Ministry Of Transportation Secures 2,390 Ha Forest Park Area At Lankap Seblat

Land illustration (Photo: antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) managed to regain 2,390 hectares (ha) of 6,000 ha areas indicated forest additions in the Seblat Landscape, Bengkulu, which is the habitat of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus).

Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Law and Forestry Dwi Januanto Nugroho said Operation Merah Putih Lanskap Seblat was designed to break the chain of additional business and not sacrifice the small people.

"The government is firmly targeting land owners, investors, and heavy equipment controllers as the main targets of law enforcement, while cooperative people are directed to complete land control in an orderly manner and in accordance with the provisions," he said, quoting Antara.

He explained the operation since Sunday (2/11) by a joint team from the Sumatra Gakkum Center, the Kerinci Seblat National Park Center (TNKS), the Bengkulu BKSDA and the Bengkulu Province LHK Office/North Bengkulu KPH, identified approximately 6,000 ha of additions to the Seblat Landscape.

As of Friday (14/11), around 2,390 ha have been successfully controlled through a series of field actions, starting from the demolition of 59 additional cottages, the destruction of around 7 thousand illegal palm oil rods, destruction of access facilities, such as illegal bridges and installation of 27 ban signs.

The team also secured a number of heavy equipment and four people, one of whom played a role as a contractor for land clearing. The heavy equipment is to open and expand the area of addition.

The Directorate General of Law and Human Rights has named the owner of illegal land, SM, as a suspect and is preparing a former case to be immediately handed over to the Bengkulu High Prosecutor's Office.

He ensured that investigators were tracing the land ownership chain, starting from the previous owner, the party suspected of trading forest land to various parties, to the actor who built road access using heavy equipment.

In addition to enforcing criminal law, the Directorate General of Forestry Gakkum is also exploring and preparing the application of administrative sanctions instruments to business licensing holders who violate forestry provisions and civil law enforcement measures to ensure the recovery of forest areas and state losses.

The operation was a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto and the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoi as well as the visit of Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki who visited the Seblat elephant corridor from the air on Tuesday (4/11), to ensure that the strategic area functioned again as the main corridor of elephants and the buffer of the life of the surrounding community.