Bali Speeds Up LP2B Mapping to Protect Farmland from Conversion

Denpasar — — Bali’s provincial government is moving to accelerate the mapping and legal designation of sustainable food-agriculture land (LP2B) across all regencies and cities, as part of a broader effort to curb the conversion of productive farmland for non-agricultural development.

Governor Wayan Koster outlined the push during a meeting with Suyus Windayana, director general of spatial planning at the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), held at the governor’s office in Renon, Denpasar on Monday, 20 July 2026.

According to an official statement from the provincial government, Koster said Bali would strengthen protection of productive agricultural land by combining updated land data collection, tighter spatial-planning controls, infrastructure support and incentives for farmers, coordinated with the central government.

Legal protections and incentives

The acceleration of LP2B mapping builds on Bali’s existing legal framework to limit farmland conversion.

The province has enacted Provincial Regulation No. 4 of 2026 on the Control of Productive Land Conversion and the Prohibition of Nominee Land Ownership, which restricts changes in the use of productive agricultural land and bans ownership schemes using local nominees to hold land for other parties, including foreign investors.

Local media and provincial spatial-planning documents note that this regulation introduces mechanisms to monitor and control shifts from agricultural to non-agricultural uses, and provides for administrative sanctions such as written warnings, suspension or revocation of permits, demolition orders and restoration of land function when violations occur.

The regulation also allows for incentives to encourage farmers and landowners to maintain productive land, including forms of support for those managing sustainable food-agriculture areas. These incentives are expected to complement benefits tied to LP2B designation, such as prioritised access to agricultural infrastructure and programmes.

Governor Koster has stated in public remarks that investment permits will not be issued for productive farmland covered by these protections, while tourism and other development should be directed to areas designated for such uses in Bali’s spatial plans.

LP2B and coordination with national planning

LP2B, or lahan pertanian pangan berkelanjutan, is a planning instrument used in Indonesia to legally protect agricultural land essential for food production from conversion to non-agricultural uses.

During his meeting with Koster, Suyus Windayana said ATR/BPN was ready to help Bali complete spatial-planning documents that remain unfinished, in order to support the accelerated inventory and designation of LP2B areas in every regency and city.

The provincial government wants the farmland-protection drive aligned with a national initiative to make Bali a pilot project for sustainable development goals, led by the Ministry of National Development Planning and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). Koster has asked that the LP2B effort and controls on land conversion be integrated into that pilot project.

The Bali government presents LP2B as both a food-security measure and a way to preserve the subak irrigation system and the island’s agricultural landscape and culture, which face mounting pressure from tourism, property development and other investment.

Context and remaining gaps

Bali’s current policy framework combines the new 2023–2043 regional spatial plan with the 2026 regulation on productive-land conversion and nominee land ownership, and is reinforced by national rules on protected agricultural land and controlled conversion of rice fields.

Officials have emphasised that faster mapping and formal designation of LP2B is now an immediate priority, following concern that ongoing development could erode the province’s agricultural base and threaten local food security.

However, authorities have not yet published the total acreage of land to be designated as LP2B, nor a breakdown of areas already inventoried and protected in each regency and city.

The government statement also does not set a firm completion date for the LP2B inventory, specify which parcels will be added, or detail how disputed land will be resolved and what appeal mechanisms will be available for landowners affected by new designations.

Further guidance is expected as Bali and the central government finalise spatial-planning documents and translate the legal framework into operational rules, incentives and enforcement on the ground.

Sources

• Government of Bali – “Gubernur Koster dan Kementerian ATR/BPN Percepat Perlindungan LP2B, Bali Siap Jadi Model Ketahanan Pangan Berkelanjutan”
• NusaBali.com – “Perda Pengendalian Alih Fungsi Lahan dan Larangan Praktik Nominee Resmi Berlaku”
• RRI Denpasar – “Perda Baru Bali Batasi Alih Fungsi Lahan Demi Proteksi Ekosistem Subak”