Illegally Operated, Officially Certified

In 2025, the Indonesian Government released Decree No. 36 of 2025 containing a list of more than 400 palm oil company areas occupying in excess of 1.1 million hectares of the country’s Forest Area (Kawasan Hutan) without the required forest release.

Our analysis found more than 20 per cent of these areas operated by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified companies.

Under Indonesian law, companies must obtain forest release – formally reclassifying land out of the Forest Area – before development can take place, yet many palm oil companies’ operations remain inside the Forest Area.

This is not a new issue. The presence of palm oil operations inside the Forest Area has been known for years and is in part due to historical governance failures, including inconsistencies in spatial plans, that have not been addressed.