Nature, along with its forests, which is a vital part of Indonesia's primary wealth, forms a cohesive unity enclosed by the system of societal and national life. Within the forest, which serves as a public space and a buffer for life, culture and civilization emerge, shaping the nation's perspective on how the blessings of our country’s natural resources should be utilized fairly and sustainably. The current situation shows that existing practices of resource exploitation often neglect the role of forests as a fundamental component in shaping the nation’s way of life.
Imbalances in management and the authoritarian traits of natural resource policies, along with weaknesses in governance and legal uncertainty, render the system vulnerable to violations that continue to occur in various regions in Indonesia. Differences in interests among stakeholders (government, society and corporations) are one of the causes of conflicts related to resource management. In border areas, conflicts arise due to the potential and abundant land and resource diversity. Politically, these differing interests are influenced by economic, social, political motives and environmental domination. Various approaches in political science can help describe this phenomenon by linking environmental conditions and the political economic processes occurring within it.
An exemplary environmental policy is one where the government collaborates integratively with the private sector and society. Future natural resource bureaucracy must clearly involve the rights to resource sharing and the responsibilities of management. To prevent conflicts over natural resource governance (to a large extent in border areas) from escalating, additional approaches, such as political border and security, should be complemented by welfare-oriented strategies.