Jakarta, October 31, 2025 – Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia once again hosted the PWYP Knowledge Forum (PKF) with the theme “Reflection on Indonesia’s Mining Governance in the First Year of the Prabowo-Gibran Administration.” Members of the PWYP Indonesia coalition attended this in-person event. The agenda began with a welcome to Pattiro Semarang as the 32nd new coalition member, strengthening the advocacy network for transparency in the extractive sector. The discussion then delved into two main issues, serving as a platform for civil society activists to critically evaluate new policies in the mining sector, particularly their impacts on transparency, accountability, and environmental sustainability.
The forum focused on two key issues: changes in mining regulations through Government Regulation (PP) No. 39 of 2025, which replaces PP 96/2021, along with the Ministerial Regulation on RKAB (Work Plan and Budget), and the regularization of forest areas through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 5 of 2025.
PP 39/2025: Loosening Licensing Requirements and Potential Conflicts of Interest
One of the most heavily criticized issues is the expansion of the priority Mining Business Permit (IUP) scheme to community organizations (ormas), universities, cooperatives, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Under PP 39/2025, these entities can obtain mining areas as large as those granted to experienced mining companies, even if they lack the necessary technical or financial capacity. This change also provides significant leniency in fulfilling licensing obligations. Whereas PP 96/2021 required IUP holders to submit comprehensive documents (work plans, proof of tax payments and state revenues, reclamation reports, and more), Article 59A of PP 39/2025 states that permit extensions “may be granted” even if these documents are incomplete or obligations remain unmet.
According to Wicitra, Program Manager at PWYP Indonesia, this loosening poses a threat to public accountability principles. “PP 39/2025 and the RKAB Ministerial Regulation open the door for issuing permits even when obligations are not fulfilled. This weakens accountability principles, as permits can proceed without ensuring environmental impacts and state obligations are addressed,” emphasized Wicitra. She also highlighted the risk of misuse through MoUs between universities and mining companies.
Additionally, SMEs and cooperatives are seen as lacking the technical and financial capacity to conduct responsible mining operations. Data from mining professional organizations shows that feasibility studies, exploration, and AMDAL (Environmental Impact Assessment) preparation require substantial capital and non-trivial technical expertise.
Forum participants noted that the easing of permits could worsen environmental conditions, especially regarding the reclamation of former mining lands. Many cases indicate that unrecovered mining areas are simply transferred to new parties. This phenomenon raises concerns about creating a pattern of “handover mining without restoration,” making environmental damage increasingly permanent.
Perpres 5/2025: Regularization of Forest Areas Without Restoration Guarantees
The discussion then shifted to the regularization of forest areas, which began with the enactment of the Job Creation Law on October 5, 2020. This law introduced Articles 110A and 110B, which regulate the regularization of activities in forest areas through administrative sanctions. It was followed by PP 24/2021, which imposed administrative sanctions in the forestry sector, and Presidential Decree 9/2023, which established a Task Force for Improving Palm Oil Industry Governance until September 30, 2024. By 2024, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) had issued 23 SK Datin (Administrative Fine Decrees) for various business sectors operating in forest areas without permits. However, there were no follow-up reports from the Task Force by its deadline, and SK Datin continued to be issued until January 2025 without transparent results.
Roni Saputra, Director of Law Enforcement at Auriga Nusantara, stated that “Regularization in forest areas often stops at asset seizures rather than enforcing the law against violators,” explained Roni. He added that some mining assets are directly transferred to certain parties to continue operations, without ensuring environmental damage is restored or state losses are calculated. “If violators are not held accountable, this isn’t regularization—it’s normalizing violations,” he asserted.
Solihin, a PKF participant and member of the PWYP Indonesia coalition, cited practices in Southeast Sulawesi. Instead of penalizing companies illegally mining in forest areas through fine collections or operational shutdowns, their assets are seized for continuation by the state. This approach is viewed as favoring capital interests, ignoring potential state losses, and risking further environmental degradation.
Transparency and Environmental Restoration Must Be Prioritized
The forum concluded with a joint commitment from the PWYP Indonesia coalition network and attendees to continue monitoring the implementation of the latest mining regulations—from PP 39/2025, the RKAB Ministerial Regulation, to Perpres 5/2025. These efforts will involve on-the-ground policy oversight, case documentation, and advocacy to central and regional governments to ensure policies align with good governance principles.
PWYP Indonesia emphasized that accelerating investments in the mining sector must not sacrifice the environment or public interests. “Investments can drive economic growth, but they must not overlook transparency, accountability, and environmental restoration,” was the forum’s closing message, reflecting a commitment to fairer and more sustainable mining governance.
Author: Ledis Sixti
Reviewer: Meliana Lumbantoruan