The Jakarta Post is reporting that Indonesia’s central government is being encouraged to  provide tighter controls on islands exclusively owned by private companies for fear of having slowed down investment activity and misappropriating land use in Riau Islands province.

The article notes that the central government must take over the islands to restore public access, noting that having no public access would make islands vulnerable to crime and make it easy to change ownership. Apparently public access is the priamry concern of critics of island ownership.

Although I am huge proponent of public access to private islands, corporate ownership brings, development, tourism and jobs to an island region and should be considered when these often outrageous foreign ownship laws are passed. Indonesia already has some of the tightest island ownership regulations in the world and further restrictions would only stagnate Indonesia Tourism.

To read the full article visit the Jakarta Post