Indonesia government has announced that it no longer needs to expand rice cultivation into forest areas after achieving rice self sufficiency three years ahead of schedule. However, uncertainty remains over the future of large scale food and energy projects already underway in Papua and Kalimantan.
Presidential Special Envoy for Climate and Energy Hashim Djojohadikusumo made the announcement on October 6, saying the government no longer required the previously planned 2 million hectares of land for food production in forest areas.
“The government sees no further need for expanding rice cultivation areas in the so-called forest areas and forest zones that were announced a few years ago,” Hashim said in Jakarta.
Mari Pangestu, the President’s Special Envoy for Multilateralism and International Trade, said future food and biofuel production would instead be directed towards degraded land.
The announcement appears to signal a shift away from plans that environmental groups have criticised for threatening large areas of natural ecosystems particularly in southern Papua. However, the government has yet to clarify whether existing projects will be halted, redesigned or allowed to continue.
Contradictions in Government policy
Less than two weeks before Hashim’s announcement Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry designated approximately 5.67 million hectares of forest in its 2026 Forest Utilization Direction Map as areas that could be proposed for forest use permits. These permits could cover food security, energy production and forest rehabilitation.
The contrasting announcements have raised questions about whether the government’s policy direction is consistent.
Musdalifah Jamal, a campaigner with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the statements indicated that the government had not fully abandoned its approach of using forest areas to meet food and energy needs.
The forestry ministry has welcomed the announcement but has not confirmed whether it will change existing policies or projects.
Ministry spokesperson Ristianto Pribadi said a distinction must be made between new expansion plans requiring forest clearance, activities already underway and efforts to increase production on existing agricultural land. He added that the government could not yet confirm that all activities in South Papua and Central Kalimantan would stop.
Environmental organisations have called for the announcement to be translated into concrete policy changes including revisions to government decrees and other measures that enable forest conversion.
Mighty Earth founder and chief executive Glenn Hurowitz said the commitment would have an impact only if it were implemented. Nadia Hadad, executive director of MADANI Berkelanjutan also stressed that food, energy, forestry and fiscal policies must align with the government stated environmental commitments.
Forest Clearing Continues in Papua
The food estate programme began under former President Joko Widodo and expanded under President Prabowo Subianto. It has spread beyond Merauke into the districts of Boven Digoel Mappi and Asmat in South Papua.
Monitoring by TheTreeMap which operates the Nusantara Atlas forest monitoring platform indicates that approximately 11,500 hectares of wetlands have been cleared for rice cultivation in Wanam and Wogikel villages. Another 40,000 hectares have been cleared for sugarcane mainly across primary forests and savannas near the border with Papua New Guinea.
A 135 kilometre access road was constructed to support plans for 1 million hectares of rice fields in Merauke. Satellite monitoring shows that the road corridor has been opened, although it remains unpaved.
An investigation by Tempo found that the Ministry of Defense prepared the road’s environmental impact assessment after construction was already around one-third complete.
Indigenous communities challenged the project in court arguing that land clearing began without their consent and the necessary environmental approval. The Jayapura State Administrative Court rejected the lawsuit in September.
Greenpeace analysis estimated that road construction had resulted in nearly 7,600 hectares of deforestation by February 2026. TheTreeMap founder and landscape ecologist David Gaveau has raised questions about whether paving additional feeder roads and other infrastructure development will continue following the government announcement.
Franky Samperante, director of the Pusaka Foundation, which works with Indigenous communities in Papua said heavy machinery was still clearing natural ecosystems in several areas targeted for rice fields, sugarcane and oil palm plantations.
Environmental groups have also raised concerns about alleged harassment and criminalisation of Indigenous communities affected by the projects. United Nations human rights officials have previously expressed concerns over alleged abuses and environmental destruction linked to the programme.
Sugarcane and Biofuel Plans Complicate the Decision
Rice cultivation is only one component of Indonesia’s broader food and energy strategy. The programme has expanded to include sugarcane, oil palm and livestock raising questions about whether the government’s new position will affect these activities.
According to a Greenpeace report 10 companies have received sugarcane concessions covering approximately 560,000 hectares in Merauke. Greenpeace’s analysis of government maps puts the broader project area at around 2.7 million hectares.
Gaveau questioned whether forest clearing would stop within existing sugarcane concessions and whether concessions that have not yet begun clearing would be reconsidered.
Indonesia’s biofuel ambitions add another layer of uncertainty. A coalition of non governmental organisations estimates that implementing the B50 biodiesel mandate could require an additional 5.36 million hectares of oil palm plantations by 2039, potentially resulting in 1.5 million hectares of deforestation.
The government also plans to increase the proportion of bioethanol blended into petrol to 20 per cent within five years. Hashim has said biofuels remain important for reducing Indonesia’s dependence on imported fuel.
Greenpeace Indonesia senior forest campaigner Refki Saputra questioned whether land originally intended for rice cultivation could instead be converted to sugarcane or oil palm production if the broader food and biofuel programmes remain in place.
Debate Over What Qualifies as Forests
Another unresolved issue is the meaning of “forest areas” in the government’s announcement.
Hashim referred to rice cultivation in swamp areas in Papua and Kalimantan. Environmental groups however point out that wetlands and swamps can be ecologically important natural ecosystems even when they do not resemble conventional forests.
Merauke’s wetlands and savannas form part of the TransFly a distinctive New Guinea ecological region that supports wildlife and migratory birds. Some of these landscapes may be classified as scrubland or savanna rather than forest on official land cover maps.
Gaveau said the government must clarify whether its commitment applies to ecosystems with actual forest cover or to land legally designated as Forest Estate known as Kawasan Hutan.
In 2025, Forestry Ministerial Decree No. 591 reclassified 486,939 hectares in Merauke Boven Digoel and Mappi from Forest Estate to land outside that category known as APL to support the national strategic project.
TheTreeMap spatial analysis indicates that the reclassified area includes nearly 300,000 hectares of primary closed canopy forest along with Melaleuca vegetation and other wetlands.
This raises questions about whether areas reclassified as APL will receive protection under the new announcement. Although such land is no longer governed as Forest Estate under the Forestry Law other environmental and land use requirements continue to apply.
Defining Degraded Land is Crucial
The government proposed shift towards degraded land also requires clarification. Environmentalists warn that naturally occurring grasslands wooded savannas and seasonally flooded Melaleuca swamp forests could be wrongly classified as degraded because they have relatively low or sparse vegetation cover.
Gaveau said the government must distinguish natural ecosystems from land damaged by earlier deforestation before deciding where new agricultural projects can be established.
Mighty Earth has argued that the announcement could create an opportunity for large scale ecosystem conservation and restoration. The organisation pointed to the government’s stated goal of restoring 12 million hectares of native ecosystems as a potential route towards protecting biodiversity and storing carbon.
Indigenous and civil society organisations have stressed that local communities must be involved in decisions about how land within their territories is classified and used.
The Merauke Solidarity group said communities should participate in decisions concerning the development and use of natural resources on their lands.
Indonesia’s announcement could mark a significant change in its approach to agricultural expansion but its impact will depend on whether existing permits infrastructure projects and land use policies are revised. Until the government clarifies the status of ongoing projects and establishes clear criteria for forest protection and degraded land, uncertainty will continue over the future of natural ecosystems and Indigenous communities in Papua and Kalimantan.