Minister Of ATR: Small Islands Can't Be Sold And Owned By Foreigners

Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid when giving a statement in Sumedang, West Java, Wednesday (25/6/2025). (ANTARA/Rubby Jovan)

JAKARTA - Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid emphasized that small islands in Indonesia cannot be sold or wholly owned by individuals, including by foreigners.

"On one island, one person or legal entity cannot have it," said Nusron Wahid after giving a presentation at the Second Wave Regional Head Retret at IPDN, Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java, Wednesday, June 25.

Nusron explained that there are two regulations governing the ownership of small islands in Indonesia. The first is the Minister of ATR/BPN Regulation Number 17 of 2005 Article 2 Paragraph 2, which states that mastery of small islands should not be controlled or wholly owned by individuals or legal entities.

The second regulation, he said, is contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Permen KKP) Number 10 of 2024 concerning the Utilization of Small Islands and Around Waters.

In this regulation, it is emphasized that at least 45 percent of the island area must be allocated for evacuation routes and public access.

"If one island is owned by one person or one legal entity, it is not allowed. The maximum can only control 70 percent of the island's area," he said.

Nusron also gave an example of Panjang Island in the Sumbawa region whose status is a conservation forest area, so it cannot be certified or owned individually.

He added that individuals who have legal entities can only have building rights (HGB) and not certificates of ownership (SHM).

If there are foreign parties who want to enter, they must be Indonesian legal entities. But they can't own it, they can only use it," he said.