JAKARTA: Despite having the highest conservation status, many national parks are still suffering from forest destruction, raising questions about commitments from various authorities to preserve the country’s remaining woodlands. Deforestation is persistent in Indonesia, and it has been on the rise in recent years.
According to environmental NGO Auriga Nusantara, more than 430,000 hectares of forest were cleared in 2025. The figure, nearly the same size as seven Jakartas, nearly doubled the amount in 2024.
Of the total figure, around 25,000 ha of cleared forests were located in conservation areas, including national parks like Sebangau in Central Kalimantan, home to peat ecosystems and the critically endangered Bornean orangutan that has been enduring decades of deforestation.
But nearly 2,000 ha of the park and its surrounding zone were cleared to make way for oil palm plantations in 2024, according to Auriga. The clearing was the sixth-largest oil palm encroachment among 57 national parks in the country.
Existing regulations prohibit any conversion of forest land inside a national park for plantations or other purposes. Even indigenous people and local communities are only allowed to utilise land inside national parks under tight limitations without massively clearing tree cover.
In our latest special report, The Jakarta Post visited Sebangau to see parts of the national park that has been plagued by deforestation, part of which is the result of illegal oil palm plantations opened within the park’s borders. These plantations, some of which are reportedly owned by local smallholders, feed a mill that produces crude palm oil (CPO) for various companies, including multinational ones that previously committed not to use ingredients linked to deforestation.
But oil palm plantations are just the tip of the iceberg in Sebangau. Tenurial conflicts between park management and an indigenous Dayak subtribe that has been living around Sebangau for generations led to the opening of dozens of illegal gold mining sites across Sebangau.
Authorities acknowledged the persisting encroachment in Sebangau and other national parks, pointing to a lack of forest rangers to enforce regulations against illicit business activities. To solve the law enforcement gap, the government created a task force to eradicate these illegal oil palm plantations and mining sites, including in Sebangau where officers have reclaimed nearly 1,500 ha of plantations to be reforested.
However, observers have been skeptical about the plan, arguing that law enforcement alone will not be sufficient to recover the degraded forest without a proper plan to address the root of the problems. Saving Sebangau and other national parks, they said, will require the government to sit down and work together with all involved parties, including indigenous people, to look for sustainable solutions. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
