The first regulation recorded governing AMDAL in environmental law in Indonesia was Government Regulation Number 29 of 1982, which was based on the provisions of Law No. 4 of 1982 concerning Basic Provisions for Environmental Management. Article 16 of the 1982 Environmental Law regulates the obligation to make an environmental impact analysis of every plan that is expected to have a significant impact.

Awareness of the importance of maintaining the environmental ecosystem and the discourse on environmentally sound development in the international arena became the starting point for the impetus for the development of the science of development ecology and AMDAL regulations in Indonesia. To date, AMDAL regulations in Indonesia have undergone various revisions, starting from PP No. 29 of 1986 concerning AMDAL, then revised through PP No. 51 of 1993 and PP No. 27 of 1999 concerning Environmental Impact Analysis.

Around the period 1992 - 2002, there was a process of developing the concept of partnership development which began with the Summit on sustainable development on 1 to 5 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. During this period, Indonesia's commitment to environmental protection and AMDAL was clearly illustrated several years later with the issuance of Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management.