Construction Of Access To SBB Maluku Road Constrained By The Existence Of Protected Forests

Maluku DPRD member from the electoral district of SBB Hatta Hehanussa (ANTARA)

AMBON - The government's program to build a highway that connects a number of villages in mountainous areas and forests in West Seram Regency (SBB), Maluku is constrained by the status of a protected forest area.

"People have been living in the area for decades, but why has there been no claim from the start that there is a protected forest area," said a member of the Maluku DPRD from the SBB Regency election area Hatta Hehanussa, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, Ambon, Wednesday, May 24.

When there was a need for a road to five villages in the area, suddenly the claim appeared.

"For this reason, we urge the Maluku Provincial Government, especially the Forestry Service and the Environment Agency to ensure that the protected forest area or protected forest block in SBB Regency is at any location," said Hatta.

Village communities in the area such as Huku, Abio, and Aholio are a country that has existed for a long time, even long before Indonesia's independence.

"How is it possible that if today the basic infrastructure facilities in the form of roads by the PUPR Service for the 2023 fiscal year, claims emerged from the Forestry Service regarding the protected forest area there," he said.

For this reason, the government needs attention because the people there are quite suffering due to the absence of road access or other basic infrastructure.

Even though as representatives of the people since 2019, they have repeatedly submitted applications to the provincial PUPR Office to make these areas a priority for basic infrastructure development because it is very isolated.

There needs to be a government side with the regions that are still isolated like that so that the people can also get out of poverty.

He gave an example that the price of one sack of cement could be more than Rp. 400 thousand to get to the area, or sick people must be carried from mountainous areas of forest funds to sub-district cities.

The issue of isolation and poverty of the population also needs to be a priority for local governments through the side of the APBD.

"For protected forest issues, we will coordinate with Commission II of the Maluku DPRD so that it can be resolved immediately, there should be no development programs that enter there canceled due to protected forest reasons and then the budget is transferred to other areas," said Hatta, who is also a member of Commission III of the Maluku DPRD.