KBRN, Jakarta: In an effort to secure the land rights of indigenous peoples across the archipelago, Director of Management Conflict and Customary Forest at the Ministry of Forestry Julmansyah confirmed on Monday, December 29, 2025, that the national roadmap for accelerating customary forest designation is in its final stages. 

Following a nationwide workshop, the ministry expects to launch the official document by January 2026, setting a clear path to reach the 1.4 million-hectare milestone within the next four years. The roadmap will utilize a specialized task force to bridge the gap between the current 366,955 hectares of designated land and the ambitious 2029 target established by Minister Raja Juli Antoni.

The roadmap was recently presented for public feedback during a national workshop involving various stakeholders. 

"The Roadmap for the Acceleration of Customary Forest Designation is being finalized after being publicly consulted at the National Workshop event yesterday. Later, this roadmap will include targets and locations for each year," said Julmansyah in Jakarta on Monday, December 29, 2025, as quoted by Antara.

Last week’s national workshop brought together various parties interested in customary forest issues within the Social Forestry framework. When asked specifically about the completion date for this guiding document, Julmansyah replied, "God willing, January 2026."

The formulation of this roadmap is intended to ensure the total target of 1.4 million hectares of customary forest across Indonesia is achieved by 2029. This four-year goal was previously announced by Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni during the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) held in Brazil last November.

The Minister emphasized that this initiative represents a concrete promise to protect the environment and indigenous communities. He said that the designation of 1.4 million hectares of customary forest is "proof and government commitment to the environment and customary law communities living in the area."

To support this mission, the Ministry previously established a Task Force for the Acceleration of Customary Forest Designation involving diverse stakeholders. As of December 2025, official data shows that 366,955 hectares of customary forest have already been designated for management by 169 Customary Law Community (MHA) units nationwide. ***