Who Holds the Power? Indonesia's Three-Tier Environmental Governance System

Indonesia's environmental governance system distributes authority across three distinct government tiers, creating a complex institutional framework that determines which level of government oversees environmental approvals, enforcement, and compliance monitoring for any given business activity. Understanding this authority distribution is not merely an academic exercise—it directly affects which government office reviews your environmental impact assessment, which officials supervise your facility's compliance, and which administrative court has jurisdiction over environmental disputes involving your operations. This article systematically analyzes the institutional framework established by UU 32/2009 Article 63 (as amended by Perpu 2/2022) and implemented through PP 22/2021, examining how environmental authority flows from the President through ministerial coordination down to provincial governors and regency/city heads, and how this hierarchical structure affects environmental compliance strategies for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.

1.0 The Constitutional Foundation: Presidential Authority and Ministerial Coordination

Article 63 of UU 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management establishes the foundational principle that environmental governance authority originates with the Central Government and flows downward through a hierarchical system of delegation and supervision. The Indonesian text states: "Dalam Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup, Pemerintah Pusat bertugas dan berwenang" (In Environmental Protection and Management, the Central Government has the duty and authority), followed by twenty-seven enumerated functions ranging from national policy establishment to law enforcement. The term "Pemerintah Pusat" (Central Government) is precisely defined in PP 22/2021 Article 1(100) as "Presiden Republik Indonesia yang memegang kekuasaan pemerintahan Negara Republik Indonesia yang dibantu oleh Wakil Presiden dan menteri" (the President of the Republic of Indonesia who holds the governmental power of the State of the Republic of Indonesia assisted by the Vice President and ministers). This constitutional grounding establishes that environmental authority is executive authority exercised by the President, not legislative authority vested in the DPR (national parliament), nor regional authority inherent to autonomous local governments under decentralization principles.

The hierarchical nature of this system becomes explicit in Article 64, which states: "Tugas dan wewenang Pemerintah sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 63 ayat (1) dilaksanakan dan/atau dikoordinasikan oleh Menteri" (The duties and authorities of the Government as referred to in Article 63 paragraph (1) are implemented and/or coordinated by the Minister). The "Menteri" referenced here is defined in PP 22/2021 Article 1(103) as "menteri yang menyelenggarakan urusan pemerintahan di bidang Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup" (the minister who administers governmental affairs in the field of Environmental Protection and Management), currently the Minister of Environment and Forestry (Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan). This ministerial coordination function is critical because it establishes a single point of policy coherence across what would otherwise be a fragmented environmental regulatory landscape administered by multiple sector ministries. For example, mining environmental approvals involve both the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (for environmental assessment) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (for sectoral technical standards), but the Minister of Environment coordinates overall environmental policy to ensure consistency.

This coordination authority extends to inter-governmental relations. Article 63(1)(o) assigns the Central Government responsibility to "melakukan pembinaan dan pengawasan terhadap pelaksanaan kebijakan tingkat nasional dan kebijakan tingkat provinsi" (conduct guidance and supervision of national-level and provincial-level policy implementation), establishing a supervisory relationship where central government monitors provincial performance. Similarly, Article 63(1)(p) assigns central government authority to "melakukan pembinaan dan pengawasan ketaatan penanggung jawab usaha dan/atau kegiatan terhadap ketentuan Persetujuan Lingkungan dan peraturan perundang-undangan" (conduct guidance and supervision of compliance by business activity managers with Environmental Approval provisions and legislation). The dual use of "pembinaan" (guidance) and "pengawasan" (supervision) is significant: guidance implies technical assistance and capacity building, while supervision implies compliance monitoring and potential enforcement action. This dual function acknowledges that regional governments may lack technical capacity and require central support, not merely central oversight.

The constitutional foundation also addresses the relationship between government institutions and private business entities. PP 22/2021 Article 1(95) defines "Penanggung Jawab Usaha dan/atau Kegiatan" (Business and/or Activity Manager) as "Pelaku Usaha atau Instansi Pemerintah yang bertanggung jawab atas suatu Usaha dan/atau Kegiatan yang dijalankan" (a Business Entity or Government Institution responsible for a Business and/or Activity being conducted). This definition is critical because it subjects government institutions to the same environmental approval requirements as private businesses. A government-owned enterprise developing a power plant faces the same Amdal requirements as a private developer, and provincial public works departments constructing roads require environmental approval from the regency government where the project is located, creating potential intra-governmental regulatory relationships that can generate bureaucratic friction.

The institutional framework recognizes that environmental authority is exercised not only through policy-making and licensing but also through supervision and enforcement. PP 22/2021 Article 1(97) establishes "Pejabat Fungsional Pengawas Lingkungan Hidup" (Functional Environmental Supervisor Officials), defined as "pegawai negeri sipil yang diberi tugas, tanggung jawab, wewenang, dan hak secara penuh oleh pejabat yang berwenang untuk melakukan Pengawasan dan/atau penegakan hukum Lingkungan Hidup" (civil servants who are given full duties, responsibilities, authorities, and rights by authorized officials to conduct Supervision and/or environmental law enforcement). These functional officials exist at all three government levels, creating a nationwide network of environmental supervisors with legal authority to inspect facilities, review compliance documentation, and initiate enforcement actions. Understanding which level of government's supervisors have jurisdiction over your facility determines which officials can conduct surprise inspections and issue administrative sanctions.

2.0 Central Government Authority: Twenty-Seven Functions Spanning Policy to Enforcement

The Central Government's environmental authority encompasses twenty-seven distinct functions enumerated in Article 63(1), creating a comprehensive framework that extends from high-level policy formulation to operational enforcement. The first two functions establish the Central Government's role as the sole authority for national environmental policy and the establishment of binding norms and standards. Article 63(1)(a) assigns authority to "menetapkan kebijakan nasional" (establish national policies), while Article 63(1)(b) assigns authority to "menetapkan norma, standar, prosedur, dan kriteria" (establish norms, standards, procedures, and criteria). The term "menetapkan" (establish/determine) carries legal weight—it means the Central Government does not merely recommend or suggest these policies and standards; it establishes them as binding legal requirements that provincial and regency/city governments must implement. The phrase "norma, standar, prosedur, dan kriteria" represents the four pillars of environmental regulatory authority: norms define overarching principles, standards set measurable limits (such as emission standards or water quality standards), procedures establish required processes (such as Amdal review procedures), and criteria define decision-making frameworks (such as criteria for determining whether an activity requires Amdal or UKL-UPL).

Strategic planning authority flows from this policy-setting function. Article 63(1)(c) assigns the Central Government authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai RPPLH nasional" (establish and implement policies regarding national RPPLH). RPPLH stands for "Rencana Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup" (Environmental Protection and Management Plan), a strategic planning instrument that establishes environmental objectives, programs, and funding priorities for defined geographic areas and time periods. The national RPPLH sets targets that cascade down to provincial and regency/city RPPLHs, creating vertical policy integration. Similarly, Article 63(1)(d) assigns authority over "KLHS" (Kajian Lingkungan Hidup Strategis, or Strategic Environmental Assessment), the upstream planning tool that evaluates environmental impacts of policies, plans, and programs before they are finalized. The Central Government's exclusive authority to establish KLHS policy means provincial and regency governments implement KLHS for their jurisdictional plans, but they do so according to methodologies, criteria, and procedures established centrally.

The Central Government's authority over Amdal and UKL-UPL represents a critical distinction in the authority distribution framework. Article 63(1)(e) assigns the Central Government authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai Amdal dan UKL-UPL" (establish and implement policies regarding Amdal and UKL-UPL). In contrast, provincial and regency/city governments have authority only to "melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai Amdal dan UKL-UPL" (implement policies regarding Amdal and UKL-UPL), as specified in Articles 63(2)(d) and 63(3)(d) respectively. This linguistic difference—"menetapkan dan melaksanakan" (establish and implement) versus merely "melaksanakan" (implement)—is not accidental; it establishes that only the Central Government can determine what types of activities require Amdal versus UKL-UPL, what methodologies must be used for impact assessment, what composition and qualifications the assessment team must have, and what criteria determine whether an Amdal document receives approval. Provincial and regency governments review Amdal documents for projects within their jurisdiction, but they apply evaluation criteria established by the Central Government, creating uniformity in environmental assessment standards nationwide despite decentralized implementation.

The Central Government's inventory and data management functions establish an information infrastructure for evidence-based environmental governance. Article 63(1)(f) assigns authority to "menyelenggarakan inventarisasi Sumber Daya Alam nasional dan emisi gas rumah kaca" (conduct inventory of national Natural Resources and greenhouse gas emissions), while Article 63(1)(w) assigns authority to "mengelola informasi Lingkungan Hidup nasional" (manage national Environmental Information). These functions support Indonesia's international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, which require national greenhouse gas inventories and periodic reporting, and they provide the empirical foundation for evidence-based environmental policy. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry maintains the Sistem Informasi Lingkungan Hidup (Environmental Information System) that consolidates environmental monitoring data, compliance records, and natural resource statistics from across the archipelago, creating a centralized database that informs national environmental policy and enables performance benchmarking across regions.

Transboundary and marine environmental issues fall exclusively under Central Government jurisdiction due to their inherently national and international character. Article 63(1)(m) assigns authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai perlindungan lingkungan laut" (establish and implement policies regarding marine environmental protection), while Article 63(1)(n) assigns authority over "Pencemaran Lingkungan Hidup dan/atau Kerusakan Lingkungan Hidup lintas batas negara" (transboundary Environmental Pollution and/or Environmental Damage). Marine environment jurisdiction aligns with Indonesia's maritime sovereignty claims under UNCLOS, encompassing territorial seas (12 nautical miles), exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles), and continental shelf areas. A coastal factory discharging wastewater into the ocean falls under Central Government jurisdiction even if the outfall pipe is within one regency's territorial waters, because marine pollution can affect Indonesia's broader maritime zones and international obligations. Transboundary pollution—such as forest fire smoke affecting Malaysia and Singapore, or industrial discharge into rivers flowing across provincial boundaries—requires central coordination because provincial governments cannot negotiate with foreign governments or coordinate multi-provincial responses.

Hazardous waste management authority is centralized due to the technical complexity and public safety risks involved. Article 63(1)(l) assigns the Central Government authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai B3, Limbah, serta Limbah B3" (establish and implement policies regarding B3 (Hazardous and Toxic Materials), Waste, and B3 Waste). The abbreviation "B3" stands for "Bahan Berbahaya dan Beracun" (Hazardous and Toxic Materials), defined in PP 22/2021 Article 1(67) as "zat, energi, dan/atau komponen lain yang karena sifat, konsentrasi, dan/atau jumlahnya, baik secara langsung maupun tidak langsung, dapat mencemarkan dan/atau merusak Lingkungan Hidup, dan/atau membahayakan Lingkungan Hidup, kesehatan, serta kelangsungan hidup manusia dan makhluk hidup lain" (substances, energy, and/or other components that due to their nature, concentration, and/or quantity, either directly or indirectly, can pollute and/or damage the Environment, and/or endanger the Environment, health, and the survival of humans and other living things). The management of Limbah B3 (B3 Waste)—including storage, transportation, treatment, and final disposal—requires specialized technical capacity, licensed facilities, and strict regulatory oversight that exceeds most provincial and regency government capabilities, justifying centralized authority.

The Central Government's licensing authority extends to specific categories of high-impact or strategically significant activities. Article 63(1)(y) assigns authority to "menerbitkan Perizinan Berusaha atau persetujuan Pemerintah Pusat" (issue Business Licenses or Central Government approvals). The phrase "Perizinan Berusaha" (Business Licensing) refers to the integrated licensing system established under the OSS (Online Single Submission) framework implementing Law 11/2020 on Job Creation, which consolidated multiple sectoral permits into streamlined risk-based business licenses. Environmental approvals—Amdal, UKL-UPL, or SPPL—are now integrated into the Perizinan Berusaha, meaning the environmental approval is issued as part of the business license rather than as a separate standalone permit. The Central Government issues Perizinan Berusaha for activities meeting central jurisdiction criteria, which typically include cross-provincial operations, strategic national projects, foreign investment above certain thresholds, and activities in sectors reserved for central authority such as oil and gas production, large-scale mining, and transboundary infrastructure.

Climate change and ozone layer protection fall under exclusive Central Government authority due to their global nature and Indonesia's international treaty obligations. Article 63(1)(k) assigns authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai pengendalian dampak Perubahan Iklim dan perlindungan lapisan ozon" (establish and implement policies regarding control of Climate Change impacts and ozone layer protection). Indonesia is party to the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances, both of which require national-level policy implementation, international reporting, and coordination with global monitoring systems. Provincial or regency governments cannot enter into international environmental treaties or submit national climate commitments to the UNFCCC, necessitating central coordination of climate and ozone policy even though implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures occurs at all government levels.

Coordination and dispute resolution authority enables the Central Government to mediate inter-governmental conflicts and facilitate collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries. Article 63(1)(r) assigns authority to "mengoordinasikan dan memfasilitasi kerja sama dan penyelesaian perselisihan antardaerah serta penyelesaian Sengketa Lingkungan Hidup" (coordinate and facilitate cooperation and inter-regional dispute resolution as well as Environmental Dispute settlement). Inter-regional disputes arise when pollution from Province A affects Province B, when a project straddles provincial boundaries with different regulatory approaches, or when regional governments compete to attract investment by offering lax environmental oversight. The Central Government's mediation role prevents a race to the bottom in environmental standards and ensures disputes are resolved through administrative channels rather than escalating to protracted litigation.

Enforcement authority completes the Central Government's functional toolkit. Article 63(1)(aa) assigns authority to "melakukan penegakan hukum Lingkungan Hidup" (conduct environmental law enforcement). This encompasses administrative enforcement (sanctions for non-compliance with environmental requirements), civil enforcement (lawsuits for environmental damage compensation), and coordination with criminal enforcement (working with prosecutors on environmental crime cases). The Central Government's environmental law enforcement typically focuses on large-scale cases, strategic sectors, and situations where provincial or regency enforcement has proven inadequate. The environmental supervisor officials discussed earlier—Pejabat Pengawas Lingkungan Hidup—serve as the operational arm of this enforcement authority, conducting field inspections and initiating administrative sanction procedures.

3.0 Provincial Government Authority: The Middle Tier Balancing Autonomy and Subordination

Provincial government environmental authority operates within a framework of constrained autonomy, where provinces exercise substantial implementation discretion but remain bound by norms, standards, procedures, and criteria established by the Central Government. The opening clause of Article 63(2) establishes this subordinate relationship explicitly: "Dalam Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup, Pemerintah Daerah provinsi sesuai dengan norma, standar, prosedur, dan kriteria yang ditetapkan oleh Pemerintah Pusat bertugas dan berwenang" (In Environmental Protection and Management, Provincial Regional Government in accordance with norms, standards, procedures, and criteria established by the Central Government has the duty and authority to). The phrase "sesuai dengan" (in accordance with) is not mere formality—it establishes that provincial environmental policies and programs must conform to central standards, preventing provinces from establishing environmental requirements more lenient than national standards or adopting fundamentally different regulatory approaches that would fragment Indonesia's environmental regulatory landscape into thirty-eight separate provincial systems.

Provincial policy authority focuses on translating national environmental policies into province-specific implementation frameworks adapted to local ecological, economic, and social conditions. Article 63(2)(a) assigns provinces authority to "menetapkan kebijakan tingkat provinsi" (establish provincial-level policies). These provincial policies address issues such as prioritization of environmental sectors for investment in provincial environmental programs, allocation of provincial environmental budgets across regencies and cities, and development of province-specific environmental instruments that supplement national requirements. For example, a coastal province might establish additional marine plastic waste reduction programs beyond national requirements, or a heavily industrialized province might implement enhanced air quality monitoring networks exceeding minimum national standards. The critical distinction is that provincial policies can exceed national standards (creating higher environmental protection) but cannot fall below national standards (creating regulatory gaps).

Strategic environmental planning at the provincial level occurs through KLHS and RPPLH instruments. Article 63(2)(b) assigns provinces authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan KLHS tingkat provinsi" (establish and implement provincial-level KLHS), while Article 63(2)(c) assigns authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai RPPLH provinsi" (establish and implement policies regarding provincial RPPLH). Provincial KLHS evaluates the environmental implications of provincial spatial plans, medium-term development plans, and sectoral policies before they are finalized, ensuring environmental considerations are integrated into upstream policy decisions rather than addressed as afterthoughts during project-level permitting. The provincial RPPLH translates national environmental objectives into provincial programs with specific targets, budgets, and timelines. For instance, if the national RPPLH sets a target of 30% reduction in industrial air pollution by 2030, the provincial RPPLH would specify how the province's industrial sectors will achieve this target, which districts will receive priority assistance, and what provincial budget allocations support implementation.

The provincial government's role in Amdal and UKL-UPL implementation represents a critical operational function despite the absence of policy-setting authority. Article 63(2)(d) assigns provinces authority to "melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai Amdal dan UKL-UPL" (implement policies regarding Amdal and UKL-UPL), using only the verb "melaksanakan" (implement) without the phrase "menetapkan dan melaksanakan" (establish and implement) that appears in the Central Government's authority. This means provinces review and approve Amdal documents for projects within their jurisdiction, but they apply evaluation criteria, methodologies, and procedural requirements established by the Central Government. Provincial environmental agencies convene the Technical Assessment Commissions (Komisi Penilai Amdal) that evaluate Amdal documents, but the composition, qualifications, and decision-making procedures for these commissions are centrally prescribed. A province cannot, for example, decide that forestry projects no longer require Amdal in its jurisdiction, nor can it establish province-specific Amdal methodologies that deviate from national standards.

Cross-regency coordination represents a distinctly provincial function that neither the Central Government nor regency/city governments can effectively perform. Article 63(2)(g) assigns provinces authority to "mengoordinasikan dan melaksanakan pengendalian Pencemaran Lingkungan Hidup dan/atau Kerusakan Lingkungan Hidup lintas kabupaten/kota" (coordinate and implement control of cross-regency/city Environmental Pollution and/or Environmental Damage). This addresses situations where pollution from Regency A affects Regency B within the same province—such as a river flowing through multiple regencies, air pollution from industrial zones affecting downwind regencies, or groundwater contamination crossing regency boundaries. The provincial government's coordination authority enables it to impose consistent pollution control requirements across affected regencies, allocate pollution reduction responsibilities among multiple regencies, and mediate disputes between regencies over environmental impacts. Without this provincial coordination function, regency governments might engage in regulatory competition, each attempting to attract industrial investment by offering laxer environmental standards than neighboring regencies.

Supervision of regency and city governments establishes the province's role in ensuring implementation consistency and compliance within its territory. Article 63(2)(h) assigns provinces authority to "melakukan pembinaan dan pengawasan terhadap pelaksanaan kebijakan tingkat kabupaten/kota" (conduct guidance and supervision of regency/city-level policy implementation). This supervision mirrors the Central Government's supervision of provincial governments, creating a three-tier supervisory cascade: Central Government supervises provinces, provinces supervise regencies/cities, and all levels supervise business compliance within their respective jurisdictions. Provincial supervision of regencies includes reviewing regency environmental programs for consistency with provincial and national policies, monitoring regency environmental budget execution, evaluating the performance of regency environmental agencies, and providing technical assistance to build regency capacity in specialized areas such as hazardous waste management or air quality monitoring.

Provincial enforcement and licensing authority parallels central authority but operates within provincial jurisdiction. Article 63(2)(q) assigns provinces authority to "menerbitkan Perizinan Berusaha atau persetujuan Pemerintah Daerah pada tingkat provinsi" (issue Business Licenses or Regional Government approvals at provincial level), while Article 63(2)(r) assigns authority to "melakukan penegakan hukum Lingkungan Hidup pada tingkat provinsi" (conduct environmental law enforcement at provincial level). Provincial Perizinan Berusaha covers business activities that operate entirely within one province but affect multiple regencies, or that fall within sectors assigned to provincial authority under Indonesia's decentralization framework. Provincial environmental law enforcement targets violations of environmental requirements in provincial licenses, addressing non-compliance through administrative sanctions such as written warnings, operational restrictions, permit suspension, or permit revocation. Provincial environmental supervisor officials (Pejabat Pengawas Lingkungan Hidup at provincial level) conduct inspections of facilities holding provincial licenses and initiate enforcement actions when violations are detected.

The provincial government's coordination and facilitation role in inter-regency relations extends beyond pollution control to include broader environmental cooperation and dispute resolution. Article 63(2)(k) assigns provinces authority to "mengoordinasikan dan memfasilitasi kerja sama dan penyelesaian perselisihan antarkabupaten/antarkota serta penyelesaian Sengketa Lingkungan Hidup" (coordinate and facilitate cooperation and inter-regency/city dispute resolution as well as Environmental Dispute settlement). This encompasses facilitating joint environmental programs between regencies (such as shared waste treatment facilities or watershed management initiatives), mediating disputes over environmental impacts crossing regency boundaries, and supporting alternative dispute resolution for environmental conflicts involving parties in different regencies. Provincial mediation can often resolve inter-regency environmental disputes more efficiently than formal litigation, preserving inter-governmental relationships while achieving environmental protection objectives.

Provincial information management and technology development functions support evidence-based environmental decision-making at the provincial and regency levels. Article 63(2)(o) assigns provinces authority to "mengelola informasi Lingkungan Hidup tingkat provinsi" (manage provincial-level Environmental Information), while Article 63(2)(p) assigns authority to "mengembangkan dan menyosialisasikan pemanfaatan teknologi ramah Lingkungan Hidup" (develop and socialize utilization of environmentally friendly technology). Provincial environmental information systems consolidate monitoring data, compliance records, and environmental quality reports from across the province, feeding data to the national environmental information system while providing province-specific information to support provincial policy and program development. Technology development and socialization involves identifying appropriate environmental technologies for provincial conditions, demonstrating technologies through pilot projects, and providing training and technical assistance to regencies and businesses in technology adoption.

4.0 Regency and City Government Authority: Frontline Implementation and Local Enforcement

Regency and city governments serve as the frontline implementers of Indonesia's environmental governance system, directly interfacing with businesses, communities, and local environmental conditions while operating within the normative framework established by central and provincial governments. Article 63(3) establishes regency/city environmental authority using language nearly identical to the provincial authority provisions: "Dalam Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup, Pemerintah Daerah kabupaten/kota sesuai dengan norma, standar, prosedur, dan kriteria yang ditetapkan oleh Pemerintah Pusat bertugas dan berwenang" (In Environmental Protection and Management, Regency/City Regional Government in accordance with norms, standards, procedures, and criteria established by the Central Government has the duty and authority to). The phrase "sesuai dengan norma, standar, prosedur, dan kriteria yang ditetapkan oleh Pemerintah Pusat" (in accordance with norms, standards, procedures, and criteria established by the Central Government) appears in both provincial and regency/city authority clauses, establishing that both levels of regional government are equally subordinate to central norms despite the provincial government's supervisory role over regencies.

Local policy authority enables regencies and cities to address location-specific environmental challenges and opportunities within the national framework. Article 63(3)(a) assigns regency/city governments authority to "menetapkan kebijakan tingkat kabupaten/kota" (establish regency/city-level policies). These local policies translate provincial environmental strategies into operational programs adapted to local conditions, such as establishing district-specific waste management systems, designating local environmental conservation areas, or implementing targeted pollution control programs for local industrial clusters. The local government's intimate knowledge of local environmental conditions, business operations, and community concerns positions it to design environmental programs responsive to local needs while maintaining consistency with provincial and national environmental priorities.

Strategic planning at the local level occurs through the same KLHS and RPPLH instruments used at central and provincial levels, creating vertical policy integration. Article 63(3)(b) assigns regency/city governments authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan KLHS tingkat kabupaten/kota" (establish and implement regency/city-level KLHS), while Article 63(3)(c) assigns authority to "menetapkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai RPPLH tingkat kabupaten/kota" (establish and implement policies regarding regency/city-level RPPLH). The regency/city KLHS evaluates environmental implications of local spatial plans, local medium-term development plans, and local sectoral policies, ensuring that environmental considerations inform decisions about industrial zone locations, residential development patterns, and infrastructure investments. The regency/city RPPLH establishes specific local environmental quality targets, programs, and budgets that contribute to achieving provincial and national environmental objectives while addressing priority local environmental issues.

The regency/city government's implementation authority for Amdal and UKL-UPL mirrors the provincial role, establishing local governments as the primary interface for most businesses seeking environmental approvals. Article 63(3)(d) assigns regency/city governments authority to "melaksanakan kebijakan mengenai Amdal dan UKL-UPL" (implement policies regarding Amdal and UKL-UPL), again using only "melaksanakan" (implement) without policy-setting authority. Most business activities—particularly small and medium enterprises operating within a single regency—obtain environmental approvals from the regency or city government where they are located. The regency/city environmental agency reviews the Amdal or UKL-UPL documents, convenes the assessment commission if required, and issues the environmental approval that becomes a prerequisite for the business license. This local implementation means businesses interact primarily with regency/city officials for environmental permitting, even though the approval criteria and procedures are established centrally.

Licensing and enforcement authority at the local level represents the most direct government-business interface in Indonesia's environmental governance system. Article 63(3)(n) assigns regency/city governments authority to "menerbitkan Perizinan Berusaha atau persetujuan Pemerintah Daerah pada tingkat kabupaten/kota" (issue Business Licenses or Regional Government approvals at regency/city level), while Article 63(3)(o) assigns authority to "melakukan penegakan hukum Lingkungan Hidup pada tingkat kabupaten/kota" (conduct environmental law enforcement at regency/city level). The vast majority of businesses operating in Indonesia fall under regency/city licensing jurisdiction because they operate within a single regency/city, do not exceed thresholds triggering provincial or central jurisdiction, and engage in activities not reserved to higher government levels. Regency/city environmental supervisor officials conduct routine facility inspections, review compliance reports, investigate environmental complaints from communities, and initiate administrative enforcement actions when violations are detected.

The regency/city government's supervision and enforcement capacity varies dramatically across Indonesia's 514 regencies and cities, creating implementation inconsistencies despite uniform national standards. Wealthy urban governments such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung maintain sophisticated environmental agencies with hundreds of technical staff, advanced monitoring equipment, and specialized enforcement units. In contrast, remote rural regencies often have environmental agencies with fewer than twenty staff, limited technical capacity, minimal monitoring equipment, and inadequate budgets for enforcement operations. This capacity disparity creates de facto variations in environmental governance quality despite de jure uniform standards, with businesses in well-resourced jurisdictions facing more stringent oversight than businesses in under-resourced jurisdictions. The Central Government's capacity-building programs and the provincial government's technical assistance functions attempt to address these disparities, but significant variations persist.

Local information management supports evidence-based decision-making and public transparency at the community level. Article 63(3)(l) assigns regency/city governments authority to "mengelola informasi Lingkungan Hidup tingkat kabupaten/kota" (manage regency/city-level Environmental Information), while Article 63(3)(m) assigns authority to "mengembangkan dan melaksanakan kebijakan sistem informasi Lingkungan Hidup tingkat kabupaten/kota" (develop and implement policies regarding regency/city-level environmental information systems). Local environmental information systems document local environmental quality monitoring data, facility compliance records, environmental complaint investigations, and enforcement actions. This information feeds into provincial and national environmental databases while providing local communities access to information about environmental conditions and business environmental performance in their area, supporting community participation in environmental oversight and decision-making.

The regency/city government's facilitation of environmental dispute settlement provides accessible conflict resolution mechanisms for local environmental disputes. Article 63(3)(h) assigns regency/city governments authority to "memfasilitasi penyelesaian Sengketa Lingkungan Hidup" (facilitate Environmental Dispute settlement). Most environmental disputes begin at the local level—neighborhood complaints about factory odors, community concerns about water contamination from agricultural operations, or conflicts between businesses and nearby residents over environmental impacts. The regency/city government's mediation can often resolve these disputes through dialogue and negotiation, avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation while achieving practical environmental improvements. When local mediation fails, disputes may escalate to provincial mediation or formal litigation in environmental courts.

Education, training, and capacity-building functions position regency/city governments as environmental awareness promoters within their communities. Article 63(3)(n) assigns regency/city governments responsibility to "memberikan pendidikan, pelatihan, pembinaan, dan penghargaan" (provide education, training, guidance, and awards). This encompasses environmental education programs in local schools, training for local business operators on environmental compliance requirements, technical assistance to help businesses adopt cleaner production methods, and recognition programs highlighting businesses and individuals with exemplary environmental performance. These capacity-building functions are particularly important in regions with many small and medium enterprises that lack in-house environmental expertise and depend on government assistance to understand and meet environmental requirements.

5.0 Coordination Challenges and Jurisdictional Gaps in the Three-Tier System

The three-tier environmental governance system creates inherent coordination challenges arising from overlapping jurisdictions, ambiguous authority boundaries, and implementation variations across Indonesia's diverse regions. The fundamental challenge is determining which level of government has jurisdiction over specific business activities when multiple levels could plausibly claim authority. A manufacturing facility in Regency A that discharges wastewater into a river flowing into Regency B within Province X presents a coordination question: Does Regency A have jurisdiction because the facility is located there? Does Regency B have jurisdiction because it suffers the environmental impact? Does Province X have jurisdiction because the pollution crosses regency boundaries? The legal framework establishes that Province X coordinates cross-regency pollution control, but the specific division of responsibilities between the province and the affected regencies is not explicitly prescribed, creating room for bureaucratic friction or regulatory gaps.

The subordination of regional governments to central norms and standards creates tension with Indonesia's constitutional commitment to regional autonomy under the principle of "otonomi seluas-luasnya" (the widest possible autonomy). PP 22/2021 Article 1(101) defines Regional Government Administration as "penyelenggaraan urusan pemerintahan oleh Pemerintah Daerah dan dewan perwakilan rakyat daerah menurut asas otonomi dan tugas pembantuan dengan prinsip otonomi seluas-luasnya dalam sistem dan prinsip Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" (the administration of governmental affairs by the Regional Government and regional people's representative council according to the principles of autonomy and assistance tasks with the principle of the widest possible autonomy within the system and principles of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia). The phrase "otonomi seluas-luasnya" suggests regional governments should have maximum discretion in governing their territories, but environmental law constrains this autonomy by requiring regions to conform to centrally established norms and standards. Regional governments cannot adopt environmental standards more lenient than national standards even if regional stakeholders prefer a different balance between environmental protection and economic development.

The ambiguity in determining which government level issues environmental approvals for specific activities creates uncertainty for businesses planning investments. While the legal framework establishes general principles—Central Government for transboundary and strategic national activities, provincial government for cross-regency activities, regency/city government for local activities—the application of these principles to specific fact patterns often remains unclear. A hotel development in a coastal tourism zone might fall under regency jurisdiction because it is a single-site facility, or it might fall under provincial jurisdiction because it affects marine ecosystems that extend beyond regency boundaries, or it might fall under central jurisdiction if the coastal zone is designated a national strategic area. The OSS system attempts to clarify jurisdiction through risk-based sectoral classifications, but businesses still face uncertainty about which government level will process their environmental approval applications.

Implementation capacity variations across regions create de facto inequality in environmental governance despite de jure uniform standards. A pharmaceutical manufacturer in Jakarta undergoes rigorous environmental compliance oversight from highly trained environmental supervisors equipped with advanced monitoring equipment, while an identical pharmaceutical manufacturer in a remote regency may face perfunctory oversight from understaffed environmental agencies lacking technical capacity to evaluate pharmaceutical waste management. This disparity creates potential regulatory arbitrage opportunities where businesses strategically locate pollution-intensive facilities in jurisdictions with weak enforcement capacity, undermining the uniformity principle underlying Indonesia's environmental governance system. The Central Government's technical assistance and the provincial government's capacity-building programs attempt to address these disparities, but limited budgets and competing priorities constrain effectiveness.

The supervision cascade—Central Government supervises provinces, provinces supervise regencies, all levels supervise businesses—creates potential for duplicative oversight or coordination failures. A business holding a regency-issued environmental approval may face inspections from regency environmental supervisors, provincial environmental supervisors conducting oversight of regency performance, and central environmental supervisors investigating regional implementation quality. Each level of supervisor may have different interpretations of environmental requirements, different enforcement priorities, and different technical standards for evaluating compliance. Without effective coordination mechanisms, businesses may receive conflicting guidance from different levels of government, creating compliance confusion and potential for technical violations despite good-faith compliance efforts.

The integration of environmental approvals into the OSS business licensing system creates additional coordination challenges because the OSS system operates through a centralized digital platform managed by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), while environmental authorities remain distributed across government levels. A business applying for a Perizinan Berusaha through OSS must obtain environmental approval (Amdal, UKL-UPL, or SPPL) as a prerequisite, but the environmental approval is issued by the government level with jurisdiction—central, provincial, or regency. The OSS system must correctly route environmental approval applications to the appropriate government level, requiring accurate business classification and automated jurisdictional determinations. System errors or classification ambiguities can route applications to incorrect government levels, delaying approvals and creating administrative burdens for businesses and governments.

The environmental dispute resolution framework creates jurisdictional questions about which government level facilitates dispute settlement and which court system handles environmental litigation. Regency/city governments facilitate settlement of local environmental disputes, provincial governments facilitate inter-regency disputes, and the Central Government facilitates inter-provincial disputes, but the boundaries between these categories are not always clear. An environmental dispute involving a factory in Regency A and affected communities in Regency B could be characterized as a local dispute (Regency A's responsibility) or an inter-regency dispute (Province X's responsibility). When mediation fails and disputes proceed to litigation, environmental cases may be filed in general district courts (regency-level jurisdiction), administrative courts (reviewing government environmental decisions), or the dedicated Environmental Court in Palembang and Jakarta, creating forum shopping opportunities and jurisdictional conflicts.

The future trajectory of Indonesia's environmental governance system likely involves further centralization of policy and standards combined with decentralized implementation, reflecting a global trend toward harmonized environmental norms implemented through local action. The integration of environmental approvals into the OSS digital licensing system creates opportunities for real-time monitoring of environmental compliance across all government levels, potentially enabling risk-based supervision that concentrates enforcement resources on high-risk facilities and sectors. The development of automated environmental monitoring systems—such as continuous emissions monitoring systems linked to government databases—may reduce reliance on periodic inspections and create more objective compliance assessment. However, the fundamental challenge of coordinating three government tiers with different capacities, priorities, and political constituencies will persist, requiring ongoing attention to coordination mechanisms, capacity building, and institutional development.

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Environmental Law Governance Series

This is Article 1 of 3 in our comprehensive analysis of institutional frameworks in Indonesian environmental law.

Complete Series:

1. Who Holds the Power? Indonesia's Three-Tier Environmental Governance System (this article)
2. Supervision and Enforcement Authority: How Indonesia Monitors Environmental Compliance
3. Inter-Governmental Coordination Mechanisms in Environmental Governance

Regulation Reference

Primary Source:
UU 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, as amended by Perpu 2/2022

Indonesian Title:
Undang-Undang Nomor 32 Tahun 2009 tentang Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup, sebagaimana diubah dengan Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang Nomor 2 Tahun 2022

Key Provisions:
- Article 63: Duties and Authorities of Central, Provincial, and Regency/City Governments
- Article 64: Ministerial Coordination of Environmental Authorities

Implementing Regulation:
PP 22/2021 on Environmental Protection and Management Implementation

Indonesian Title:
Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 22 Tahun 2021 tentang Penyelenggaraan Perlindungan dan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup

Key Provisions:
- Article 1: Definitions of government institutions and authorities
- Chapter BAB I: General Provisions establishing institutional framework

Enacted Date: UU 32/2009 enacted October 3, 2009; PP 22/2021 enacted February 2, 2021
Effective Date: UU 32/2009 effective October 3, 2009; PP 22/2021 effective February 2, 2021

Official Source: https://peraturan.go.id

Legal Analysis by the CRPG Environmental Law Team | Analysis Date: December 17, 2025 | Based on UU 32/2009 as amended by Perpu 2/2022 and PP 22/2021

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, legal opinion, or professional consultation. The analysis presented herein is based on the authors' interpretation of UU 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management (as amended by Perpu 2/2022) and PP 22/2021 on Environmental Protection and Management Implementation as of the publication date and may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies despite reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy. Laws and regulations are subject to amendment, judicial interpretation, and administrative clarification that may affect the applicability or interpretation of the provisions discussed. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship between the authors, the Center for Regulation, Policy and Governance (CRPG), and any reader. Readers should not act or refrain from acting based solely on the information contained in this article without seeking appropriate legal counsel from qualified Indonesian legal practitioners licensed to practice environmental and administrative law. The application of institutional authority distribution depends on specific factual circumstances including business location, activity scale, sectoral classification, environmental impact scope, cross-jurisdictional effects, government capacity at each level, and OSS system integration status, all of which require case-specific legal analysis. Neither the authors nor CRPG assume any liability for actions taken or not taken based on information in this article, nor for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from use of or reliance on this material. For specific legal guidance on determining which government level has authority for environmental approvals, supervision, and enforcement for your specific business activities, consult with qualified legal counsel familiar with Indonesian environmental and administrative law and current regulatory practice.

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