Maretha Uli, Jakarta – Protections for indigenous people's rights in Indonesia have seen little progress throughout 2025, with legislation in favor of local communities stalled and repression persisting despite promises made by the government on the global stage.
Among the promises was a pledge to recognize 1.4 million hectares of customary forest by 2029. It was introduced by Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni at the United Nations climate change conference in Brazil, or COP30, in November. Indonesia is home to an estimated 40 to 70 million indigenous people spread across the archipelago who maintain deep ancestral ties to their land as well as distinct social and cultural systems. But legal recognition of their lands is still scarce. The Indigenous People Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), which represents 2,645 communities, identified 33.6 million ha of customary forests and coastal areas.
"These challenges have been discussed within the task force," Arman said on Dec. 23, "but there has been no significant breakthrough in terms of policy reform." Stalled policies Indigenous groups are no stranger to stalling policies. In October, the Constitutional Court allowed indigenous communities to cultivate forest to fulfill their daily needs without obtaining a permit, according to the justices in their ruling for a judicial review against the Job Creation Law.
But critics argue that as long as forests remain owned by the state and the government is lacking on implementing the ruling, indigenous communities remain vulnerable to displacement if forest areas are later released for business use. In its 2025 report, AMAN noted persisting criminalization against indigenous residents whose customary lands overlap with state forest areas.
Another ruling from the Constitutional Court in 2013 separated customary forests from the regular state-owned forest areas, granting indigenous communities rights over their territories. But more than a decade later, indigenous groups saw little follow up on the final and binding legal decision, including the stalled deliberations of the indigenous people bill. First submitted with the House of Representatives in 2010, the bill has been included in the legislature's 2025 and 2026 priority list.
Yet, Franky Samperante, environmental activist and executive director of indigenous advocacy group Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, remained pessimistic. "I'm not confident "The forest recognition plan is still unfinished, but the state moves much faster in granting concessions to corporations than in affirming indigenous rights," Franky said.
Another questionable initiative was Prabowo's move to form a forest area enforcement task force to improve forest management and curb illegal oil palm plantations and mines within forest areas. Its members are drawn largely from the military and police. Environmental and agrarian rights groups warned that such an approach could legitimize repression against indigenous communities mainly driven by corporations and law enforcement bodies evicting them and seizing their land.
Throughout 2025, AMAN recorded 135 cases of indigenous land grabbing involving 109 communities pertaining to business activities, such as plantation, energy, mining and infrastructure, affecting 3.8 million ha of territory. The figure increased from 121 cases and 2.8 million ha recorded in 2024.
Resolution of conflicting land ownership, however, remains excluded from the government's customary recognition plan, according to Arman. He argued the government only focused on areas with "minimum disputes", leaving conflicted customary lands unresolved.
Forestry Ministry director for tenurial conflict resolution and customary forest Julmansyah said on Dec. 19 that the ministry was finalizing a road map for customary forests aligned with the 1.4 million ha plan. When asked whether the road map would address agrarian conflicts, he declined to elaborate, answering briefly: "We have not reached that stage yet." He previously claimed the ministry was not avoiding to address disputable land and forest area in mapping the for the 1.4 million-ha plan, but was seeking for "win-win solutions" should overlapping claims emerge within the targeted forest.
"When there are conflicting proposals," Julmansyah said, "mediation and solutions that prioritize justice for indigenous communities are necessary."