Prabowo to Appoint Satyawan Pudyatmoko as Peat and Mangrove Agency Head Next Week

Satyawan Pudyatmoko Set to Lead the New National Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency Next Week

President Prabowo Subianto will appoint Satyawan Pudyatmoko as the head of the newly formed National Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency, according to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman. Pudyatmoko currently serves as the Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation at the Ministry of Forestry.

Establishing the National Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency

The upcoming appointment follows a series of high-level discussions between President Prabowo Subianto and academic experts at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya explained that the newly created agency will integrate scientists and professionals to strengthen prevention, research, mapping, and early detection systems for hotspot monitoring. According to reporting by SINDOnews, the institutional framework is designed specifically to optimize wildfire prevention across vulnerable wetland ecosystems.

Chief of Staff of the Presidency General Listyo Sigit Prabowo noted that the administration aims to make the traditional peat restoration framework more flexible. This structural shift is intended to minimize future wildfire risks more effectively than previous models. Meanwhile, BRIN Head Arif Satria pointed out during the initial presidential consultations that Indonesia’s hydrological peat areas span roughly 24 million hectares. Under current government regulations, management mandates a maximum utilization cap of 70 percent alongside a minimum protective function requirement of 30 percent.

Drafting Presidential Regulations and Defining Institutional Roles

As the administration finalizes the institutional rollout, the Ministry of Forestry is preparing an official initiative letter to request a Presidential Regulation from Prabowo, according to Katadata. Ministry of Forestry officials emphasized that the regulatory blueprint aims to establish clear boundaries to prevent overlapping authorities among existing ministries and local governments.

Experts consulted during the drafting phase have urged the government to grant the agency direct execution powers at the village level. At the same time, Ministry of PANRB institutional official Nanik Murwati stressed that the agency’s primary mandate remains the integration and synchronization of multi-sectoral policies rather than competing with established ministerial duties.

Expert Recommendations and Institutional Scope

BRIN Head Arif Satria highlighted that addressing peatland management requires resolving both wildfire outbreaks and the sustainable utilization of the land.

Indratmo additionally proposed that the position of agency head be held concurrently by a minister, arguing that ordinary executive leadership might lack the necessary authority to orchestrate disparate government bodies effectively. Furthermore, Indratmo cautioned that budgetary constraints, rather than institutional overlap, posed the greatest operational risk to executing protection duties.

Ministry of PANRB official Nanik Murwati noted that existing laws already provide a foundation for peat and mangrove oversight across multiple sectors, making synchronization the core requirement for the new body. Independent oversight expert Bambang suggested that the agency should function with true independence to monitor, evaluate, and facilitate law enforcement regarding corporate peat usage and wildfire compliance.