Oil Palm Expansion and Deforestation in Indonesia: Reconstructing Natural Resource Governance through Fiqh al-Bi’ah Perspective

Abstract

This study examines the critical issue of oil palm plantation expansion in Indonesia, which has driven massive deforestation and ecosystem degradation. Amid national economic pressures and the transition toward green energy, the expansion of oil palm cultivation is frequently entangled in a contradictory dialectic of public policy. By interrogating this dialectic between policy frameworks and empirical realities, this study aims to formulate a reconstruction of natural resource governance grounded in the principles of environmental justice. The research employs a qualitative methodology with a juridical-normative approach, drawing upon the Maqasid al-Shariah theoretical framework through Jasser Auda’s systems  approach. The analysis is conducted holistically by integrating six system features: cognitive nature, wholeness, openness, interconnected hierarchy, multidimensionality, and purposefulness. The findings reveal that existing natural resource policies remain predominantly anthropocentric and formalistic-legalistic, thereby failing to address the ecological crisis in a systemic manner. As a solution, this study proposes a policy reconstruction that positions hifẓ al-bī’ah (environmental preservation) as an integral component of public welfare (maslahah). The proposed policy model is not solely oriented toward economic growth but is also anchored in the principles of sustainable ecological justice. Through this systems approach, oil palm governance is repositioned from a mere instrument of profit into a mechanism for sustaining life across generations. Furthermore, it enables multidimensional policy evaluation, thereby bridging the tension between national economic interests and environmental protection.