The One Map Policy (Kebijakan Satu Peta/KSP), regulated under Presidential Regulation No. 9 of 2016 in conjunction with Presidential Regulation No. 23 of 2021 to accelerate its implementation, aims to unify all national spatial data references so that every ministry and agency relies on a single, consistent database. With the designated map scale of 1:50,000, the government is required to provide integrated thematic spatial data as the sole reference for both development planning and the issuance of business permits.
However, nine years after this policy was enacted, the reality on the ground tells a different story. National peatland data, which is crucial for climate change mitigation and land governance, still exists in two conflicting official references: one from the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementerian Pertanian/Kementan) and the other from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan/KLHK), which has since been split into the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Environment.
Adding to the confusion, the authority of the ministries that emerged from the split of KLHK over peatland areas remains unclear, even though the nomenclature exists under the Ministry of Environment.
First, there is peatland data from the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) at a scale of 1:50,000, which maps peat distribution based on depth, area, and spatial spread. Second, there is the Peat Hydrological Unit (Kesatuan Hidrologis Gambut/KHG) data issued by KLHK at a scale of 1:250,000, which emphasizes the ecological functions of peatlands. The KLHK map is divided into two categories: protected functions, with peat deeper than three meters that must not be disturbed, and cultivation functions, which can still be utilized for industrial and agricultural activities.
These differences in scientific and institutional approaches have created a gray area in governance, particularly in the issuance of plantation and forestry permits within peatland areas. The discrepancy between the two data sources is also substantial. Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) data records the national peatland area at 13.4 million hectares, while Peat Hydrological Unit (KHG) data from KLHK indicates a figure of 24.2 million hectares.
The nearly 11 million-hectare difference is not merely a technical mapping issue but has direct implications for legal certainty, spatial planning, land permits, and environmental protection. The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) tends to adopt an agronomic approach, viewing peatlands as potentially productive land for plantations. In contrast, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) emphasizes the ecological and hydrological functions of peatlands as life-support systems and a critical component of climate change mitigation efforts.
Unfortunately, the Geospatial Information Agency (Badan Informasi Geospasial/BIG), as the custodian of One Map Policy (KSP) data, appears to have allowed this discrepancy to persist. BIG argues that each ministry has its own sectoral functions. However, Presidential Regulation No. 9 of 2016 in conjunction with Presidential Regulation No. 23 of 2021 explicitly states that thematic data from ministries and agencies must undergo integration, synchronization, and sharing, leaving no room for more than one official reference.
This permissive stance demonstrates the weak implementation of the One Map Policy (KSP) at the institutional level. Instead of serving as a tool for integration, the policy reveals how inter-ministerial sectoral interests have turned data into a means of justifying their own agendas.
In fact, the government has issued the Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree No. Sk.246/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/6/2020 regarding the Peatland Ecosystem Protection and Management Plan (Rencana Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Ekosistem Gambut/RPPEG). This document serves as the primary reference for the protection and restoration of peatlands in Indonesia.
The RPPEG even serves as a supporting document in the formulation of the National Medium-Term Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Nasional/RPJMN) and the National Long-Term Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Panjang Nasional/RPJPN). However, without a single agreed-upon data reference, the implementation of RPPEG becomes weak. Rehabilitation programs, the designation of protected areas, and forest and land fire monitoring all operate based on differing data sets.
Legally, Government Regulation No. 57 of 2016 on the Protection and Management of Peatland Ecosystems (a revision of PP No. 71 of 2014) stipulates that the designation and management of peatland ecosystem functions must be based on maps ratified by the Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK). This means that the Peat Hydrological Unit (PHU) map ratified by KLHK should serve as the single national reference. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture’s (Kementan) data should only be used as a supporting derivative for sustainable land use, not for determining the status of areas.
This data discrepancy is also evident in the 2023 forest and land fire reports. KLHK reported a burned area of approximately 182,789 hectares, whereas analyses by civil society organizations such as Pantau Gambut and Greenpeace estimated the area to exceed 500,000 hectares within the PHU.
If the Ministry of Forestry or the Ministry of Environment truly relied on their own PHU data, the recorded burned area in peatlands should have been much larger. The question remains: which data is the government actually using (Ministry of Forestry or Ministry of Environment)?
Peatland data is also used as a political and economic tool. In a global context, KLHK’s PHU data serves as the basis for Indonesia to claim achievements in emission reductions and sustainable land management in international forums, including under the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) scheme. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has an interest in maintaining productive land to safeguard investments in the plantation sector, particularly palm oil. The tension between these economic and environmental interests has caused the One Map Policy to lose its direction.
The coexistence of two national peatland data references without integration is a clear reflection of the failure to implement the One Map Policy (KSP). This is not merely a matter of differing figures; it reflects weak data governance, inter-agency sectoral egos, and the government’s inconsistency in protecting peatland ecosystems. The government must promptly assert a single authoritative reference for national peatland ecosystem data.
The integration of the two ministerial data sources should be conducted without exception, using a single reference that is both legally and scientifically valid. Without such a decisive step, the One Map Policy (KSP) will continue to represent two conflicting “truths” serving sectoral interests, and Indonesia’s peatlands will remain victims of the policy uncertainty created by the government itself.
