House of Representatives Initiates Spatial Planning Regulations for the Bottled Water Industry

The Working Committee (Panja) on the Bottled Water Industry (“AMDK”) of Commission VII of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (“DPR RI”) is pushing for spatial planning regulations governing the development of AMDK. These regulations are necessary to restrict the development of AMDK industry in locations critical to the groundwater reserves of local residents.

“There needs to be spatial planning regulations within the AMDK industry,” said Deputy Chair of Commission VII of the DPR RI, Evita Nursanty.

Evita emphasized that the regulations must ensure that AMDK plants are not built in areas that compromise local residents’ access to clean water. Additionally, the regulations must prevent the industry from extracting groundwater from areas that, under spatial planning, should be designated as conservation zones or residential areas, while also accounting for the varying recharge rates influenced by seasonal changes and land cover conditions in the region.

Panja also highlighted the current regulatory framework, such as Regulation of the Government No. 43 of 2008 on Groundwater (“Regulation 43/2008”) and Regulation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No.14 of 2024 on the Implementation of Groundwater Business Permits and Approvals for Groundwater Use (“Regulation 14/2024”). These regulations are deemed to remain focused on the administrative issuance of permits and do not yet fully align with the actual conditions of aquifers or dynamic spatial planning.