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View all search resultsGovernment to tighten land-use rules after deadly West Java landslide
Following a deadly landslide in West Java, the government is tightening land conversion rules, citing weak watershed oversight, unchecked development and extreme rainfall as compounding risks.
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Found remains: Search and rescue personnel carry a body bag on Jan. 27, 2026, containing the remains of a victim from the site of a landslide following heavy rains in Pasirlangu village, West Bandung regency, West Java. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
T
he Environment Ministry plans to tighten regulations requiring local administrations to assess environmental impacts before issuing land and forest permits for industrial activities, following a deadly landslide in West Java believed to have been worsened by unchecked plantation expansion and construction.
Amid ongoing investigations into the landslide in Pasirlangu village, West Bandung regency, which claimed at least 80 lives, the ministry said that strengthening monitoring of land use in watershed areas has now become a “national priority”.
Rasio Ridho Sani, the ministry’s deputy for pollution and environmental damage control, said the government was ramping up efforts to restore land governance in disaster-prone regions, with an initial focus on at least eight watersheds across Java and Bali.
The ministry will also urge regional administrations to strengthen their strategic environmental assessment (KLHS), which must be completed before permits for land or forest use are issued. The assessments set environmental risk benchmarks that businesses are required to meet under their environmental impact analysis (Amdal).
“We are also conducting inspections and will pursue legal actions against those committing environmental violations,” Rasio said in a statement last Thursday. The results have yet to be announced as of today.
Read also: Unchecked plantations, construction fuel deadly West Java landslide
The Jan. 24 landslide reportedly occurred in a small drainage area that had been converted into plantations and settlements, filling the area with debris that flowed from the upper slopes of Mount Burangrang.
