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View all search resultsCourt allows indigenous peoples to cultivate forests
Constitutional Court justices granted a judicial review petition against the Job Creation Law, allowing agricultural activities for indigenous communities in forest areas to fulfill daily needs, not commercial purposes.
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Badui tribe members play traditional Sundanese angklung during the annual Ngaseuk ceremony in Lebak, Banten, on Oct. 5, 2025 to celebrate the planting of rice on dry land to fulfill their daily needs. (Antara/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas)
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ndigenous communities are permitted to cultivate forest areas without obtaining permits from the government, according to the Constitutional Court in its ruling on a judicial review petition against the Job Creation Law, while legislation to protect indigenous rights remains on the back burner.
During a hearing on Thursday, the court partially granted a petition filed in 2024 by environmental group Sawit Watch. The group challenged provisions in the Job Creation Law that ban any cultivation activities in forest areas without business permits.
“The article which regulates the ban on conducting agricultural activities in forest areas without permits from the central government doesn’t apply to indigenous communities living in forests for generations whose activities are non-commercial,” Justice Enny Nurbaningsih said, reading the ruling on Thursday.
The court also exempted the communities from administrative sanctions, which include suspension of business activities, fines and other enforcement measures, as long as the plantation activities are solely for daily needs and the harvests are not traded for profit.
The law mandated criminal punishment for unauthorized activities in forest areas nationwide. But Sawit Watch argued that this unfairly targeted small indigenous farmers, while benefiting large corporate plantations.
The Association for Community and Ecologically Based Law Reform (Perkumpulan HuMa) welcomed the ruling as a “step forward” in granting indigenous peoples their land rights and strengthening their legal standing in forest areas.
It, however, warned that the ruling implementation may face challenges.
