Extent of Indonesia's Customary Territories Mapped and Registered with BRWA as of August 2025

According to data released by the Indigenous Territory Registration Agency (BRWA), as of August 2025, 33.65 million hectares (ha) of indigenous territories have been mapped and registered with BRWA.

This area covers thousands of indigenous communities spread across the Indonesian archipelago.

Regionally, the largest indigenous territories are in Papua, with 303 maps covering an area of 14.85 million ha, or 44.12% of the total area of indigenous territories.

The following are the indigenous territories in Indonesia that have been mapped and registered with BRWA as of August 2025:

• Papua: 14.85 million ha (303 maps)
• Kalimantan: 10.77 million ha (538 maps)
• Sumatra: 4.22 million ha (340 maps)
• Sulawesi: 2.37 million ha (243 maps)
• Java-Bali-Nusa Tenggara: 726,238 ha (170 maps)
• Maluku: 712,977 ha (39 maps).

"However, of the mapped indigenous territories, only 18.9% have been legally recognized by the state through regional regulations or decisions by regional heads," BRWA explained in its statement.

BRWA stated that the progress in recognizing customary forests, communal land (tanah ulayat), and coastal areas that are part of indigenous territories is also still very slow.

"This striking disparity between mapping and recognition is proof that the state is still lagging behind in catching up with the initiatives of indigenous communities who have already taken action," BRWA said.

Disclaimer:

BRWA is not an agency that conducts participatory mapping activities in indigenous territories. The maps registered with BRWA are the result of the work of indigenous communities and institutions or facilitators assisting in the mapping of indigenous territories.