management of National Parks. Raja Juli noted that the management of national parks in Indonesia has historically faced significant funding constraints.

“As we know, we have 57 national parks in Indonesia. And I apologise, but until now national parks have been managed with whatever resources are available, with extremely minimal funding. As a result, our national parks have become cost centres, a financial burden, rather than profit centres,” he said.

“By profit centre, I mean generating income—funding from ecotourism—and returning that money to improve our national parks,” he continued.

Raja Juli believes that national parks must be reoriented towards becoming profit centres, partly through ecotourism development. This way, Indonesia’s national park areas would no longer be merely budgetary burdens, but would generate income that could be reinvested to improve and conserve the parks.

“We will seek innovative and sustainable funding, including involving the private sector, so that once again our national parks become world-class parks. The forests are protected and conserved, whilst at the same time the wildlife that we are proud of and that constitute this nation’s wealth are also properly preserved,” he said.

Raja Juli revealed that from the total of 57 national parks in Indonesia, three areas are planned to be selected as initial pilot projects. Raja Juli mentioned that Way Kambas National Park is one area being considered.

“There will probably be three initial pilot projects that we will undertake from the 57 national parks. First is Way Kambas National Park. The other two are still being discussed; one of them could be a mountain, for example Mount Rinjani, which is also extraordinarily beautiful. However, to date, I apologise, it has not been managed optimally and as well as it should be,” he said.