About 95% of the total sago forest is dispersed in East Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua), in which many sago palm varieties are differentiated, and the productivity of sago starch is markedly higher than in West Indonesia (Sumatra and Java). The distribution, genetic diversity, and starch-production potential of sago palm in Indonesia were investigated in 2001-2007. The non-swamp land on Tebing Tinggi Island, a sub-district of Riau, is divided by canals into 50-hectare blocks, and the water table is regulated at 20-50 cm below the surface. Sago suckers, nursed on floating rafts in canals, are planted at a square spacing of 10 m. In Aceh Besar, about 50 hectares of sago palm forest is spread along the river. In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, about 5,000 hectares of sago palm forest is spread along the Kapuas River. The starch-processing factories along the river produce 25-500 tons of dry or wet starch per month. Palopo, South Sulawesi, has about 1,000 hectares of sago palm natural forest. In Maluku province, 30,000 hectares of natural forests is distributed unevenly in the swampy area of each island. The Sentani sub-district of Papua has about 4,000-5,000 hectares of sago palm natural forest. In Papua, sixty types of sago palm have been collected from the natural forest. The phenotypic characteristics were compared, and two varieties, Yepha (spineless) and Phara (spiny), have been recommended for starch production. The starch yield per trunk was highest in Papua (835 kg), followed by Maluku (582 kg), South Sulawesi (373 kg), and Riau (225 kg), and lowest in Aceh Besar (135 kg) and West Kalimantan (100 kg). The starch yield of 835 kg per trunk is the highest ever observed. The starch content of pith highly correlated with bulk density of the pith and dry-matter ratio.