This regulation was issued to solve recurring problems in IUPHHK-HTI areas and integrate peatland ecosystem governance in the framework of fire prevention.
Under this regulation, the government will facilitate:
- Conflict resolution in concession areas
- Participatory forestry programs through the Community Plantation Forests policy
- The provision of land swaps, to replace protected peatland areas in concession lands. Land swaps will not exceed 40% of the operational area that has been converted to protected peatland area. Land swaps must be in production forest areas with mineral soil.
HTI concession holders may apply for a land swap within six months after the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry approves their revised RKU. Afterwards, the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry will assess the technical feasibility of the land swap and issue a ministerial stipulation with their decision within three months of the application submission.
The procedures for submitting land swap applications are as follows:
- For areas under 10,000 hectares, land swap applications have only one stage.
- For 10,000–45,000-hectare areas, land swap applications have three stages.
- For areas larger than 45,000 hectares, land swap applications are performed in several stages, each covering a 15,000-hectare section.
Concession holders may request a land swap by applying to the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry. Afterward, the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry’s Assessment and Monitoring Team verifies and assesses the application. This process includes review of social and environmental considerations based on environmental management and monitoring efforts. These will be assessed by the Minister, who then issues an environmental permit detailing concession owners’ responsibilities.
The Community Bureau of the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry explained that the government has allocated 902,210 hectares of other land for land swaps. Replacement land will be allocated from 507,410 hectares of unpermitted area, 290,560 hectares of social management area outside the Social Forestry Area Indicative Map (PIAPS), 61,785 hectares of forestry land that is less than 20% forest and adjacent to an HTI, and 42,445 hectares of production forest. The area is spread over Sumatra (281,195 hectares), Kalimantan (300,390 hectares), Sulawesi (11,060 hectares), Nusa Tenggara (60,515 hectares), Maluku (101,210 hectares), and Papua (158,145 hectares).