Kemenhut Disrupts the Opening of Illegal Land of UGM Education Forest in Ngawi

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry through the Regional Forestry Law Enforcement Agency of Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, the Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkum Forestry) has succeeded in thwarting the opening of illegal land in the UGM education forest area in Ngawi Regency, East Java.

Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho said that the efforts to thwart the illegal logging were carried out through a joint operation of forest criminal enforcement in the Diklathut Special Purpose Forest Area (KHDTK) of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) involving the East Java Regional Police, East Java Police, and East Java High Prosecutor's Office.

"In this operation, the team secured seven people for questioning, including a Village Secretary, and secured two units of excavators and two units of dump trucks. After the title of the case, the investigators named four people as suspects, two people from the first location of Pitu Village and two people from the second location of Dumplengan Village," he said as reported by ANTARA, Monday, June 22.

Dwi Januanto Nugroho emphasized that the action at KHDTK Diklathut UGM was an effort to maintain legal certainty in forest areas. According to him, illegal possession of forest areas often moves gradually, starting from land development, development of plantation areas, opening access, use of heavy equipment, transportation of results, until the area is slowly treated as if it can be controlled.

"Patterns like this must be stopped from the start, especially in KHDTK which is a space for education, training, research, and field learning for students, prospective foresters, researchers, and parties that build the management of Indonesian forests," said Januanto.

He explained that the operation started from public information regarding heavy equipment activities in the forest area. This information was followed up by the Regional Forestry Gakkum Office of Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara by collecting data and information in the field.

From the initial investigation, it was found that there was land opening activity and access using two excavators at two different locations that were suspected to be related to the opening of access to illegal sugarcane plantations within the Diklathut UGM KHDTK.

After coordinating with the East Java High Prosecutor's Office, the East Java Regional Police Korwas, and the East Java Regional Police Brimob, the joint operation team took action at two locations within the KHDTK Diklathut UGM, namely in Pitu Village and Dumplengan Village, Ngawi District, Ngawi.

At the first location in Pitu Village, the team secured four people. After the title of the case, the investigators named two people as suspects, namely YM who was suspected of playing a role as a financier and supervisor of activities, and S who was suspected of playing a role as the person in charge of the operation of heavy equipment in the field.

At the second location in Dumplengan Village, the team secured three people. After the title of the case, the investigators named two people as suspects, namely M, the Secretary of Ngeblak Village, who was suspected of playing the role of supervisor and financier, and JM who was suspected of playing the role of operational manager of heavy equipment in the field.

Januanto also expressed his appreciation to the public for providing initial information regarding heavy equipment activities within the forest area. Public information is an early warning before damage spreads.

Head of the Forestry Office of the Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Region Aswin Bangun said that the operation was a gateway to tracing the involvement of other actors behind the illegal activities. His party continues to deepen.

For the purpose of further examination and investigation, the suspects were placed in the East Java Police Directorate of Prisons and Evidence (Dit Tahti)

The perpetrators were charged with Article 78 paragraph (3) jo. Article 50 paragraph (2) letter a of Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry as amended by Article 36 paragraph 19 and paragraph 17 of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning the Determination of Perppu Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation into Law, and/or Article 92 paragraph (1) letter a jo. Article 17 paragraph (2) letter a of Law Number 18 of 2013 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction as amended by Article 37 paragraph 16 and paragraph 51 of Law Number 6 of 2023.

The threat is in the form of a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 7.5 billion, and/or a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 5 billion.