Prabowo to Form National Park Financing Task Force

President Prabowo Subianto will soon sign a presidential decision regarding the establishment of a task force for innovative financing and management of national parks. The task force aims to secure sustainable funding for the management of national parks in Indonesia.

Prabowo’s brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, has been appointed as the task force chair. Meanwhile, the deputy chair positions will be filled by Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni and Presidential Special Envoy for International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation, Mari Elka Pangestu.

“We will seek innovative and sustainable funding, including involving the private sector so that our national parks become world-class national parks,” said Raja Juli at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon, 12 March 2026.

Raja Juli noted that the management of Indonesia’s national parks has long faced funding constraints. “As we know, we have 57 national parks in Indonesia. And regrettably, national parks have been managed with whatever resources are available, with very minimal funding,” he said.

With such meagre funding and management, according to Raja, more than 50 of the national parks fail to generate any profit or independent revenue. “Our national parks have become cost centres, expenses only. They are not profit centres at all,” said Raja.

Raja desires these national parks to become profit centres. The way to achieve this, he said, is by developing ecotourism financing. In this way, the dozens of national parks in Indonesia will not become budget burdens. “How do we generate money—funding from eco-tourism—and use that money to improve our national parks,” said Raja Juli.