Indonesia revokes permits of 28 forestry and mining firms over violations linked to Sumatra disasters

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has revoked the business permits of 28 companies operating in the forestry, mining, and plantation sectors across three provinces on the island of Sumatra, citing serious regulatory violations linked to recent floods and landslides.

The decision affects companies in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, and was taken following a limited cabinet meeting held virtually from London on Monday, 19 January 2026.

The meeting was attended by several senior ministers and the government’s Task Force for the Orderly Management of Forest Areas (Satgas PKH).

Speaking at a press conference at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Tuesday, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the revocations followed an investigation by the task force into alleged environmental and administrative violations.

“During the limited cabinet meeting, the Task Force reported to the President the results of its investigation into companies suspected of committing violations,” Prasetyo said.

“Based on that report, the President decided to revoke the permits of 28 companies proven to have committed violations.”

Scope of the revocations

According to the government, the revoked permits include Forest Utilisation Business Permits (Perizinan Berusaha Pemanfaatan Hutan, PBPH), mining business permits (Izin Usaha Pertambangan, IUP), plantation business permits, and licences for the utilisation of timber forest products (PBPHHK).

Of the 28 companies, 22 held forest utilisation permits covering natural and plantation forests, while six operated in the mining, plantation, or timber sectors outside forestry.

In total, the affected permits span more than one million hectares of forest land across the three provinces.

Prasetyo said the companies were found to have committed a range of serious violations.

These included operating outside the boundaries defined in their permits, conducting activities in prohibited zones such as protected forests, and failing to meet financial obligations to the state.

“Some companies carried out business activities outside the permitted areas granted by the government, including in protected forests,” he said.

“There are also violations in the form of obligations to the state that have not been met, such as unpaid taxes.”

Companies affected

In Aceh, three forestry companies lost their permits, covering a combined area of more than 110,000 hectares.

West Sumatra saw six forestry permit revocations totalling around 191,000 hectares, while North Sumatra accounted for the largest share, with 13 forestry companies affected across more than 700,000 hectares.

Among the non-forestry entities whose permits were revoked are plantation companies in Aceh and West Sumatra, a mining company in North Sumatra, and a hydropower developer whose activities fall under a mining-related permit regime.

The government has not yet announced whether criminal investigations or civil recovery measures, such as back taxes or environmental rehabilitation costs, will follow the administrative sanctions.

Link to disasters in Sumatra

The revocations come amid heightened scrutiny of land use practices following a series of deadly floods and landslides that have struck parts of Sumatra in recent weeks.

Prasetyo said the environmental disasters prompted the PKH Task Force to accelerate audits of forest-area business permits in the affected provinces.

“Following the occurrence of hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, the PKH Task Force expedited the audit process in these provinces,” he said.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), reported on Wednesday that the death toll from floods and landslides across Sumatra had risen to 1,200 after an additional fatality in Central Aceh Regency.

A further 143 people are still reported missing.

More than 113,000 residents remain displaced in evacuation shelters, while the government continues to distribute emergency assistance and accelerate the construction of temporary housing, as well as the repair of damaged roads and bridges.

BNPB data show that by 19 January nearly all available logistical aid—more than 1,750 tonnes—had been distributed using a combination of air, land, and sea transport, including military aircraft, trucks, and vessels.