Spatial planning in Indonesia aims to determine land use and guide development, including oil palm expansion. The national government plans to increase oil palm area by 50% by 2015. Spatial planning occurs at national, provincial, and district levels in a hierarchical system. It determines land classifications like protected areas and cultivation zones. High conservation value forests could be impacted if they fall within areas designated for development. The document recommends persuading local governments to minimize developing high conservation value lands, including these areas in environmental planning, and establishing local protections for high conservation value areas already designated for development. Government support is also needed to enable palm oil companies to conserve high conservation value areas within their concessions.

1. Spatial planning as a tool to guide
responsible palm oil production:
the case of Indonesia
Dolly Priatna
ZSL Indonesia Programme

2. Introduction
• The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture plans to expand the
area of oil palm cultivation to 9.3 million ha by 2015 (50%
increase over current) (World Bank (May 2010) Indonesia Oil Palm Synthesis – Discussion
Paper)
• This could have a big social and environmental impact
• This will depend largely on WHERE this expansion takes
place
• Spatial planning is a key process that determines this

3. Purpose of spatial planning
• Spatial planning in Indonesia determines both the spatial
structure and spatial pattern.
• Spatial structure: infrastructure & residential areas
• Spatial pattern: to determine land function (protected areas
vs cultivation areas). This is not necessarily based on land
cover.

4. How does spatial planning work?
• The approach is a hierarchically and complementary system, beginning at
the national level, filtering down to provincial level, and then finally to a
district/city level.
•National, provincial and district/city spatial plans must be done hierarchically and
complementarily
•National, provincial and district/city spatial plans complementary, synergize each
other, and no overlapping of authority in its implementation

5. National spatial planning
• National level plan (RTRWN) works on a long term strategic,
macro scale (1:1,000,000) plan with a with a time line of 25-50
years.

6. Provincial spatial planning
• Provincial level plan (RTRWP) works on a medium-term
strategic micro scale (1:250,000) over a period of 15 years.

7. District spatial planning
•District and City level pan (RTRWK) is a short term
operational micro plan with a time period of 5-10 years
(1:50,000/district and 1:25,000/city)

8. Spatial planning revision
• Spatial plans are not permanent
• They can be revised every 5 years at all levels
• Revision of spatial planning is usually done to adjust the
function of an area in accordance with its physical condition
• Reasons change land function:
– Social economy: increase regional income, food security
policy, community’s economic activity inside forest area
– Ecology: the area is not forested anymore (shrubs), idle
land
– Governance: splitting of districts and sub districts
(sometime capitals located in the forest area)

9. Presence of HCV in development areas
• During the process of spatial planning revision local
governments can request areas designated for forest
production to be released for other development purposes
(APL).
• This can include forested areas with HCV, but because
they are categorised as APL they can be allocated for oil
palm expansion.
• Concessions are allocated in 2 ways:
– Local government produces map of available
concessions (Peta Area Pencadangan)
– Investors request a specific location

10. How can we minimise loss of HCV?
1.) During the process of spatial planning revision try to
persuade local government to minimise requests to
release HCV areas that remain within Production forests
for APL
– Need convincing argument – ecological & economic

11. How can we minimise loss of HCV?
2.) What can we do if HCV areas already within APL?
– In Provincial level planning (RTRWP):
 An explanation of the HCV concept can be included
in the Direction of Space Utilisation Document
“Arahan Pemanfaatan Ruang”
– In District level planning (RTRWK):
 We can produce maps of HCV that remain within APL
at the district level & provide to all departments
involved in the spatial planning process & allocation
of oil palm concessions

12. Why is protecting HCV in APL challenging?
• Terminology and mindset – APL areas are for production,
not conservation
• Forest & APL governed by different regulations &
departments
• Most of departments involved in spatial planning don’t
understand the concept of HCV and do not know where
HCV areas remain

13. How can we minimise loss of HCV?
3.) Local regulation (PERDA) for short term protection
– Eg. The District Head (Bupati) of Kapuas Hulu district in West
Kalimantan has issued a decree to protect 2 lakes within APL areas
4.) HCV can be added as a requirement of Environmental
Impact Assessment (AMDAL), which must be done before
a company is able to obtain a Plantation Business Permit
(IUP).
5.) A group of people can propose an HCV area as a Village
Forest (Hutan desa), which has legal status

14. RSPO also needs government support to
conserve HCV areas within the landscape
• RSPO requires its members to conserve HCV areas within
their concessions
• But doesn’t have influence over the whole landscape
– Voluntary & not all concessions owned by RSPO
members
• Government support & understanding also needed to
enable RSPO members to conserve HCV within their own
concessions
– Eg. There have been cases of the local government
excising HCV areas from RSPO member concessions
and re-allocating them for development by other
companies