Indonesia’s Forest Permits and the Battle for Borneo’s Future

 

Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry is a king of forest giveaways. Illustration source: Greenomics Indonesia.

For more than a decade, Indonesia has been engaged in a quiet reengineering of its forest landscapes, a process shaped heavily by political decisions in Jakarta but felt most acutely in places like Borneo. Between 2004 and 2017, more than 2.4 million hectares of forest were converted into plantation concessions. 

The period was marked by aggressive expansion of the palm oil industry, rising investor appetite, and a regulatory environment that placed immense power in the hands of forestry ministers.

Greenomics Indonesia provides numbers that frame the issue starkly. MS Kaban, Minister of Forestry from 2004 to 2009, issued permits covering about 600,000 hectares. His successor, Zulkifli Hasan, who served from 2009 to 2014, granted 1.64 million hectares, the largest share by far. Siti Nurbaya, who took office in 2014, granted approximately 216,000 hectares. These figures illustrate how regulatory discretion can shape the fate of the world’s remaining tropical forests, including some of the last intact expanses in Borneo.

Borneo’s forests, one of the planet’s richest ecosystems, have been both a sanctuary of biodiversity and a buffer against global warming. Yet they remain vulnerable to policy shifts that favor rapid economic returns. 

When permits are issued at scale, the consequences ripple through indigenous territories, carbon-rich peatlands, and critical wildlife corridors that can disappear in a matter of months once land-clearing equipment arrives.

Environmental Consequences and Social Costs

Critics say that the surge of permits during the late 2000s accelerated the deforestation that now defines much of Borneo’s ecological decline. What once were continuous forest canopies are today interrupted by vast mosaics of plantation blocks. 

Rivers carry more sediment. Orangutan habitats shrink each year. Smaller species lose the microclimates they depend on. Fires, once natural and seasonal, become more frequent and destructive when drained peatlands ignite.

Environmental advocates argue that the damage is not limited to trees. Local Dayak communities, who have lived in Borneo’s forests for centuries, face increasing pressure as commercial concessions encircle their territories. Land disputes multiply. Traditional swidden systems struggle to survive. Cultural knowledge linked to forest landscapes becomes harder to transmit.

Indonesia has long justified land conversion in the name of rural development and poverty alleviation. Ministries frequently describe permit issuance as an administrative necessity intended to formalize land use, attract investment, and stimulate economic growth. Yet the long-term costs are far more complex. 

Clearing primary or peat forests releases massive amounts of carbon, placing Indonesia among the world’s largest contributors to land-use emissions. Once rich ecosystems become monocultures, which absorb little carbon and support limited wildlife.

The government now highlights lower deforestation rates and improved monitoring. Satellite alerts, peat restoration efforts, and moratoriums on new permits are presented as evidence of progress. Although these initiatives matter, they do not erase the legacy of earlier decisions or the landscapes already transformed by the wave of permits issued in the previous decade.

The Future of the World’s “Lungs”

Borneo is often described as one of the lungs of the Earth, a metaphor that captures both its biological importance and its vulnerability. The island’s forests store enormous amounts of carbon. They regulate rainfall across Southeast Asia. They sustain thousands of species found nowhere else. When such forests shrink, the world loses more than biodiversity. It loses a climatic safeguard that cannot be easily restored.

Indonesia’s challenge now is not simply preventing further loss, but repairing what has already been damaged. Restoration requires more than planting trees. It demands political will, long-term funding, genuine recognition of indigenous land rights, and transparency in land administration. Without these, past patterns may repeat under different names or policies.

Zulkifli Hasan remains an influential figure in Indonesian politics. His tenure is a reminder that environmental outcomes often trace back to individuals and decisions made behind ministry doors. Forest permits may appear bureaucratic, but they determine whether tropical ecosystems survive or surrender to economic pressures.

As climate commitments become more urgent, the world is watching how Indonesia balances development with its responsibility as steward of some of Earth’s last remaining tropical giants. The choices made today will determine whether Borneo continues functioning as a vital lung of the planet, or whether its breath becomes too faint to sustain the ecological stability millions depend on.

Indonesia stands at a crossroads. The path it chooses will echo far beyond its borders, shaping the future of the global climate and the fate of the forests that have long defined the heart of Borneo.

by: Bungai Nuing