Jakarta. Indonesia is allocating 1.4 million hectares of customary forests to Indigenous communities, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said at the Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil.

“This is part of the President’s concern for the environment and for communities that have long been marginalized,” Antoni said in a statement on Friday.

Antoni made the remarks while accompanying Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Change and Energy Hashim Djojohadikusumo. During the event, Hashim, speaking on behalf of President Prabowo, officially announced Indonesia’s commitment to allocate the areas.

“Earlier this year President Prabowo publicly announced our bold commitment to recognize and allocate 1.4 million hectares of customary forests for Indigenous and local communities within four years,” Hashim said.

Hashim was accompanied in Belém by Antoni and Environment Minister Hanif Faisol as part of Prabowo’s official COP30 delegation.

Antoni added that Indonesia has already set up a special task force to accelerate the recognition of customary forests. The task force, launched in March 2025 following Prabowo’s directives, has set a target to recognize 1.4 million hectares of new customary forest rights during 2025–2029.

“Recognizing customary forests is not only about respecting Indigenous rights; it has also been proven to reduce deforestation by 30–50 percent, based on The State of Indonesia's Forest (SOIFO) 2024 data,” he said.

The pledge comes as Indigenous organizations warn that industrial expansion continues to displace Indigenous peoples across Indonesia.

A new joint report by the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), regional Indigenous federations, and Earth Insight found more than 11.7 million hectares of customary lands have been taken over in the past decade. The coalition recorded nearly 700 land conflicts linked to mining, logging, oil and gas, geothermal projects, and other extractive industries.

According to the report, Indonesia’s customary territories span around 33.6 million hectares, covering some of the country’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich landscapes, yet only a fraction has been formally recognized.

Citing data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the groups say less than 1 percent of more than 25 million hectares of Indigenous territories have legal recognition, while concessions for palm oil, forestry, and mining collectively cover tens of millions of hectares.

Add as a preferred source on Google +