KLHK Affirms Tebu Harvest Through Burns Including Illegal Actions

Director General of Environmental Law Enforcement and Forestry of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Rasio Ridho Sani, explained the environmental and health impacts due to the practice of harvesting sugar cane by burning / DOC BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) emphasized that the practice of harvesting cane through burning is an illegal act for violating the laws and regulations in force in Indonesia. "Parents by burning are not allowed. There are many other ways to harvest, one of which is using mechanics," said Director General of Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Ratio Ridho Sani in Jakarta, Monday, May 20. Rasio said, although the company argues that sugarcane land burning activities are allowed through the governor's regulation, it does not necessarily legalize the practice because the highest regulation is the law. According to him, central government regulations such as the Environmental Law and the Plantation Law clearly prohibit the practice of harvesting by burning. "There are many more sustainable ways for the environment. The act of harvesting sugar cane by burning harms the environment, harms the community, and harms the country," said Rasio. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry noted that at least two sugarcane companies in Lampung were indicated to be harvesting sugarcane by burning, namely PT Sweet Indo Lampung (SIL) and PT Indo Lampung Perkasa (ILP). In 2021, the initial calculation of the area of sugar cane land burned by SIL and ILP companies will reach 5,469 hectares. Meanwhile, the area of burned land in 2023 will reach 14,492 hectares. The two sugarcane companies took refuge behind Lampung Governor Regulation Number 33 of 2020 concerning Harvest Governance and Productivity of Tebu Plants as amended by Governor of Lampung Regulation Number 19 of 2023. Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya had written to the Governor of Lampung Arinal Djunaidi to revoke the regulation, but the appeal was never heeded. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry together with the public then took legal action through a request for a judicial review to the Supreme Court. The high court of cassation granted the request for judicial review and required the Governor of Lampung Regulation Number 19 of 2023 to be revoked. Director of Complaints, Supervision, and Administrative Sanctions of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Ardyanto Nugroho said the pretext of land burning to fertilize the land was not entirely correct. According to him, in the near future the soil will indeed become fertile because the land level or PH increases. If the practice of burning is carried out in the long term, it actually reduces the quality of the soil and damages the environment.

"We have three law enforcement instruments, namely administrative, criminal, and civil sanctions. We are still reviewing which instruments we will use to deal with these conditions, whether from one of the instruments or the other we maximize," concluded Ardyanto.