BPGMN Planned to Manage Peatlands and Mangroves, Tempo English Reports

The establishment of the National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency, known as the BPGMN, should be an important step toward preventing forest and land fires, Tempo English Magazine reported. Success for the new body depends on securing real legal authority and unyielding political commitment to avoid the operational shortcomings that hindered its predecessor.

Institutional Evolution from BRGM to BPGMN

The BPGMN replaces the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency, or BRGM, which operated from 2020 to 2024. The BRGM itself was a transformation of the earlier Peatland Restoration Agency that functioned between 2016 and 2020. By late 2024, the BRGM reported restoring 1.6 million hectares of peatlands and rehabilitating 84,000 hectares of mangroves, demonstrating that specialized bodies can achieve concrete environmental goals when given a dedicated mandate.

Overlapping Authorities Stalled Previous Restoration Efforts

Previous restoration efforts frequently stalled due to overlapping authorities across government ministries. The BRGM operated under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, leaving its operational budget vulnerable to shifting ministerial priorities and competing jurisdictional claims over peatlands inside forest zones. Similar conflicts emerged when mangrove rehabilitation efforts collided with the authority of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Data from the Ministry of Forestry shows that 74 percent of Indonesia’s 20.7 million hectares of peatlands lie within forest zones. Approximately 80 percent of the nation's 3.44 million hectares of mangroves occupy forest areas, with the remainder scattered across other-use zones managed by local authorities and the Maritime Affairs Ministry.

Ecosystem Management Versus Security Approaches

Experts emphasize that peatland fires are fundamentally driven by water loss rather than isolated flames. Effective prevention requires integrated water management, continuous land oversight, and comprehensive ecosystem restoration rather than a security-heavy response relying on military and police personnel. Ecological restoration demands specialists in hydrology, ecology, forestry, marine science, spatial planning, remote sensing, and social science. Security forces remain necessary only for emergency response and law enforcement.

Presidential Oversight Must Protect Agency from Political Pressure

Although the BPGMN is planned to operate directly under the President, structural placement alone does not insulate the agency from political pressures. The agency’s true test will arrive when it enforces land-use restrictions, penalizes violations, or requires other ministries to align conflicting policies. Without consistent political backing from the Prabowo Subianto administration, the agency risks losing its operational effectiveness and returning to a reactive posture of fighting fires after peatlands burn.

More on this story: Experts Urge Permanent Authority For Indonesia's New Restoration Agency