Indonesia’s post-flood permit revocations under fire as researchers find expired and irrelevant concessions

Indonesia’s government is facing criticism over its response to devastating floods and landslides that killed approximately 1,200 people in Sumatra last November. Following Cyclone Senyar, officials announced the revocation of 28 forestry, plantation, and mining permits, claiming these companies violated environmental regulations and contributed to the ecological conditions that worsened the disaster.

However, new research by NGO Auriga Nusantara reveals significant problems with the government’s announcement. Investigators found that several of the cited permits had already expired or been revoked years before the floods occurred. Even more concerning, some of the targeted concessions are located far outside the disaster-affected watersheds, raising questions about their connection to the deadly flooding and landslides.

The permit revocations represent a notable shift in Indonesia’s environmental enforcement strategy. Rather than pursuing traditional court-led cases and restoration orders, the government plans to transfer control of these lands to state-owned enterprises under the sovereign wealth fund Danantara. This approach has drawn criticism from civil society groups, who argue that the disaster response is being used as cover for restructuring control over valuable forest and resource assets.

“We found that several companies’ concessions are not located in the disaster-affected areas — they are quite far from the disaster zones,” said Roni Saputra, legal director at Auriga. The discrepancies have created confusion about which companies actually contributed to the environmental conditions that amplified the disaster’s impact and what will ultimately happen to the affected concession areas.