The Ciptaker Law Must Be Revised To Prevent Ecological Disasters

Photo caption: Revision of the Job Creation Law is needed to prevent ecological disasters in the future. (Ist)

JAKARTA Member of Commission IV of the DPR, Slamet, said that the spike in deforestation in Sumatra which is one of the reasons for flooding shows that state supervision is not running properly.

According to him, based on the latest available data, North Sumatra lost 19,563 hectares, West Sumatra 10,521 hectares, and Aceh 14,890 hectares. Most of the deforestation came from licensed sectors such as wood plantations, mines, palm oil, and logging.

"When the damage is dominated by permit holders, it means that state supervision is not running properly," said Slamet, Sunday, December 7.

He stated that weak law enforcement in the forestry sector also exacerbated the situation. Of all forest security operations, only one case in Aceh, four in North Sumatra, and one in West Sumatra managed to reach the P21 stage. On the other hand, data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and JATAM revealed the existence of 1,907 active mining permits with an area of more than 2.45 million hectares on the island of Sumatra.

The weak combination of law enforcement and the explosion of extractive permits make forest areas lose their ecological functions quickly. How can people be protected from disasters if protected areas continue to be narrowed by large permits," he added.

This politician from the PKS faction revealed that conditions were increasingly worrying after national deforestation jumped 97,124 hectares or 81.6 percent in the 2019-2024 period. Commission IV assessed that this spike was closely related to policy changes through the Job Creation Law and Government Regulation No. 23/2021 which abolished the DPR's approval in the conversion of forest area functions, including protected forests.

This policy is considered to weaken the control system and ignore the mandate to maintain at least 30 percent of forest areas in each region. "When the control function of the DPR is removed, the permits are issued without any balance of supervision. We will now see firsthand in the form of ecological disasters," he said.

Therefore, he urged the government to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all forestry and mining permits, strengthen field supervision, and increase courage in law enforcement. In addition, President Prabowo Subianto must revise the Job Creation Law to restore the check and balance mechanism and maintain the obligation to cover 30 percent of the forest area per region.

"Without a regulatory revision, ecological damage in Sumatra and other areas will continue to grow and cause victims of both people's lives and property," said Slamet.