Indonesia’s latest move to “nationalise” or reclaim so-called illegal palm oil plantations has reignited one of the most sensitive debates in the nation’s natural-resource governance: where is the line between genuine law enforcement and political-economic consolidation? At face value, the government’s decision to take over millions of hectares of plantations that allegedly lack proper permits or encroach on protected forests sounds like a long-overdue correction to decades of regulatory neglect. Yet the deeper one looks, the more complex—and politically charged—the picture becomes. To subscribe please click here
