Don't Want Anyone To Look For Profit During A Disaster, The Ministry Of Transportation Closes The Illegal Wood Circulation Gap

The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) is expanding the complaint channel and tightening timber surveillance in flood-affected areas in Sumatra to prevent the practice of transporting illegal timber in the midst of a disaster emergency situation.

The Director of Forestry Complaints Prevention and Handling at the Ministry of Forestry, Yazid Nurhuda, said the step was taken to support the Letter of the Director General of Forest Management Lestari (PHL) which temporarily suspended all timber utilization and transportation activities during the emergency response period.

"We fully support this temporary suspension decision. In an emergency response situation, the main focus is recovery and risk mitigation. Gakkum is here to ensure and prevent no party from utilizing a disaster situation for illegal purposes," said Yazid.

A tactical step is implemented to close the potential gap in the emergence of illegal timber utilization and circulation modes. The Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Law and Forestry expands access to complaint channels and carries out strict supervision in the field during the period of stopping timber activities.

Yazid explained that the Directorate General of Law and Human Rights has instructed forestry supervisors to carry out intensive supervision of Forest Utilization Business Licensing (PBPH) holders and holders of approval for the Utilization of Non-Forestry Activities (PKKNK).

"The Forestry Law Enforcement Team will monitor the compliance of permit holders so as not to carry out transportation, loading, or delivery of wood in any form as mandated by the circular," he said.

Coordination is also carried out with forestry services in the three affected provinces to ensure that supervision runs effectively. The policy of freezing wood activities is effective from December 8, 2025 until there is further policy.

The Ministry of Transportation hopes that this preventive and repressive step can preserve the forest while accelerating the recovery of flood-affected areas in Sumatra.

In addition, the Directorate General of Gakkum emphasized the importance of the role of society as the eyes and ears in the field. The complaint channel is now on standby for 24 hours, and people in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra are asked to report immediately if they see suspicious timber transportation or logging activities during the termination period.

Reports can be submitted via call center, official social media Gakkum, as well as an online complaint system in complaint.gakkum @kehutanan.go.id or via hotline +6285270149194.