Singkil Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary Turns Into Oil Palm Plantation, Environmental Activists Urge Officials To Take Action

ACEH - Environmental activists urge law enforcement on the encroachment of the Singkil Wildlife Reserve, which has now been converted into an oil palm plantation.

"From our visit to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Sanctuary, the conservation area has now become an oil palm plantation," said Nurul Ikhsan, an environmental activist in Banda Aceh, Antara, Thursday, December 9.

Nurul Ikhsan, who is also the Coordinator of the Legal Division of the Aceh Natural and Environmental Forest Foundation (HAkA), an institution that focuses on dealing with environmental issues, said the conversion of the conservation area in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is a criminal act.

"We found field facts that there was encroachment in the conservation area. Some of the encroached land has been planted with oil palm. This is clearly a crime, law enforcement officials should take action on this case," said Nurul Ikhsan.

Nurul Ikhsan said that the encroachment of the Singkil Wildlife Reserve has received a lot of attention from the mass media. And at several points in the conservation area, warning signs and police lines have also been installed. Nurul Ikhsan said the conservation area of the Singkil Wildlife Reserve is under the authority of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).

"Meanwhile, legal action can be carried out by the Law Enforcement Center of the Ministry of Environment for the Sumatra Region and the police," said Nurul Ikhsan.

According to Nurul Ikhsan, from the facts on the ground, it is unlikely that ordinary citizens will encroach on the Singkil Wildlife Reserve. He suspects the involvement of investors because clearing land requires large costs.

"We urge law enforcement officials to seriously take action on the encroachment case of Rawa Singkil. If it is not serious, we are worried that the encroachment will be more widespread," said Nurul Ikhsan.

Nurul Ikhsan said the Singkil Rawa Wildlife Reserve is a peatland area and was designated as a protected area based on a decree from the Minister of Forestry in 1997.

Initially, the area of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Sanctuary reached 102,500 hectares in South Aceh Regency. Now, due to the division, the area of the Singkil Wildlife Reserve covers South Aceh District, Subulussalam City, and Aceh Singkil District.

Over time, the protected area of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve was reduced to 81,338 hectares as stipulated in the Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia in 2015.

"We also urge that apart from law enforcement, the protected area of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Sanctuary which has been encroached upon to be restored, restores oil palm plantations into forests," said Nurul Ikhsan.