Palm Oil in Indonesia and Natural Resources Management: Why the Lack of a Legal Framework

Abstract

The booming of palm oil plantations in Indonesia has brought social and environmental problems, and this should be dealt with by the law. Unfortunately, the 2014 Plantation Law has failed to realise the constitutional mandate of ensuring that natural resources be used to the greatest benefit of the people, and, in fact, creates more problems than it resolves. By investigating records of the legislative process in the DPR, Indonesia’s national legislature, this paper examines how the improper and rushed enactment of the 2014 Plantation Law has contributed to its failure.