Indonesia Reaffirms Biodiversity Goals, Focuses on Customary Forests and Elephant Conflict

Indonesia has formally reinforced its commitment to international biodiversity preservation during recent high-level diplomatic engagements in London, particularly in discussions with The Royal Foundation. The nation's conservation strategy is structured around three primary objectives: advancing the legal recognition of customary forests, strengthening wildlife protection, and intensifying efforts against transnational wildlife crime. Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, who was in London accompanying President Prabowo Subianto for the Peusangan Elephant Conservation Initiative (PECI) Breakfast discussion with King Charles III on January 21, 2026, emphasized that recognizing customary forests is central to this strategy, empowering indigenous and local communities as primary ecosystem custodians.

The government has set an ambitious target to designate 1.4 million hectares of customary forests between 2025 and 2029, a commitment initially announced at the United for Wildlife Global Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2025. To expedite this, a Task Force for the Acceleration of Customary Forest Designation was established under Ministerial Decree No. 144 of 2025 to streamline bureaucratic processes. While activists note that only 332,500 hectares had been formally recognized nationwide by the end of 2024, the current acceleration push is significant, as community-managed forests have been shown to reduce deforestation rates by 30 to 50 percent, according to State of Indonesia's Forest 2024 data.

A critical operational focus for the government involves mitigating escalating human-wildlife conflict, with specific attention on elephant populations in Sumatra. The established roadmap for human-elephant conflict mitigation aims to effectively manage 75% of these conflicts by 2030, corresponding to a 75% reduction in associated risks. This strategy supports the scientific management of the 22 remaining elephant corridor landscapes on the island, which currently sustain an estimated population of approximately 1,100 Sumatran elephants, classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

To curb illicit activities, Indonesia is intensifying enforcement against wildlife crime through bolstered patrols in critical habitats and heightened surveillance at key logistical points such as ports and airports. A concrete measure in this digital battle was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian E-Commerce Association to prevent the online sale of protected flora and fauna. Furthermore, the nation is actively repatriating illegally traded animals to their native environments to disrupt cross-border poaching networks. The Minister’s diplomatic activities in London, which included a lunch meeting with Dr. Tom Clements, Executive Director of The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, served as a direct follow-up to the biodiversity agreements established at the Rio de Janeiro summit.