Indonesia Has 1.16 Million Hectares of Sustainable Palm Oil Land

The Indonesian government is developing New and Renewable Energy (NRE) to become the primary energy source in the future. This effort includes the use of biofuels (BBN) based primarily on palm oil commodities, also known as biodiesel.

To prioritize sustainability, Madani Berkelanjutan highlights several crucial considerations in its development. One key aspect is the availability of palm oil land in Indonesia.

Based on Madani Berkelanjutan's 2021 data, there are currently 22.3 million hectares (ha) of palm oil permits or business areas. However, this area does not yet fully meet several sustainability aspects of land use.

In this regard, Madani Berkelanjutan states that only 1.16 million ha of sustainable palm oil land remains when considering aspects of sustainability such as ecology, potential conflict, and focus on usable land cover.

This 1.16 million ha of sustainable palm oil land is spread throughout Indonesia. The largest area is in East Kalimantan at 470,700 ha. Second is Central Kalimantan at 392,300 ha.

Third is West Kalimantan at 95,600 ha. Fourth is Jambi at 36,500 ha. Additionally, there are 36,100 ha in South Sumatra, 29,400 ha in Papua, and 21,600 ha in North Kalimantan.

From an ecological perspective, sustainable palm oil land is defined as land not located within natural forests, Peatland Ecological Functions (FEG), or habitats of more than 15 species of flora and fauna. From the perspective of potential conflict, the land does not overlap with customary areas.

Regarding the focus on usable land cover, it excludes scrubland, swamps, savannas, open land, and undefined or uncategorised land.