The Indonesian HuMa Association presented its views in a meeting with the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, on Monday, November 23, 2020. HuMa believes that in terms of natural resources and poverty alleviation management, the omnibus law and all regulations related to natural resources management during Jokowi’s era are not innovations, but rather instruments to preserve the direction of natural resources management and economic development that have been proven to be misdirected, even worsening their negative impacts.

Some main issues in natural resources and economic development management that have been perpetuated are: (1) inequality in control and benefits; (2) excessive privileges for a group of large entrepreneurs; and (3) the increasing ease of opening extractive business activities that lead to environmental destruction.

Since the beginning of reformation, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), academics, and all civil society have identified problems in environmental and natural resources management and their relation to economic development. The MPR of Indonesia has acknowledged that the main problem in natural resources management is excessive exploitation leading to environmental degradation and inequality in the ownership structure of natural resources in MPR Decree IX/2001.¹ The drafting of the Natural Resources Management Bill has also argued that the government’s policy orientation regarding natural resources management is misdirected, as natural resources are seen as commodities and their utilization is not balanced with caution in protecting the environment, thus giving excessive priority to investors.² UN documents in the World Summit 2005 state that sustainable development consists of three pillars: economic development, social development, and environmental preservation that are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

At the beginning of reformation, the MPR of Indonesia had also outlined that the main issues of national economic development were asset accumulation, economic power concentration among a group of people, and equality.³ Indonesia’s economic inequality is ranked the 6th worst in the world,⁴ where 1% of wealthy individuals in Indonesia own 50% of national assets.⁵ Therefore, from the beginning, the main problems in natural resources management and national economic development are the same, not contradictory, namely: inequality in control and benefits, as well as excessive privileges for a group of large entrepreneurs.

Two decades later, the aforementioned issues remain the main problems in natural resources management in Indonesia.⁶ Moreover, they have worsened during the two terms of President Joko Widodo with the enactment of the Job Creation Law, the Mining Law, and the ongoing drafting of various related implementing regulations.The policy direction in the natural resources sector and economic development is increasingly misdirected, because: First, the core problems known from the beginning in natural resources management are not addressed but exacerbated. The ease of opening and conducting extractive business activities has increased, leading to environmental damage/pollution and an increase in inequality in land ownership and natural resources.

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