Threats to the sustainability of biodiversity in Indonesia by the utilization of forest areas for national strategic projects: A normative review

Strategic geographical conditions have made Indonesia becomes the country with the second highest level of biodiversity in the world and is in the ranks of 17 mega biodiversity countries. Forest ecosystems are home to a large number of these biodiversity species, and therefore, the existence of forests is the key to their sustainability. Although supported by the availability and potential of massive forest resources, Indonesia is not necessarily exempt from the threat of biodiversity degradation. Indonesia ranks first as the country with the highest number of endangered species in Southeast and South Asia. Habitat degradation and fragmentation are suspected to be the main factors causing the extinction of various species of biodiversity in Indonesia. For this reason, legal protection that ensures the viability of biodiversity species and their habitats is indispensable. Unfortunately, the direction of development policy in Indonesia seems to show a step backwards towards these protection efforts, one of which is through the legalization of forest areas utilization for several development activities designated as National Strategic Projects. This study aims to normatively analyze the impact of the legalization of forest areas utilization for National Strategic Projects. The main findings indicate several legal issues and various potential threats to the sustainability of biodiversity, especially in relation to forest governance.