Legal Momentum Toward a Sustainable Ecoregion
The implementation of the Environmental Protection and Management Plan (RPPLH) has become a crucial legal mandate for every local government in Indonesia. The RPPLH is not merely a technical planning document, but a strategic legal instrument that bridges economic development with the environment’s carrying capacity and resilience.
This RPPLH document serves as a long-term roadmap (typically spanning 30 years) for the region to ensure that environmental protection and management are carried out in a systematic, integrated, and sustainable manner.
Legally, the existence of the RPPLH is mandated by Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management (PPLH Law). Article 10 of the Environmental Protection and Management Act explicitly requires the central government and local governments to formulate an RPPLH. This document serves as a roadmap that outlines environmental potentials, environmental issues, and efforts for their protection and management over a thirty-year period, to be evaluated every five years.
The RPPLH as a Mandate and Legal Instrument
Within the development planning hierarchy, the RPPLH plays a strategic role as the basis for the formulation of Regional Spatial Plans (RTRW) and Regional Long-Term/Medium-Term Development Plans (RPJPD/RPJMD). This integration is reinforced by Government Regulation No. 26 of 2025 (which governs the implementation and interrelationships of environmental planning), in which the RPPLH serves as a key reference in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS) process. This integration ensures that every development policy, plan, and/or program (KRP) established at the regional level takes into account the environment’s carrying capacity and resilience, thereby minimizing the risk of environmental damage.
The Role of Local Governments in the RPPLH
The role of local governments (provincial, regency, and municipal) in implementing Environmental Protection and Management (PPLH) through the RPPLH is central and encompasses three main functions: Planning and Organization, Policy Integration, and Oversight and Law Enforcement.
- Planning and Organization (Document Drafters and Owners)
In accordance with Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, the primary role of local governments is to serve as the entities responsible for formulating, implementing, and evaluating the RPPLH in their respective jurisdictions.
- Formulation of the RPPLH: Local governments are responsible for identifying environmental conditions, natural resource potential, vulnerability to disasters, as well as existing environmental issues and challenges in their regions. This document must be prepared through a participatory process involving the community, academics, and the business sector.
- Setting Priorities: The RPPLH outlines environmental management programs and activities that must be prioritized. Local governments are responsible for determining these priorities, including budget allocations, the technologies to be used, and the establishment of performance indicators for a 30-year period.
- Policy Integration (Foundation for Sustainable Development)
The RPPLH serves as a cross-sectoral legal and planning instrument. The role of local governments here is to ensure that the RPPLH serves as the legal foundation that binds all regional development plans.
- Integration with Spatial Planning: Local governments are required to use the RPPLH as the primary reference in the preparation and review of Regional Spatial Plans (RTRW). This ensures that land use is in harmony with the environment’s carrying capacity and sustainability.
- Monitoring and Law Enforcement (Environmental Compliance)
Local governments, through relevant local agencies, have full authority to monitor and regulate activities that do not comply with the plans established in the RPPLH.
Harmonization of the RPPLH as an Environmental Safeguard
The harmonization of the RPPLH is a crucial process for ensuring that environmental protection is a primary consideration—not merely an afterthought—at every stage of regional development. The RPPLH serves as a cross-sectoral legal and planning instrument. The role of the local government (Pemda) is to ensure that the RPPLH becomes the legal foundation that binds all regional development plans.
The process of formulating and harmonizing the Draft Regional Regulation (Raperda) on the RPPLH is of utmost importance. The content of the RPPLH must inform the drafting of the Regional Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPD) and the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD), making it an integral part of economic development. Thus, the content and structure of the RPPLH must not merely replicate 70–80% of Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management.
The document must reflect the true meaning of the word “Plan” by developing an Environmental Management Plan that begins with:
- Identification of environmental problems/issues in the region
- Development of scenarios for resolution and mitigation
- Formulation of policies, strategies, and programs
This integration ensures that every development policy, plan, and/or program (KRP) established at the regional level takes into account the environment’s carrying capacity and resilience, thereby minimizing the risk of environmental damage.
The harmonization process must ensure that the Provincial Environmental Management Plan (RPPLH) is aligned—both vertically and horizontally—with other laws and regulations. The Provincial RPPLH refers to the National RPPLH (as set forth in Annex III of Government Regulation No. 26 of 2025). Provincial RPPLHs are granted flexibility to formulate policies, strategies, and programs tailored to regional needs, taking into account the specific characteristics of each island or archipelago ecoregion (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, Maluku).
This is in line with Law No. 23 of 2014 on Regional Government—in Appendix 1, letter K, line 1, it states “Development of Government Affairs in the Field of the Environment,” where the sub-field of Environmental Planning requires the Central Government to formulate the National Environmental Management Plan (RPPLH), provincial governments to formulate Provincial Environmental Protection and Management Plans (RPPLH), and regency/city governments to formulate Regency/City Environmental Protection and Management Plans (RPPLH) (currently in accordance with Article 26, paragraph (1) in conjunction with paragraph (2) of Government Regulation No. 26 of 2025 on Environmental Protection and Management Planning).
