Miscalculation in Environmental Law Enforcement

Indonesia has seen a significant number of environmental criminal cases adjudicated, with over 8,000 cases processed by courts between 2019 and 2025. These cases span areas such as environmental protection, forestry, mining, and fisheries, suggesting active prosecution of illegal activities like logging, unlicensed mining, and wildlife trade. However, a closer examination reveals a concerning decline in the quality of environmental law enforcement.

Research by the environmental NGO Auriga Nusantara found that the vast majority of these cases targeted only individual offenders, with corporate criminal cases accounting for less than 100 instances. The "multi-door approach," designed to dismantle entire criminal networks, is rarely employed. Furthermore, the average prison sentence is only about one year, often falling short of prosecutorial recommendations. This indicates a systemic failure to address the main perpetrators who control and profit most from these crimes.

Compounding these issues, law enforcement officials in regions like Aceh, North Kalimantan, North Maluku, and North Sulawesi acknowledge their limited capacity to handle increasingly complex environmental crimes. In some instances, involvement by police, military members, or prosecutors has been identified, pointing to conflicts of interest alongside technical obstacles. The focus has shifted from dismantling criminal organizations to merely increasing the number of operations, suspects, and cases referred to court, allowing masterminds and criminal proceeds to remain untouched.

Historically, Indonesia has demonstrated a different approach, with law enforcement successfully prosecuting masterminds of forestry crimes in the mid-2000s and utilizing the multi-door approach to trace criminal networks. The opportunity to revive such strategies exists, for example, by prosecuting illegal mining in forest areas under both mining and forestry laws, and tracing criminal proceeds through corporate channels.