Residents In Mukomuko Have Been Planting Palm Oil Without Permits In Forest Areas, KPH Do This Way To Avoid Criminals

MUKOMUKO - The Forest Management Unit (KPH) of Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu Province directs residents who have already planted oil palm without a permit or illegally in the forest area in this area.

The community will be directed to participate in the social forestry program in accordance with applicable regulations.

"According to our rules, there is social forestry, we are directing it," said Head of KPH Mukomuko Regency Aprin Sihaloho in his statement at Mukomuko quoting from Antara, Thursday, August 4.

He said it was related to the solution to a number of residents who had already planted oil palm in forest areas without permits or illegally in this area.

In addition to directing local KPHs to participate in the social forestry program, local KPHs also report to the Directorate General of Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement to take action against communities participating in this program.

"We have conveyed to residents, including those selling and buying the Air Rami Production Forest area, to participate in the social forestry program and the legal consequences for residents who do not want to participate in this program," he said.

He said that his party in 2021 had proposed residents spread over eight villages in this area as recipients of the social forestry program in an area of 12,000 hectares to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The eight villages are Lubuk Talang Village, Serami Baru Village, Retak Mudik Village, Lubuk Bento Village, Air Bikuk Village, Lubuk Selandak Village, and Lubuk Bangko Village.

"Residents spread over eight villages are planting oil palm without a permit in the Air Ipuh II Limited Production Forest (HPT)," he said.

Associated with the criteria and requirements for the recipients of this program are oil palm plantations that are more than five years old and the area of land cultivated is a maximum of five hectares.

He said residents who received this program were given the right to manage oil palm plantations in forest areas for 35 years and could be extended for another 35 years.

He added, there are two villages, namely Karya Mulya and Tunggang Villages that have received social forestry programs or community forestry on an area of 203 hectares in a forest area.

"The location of the forest cultivated by the residents of these two villages is in the former plasma of PT Agrecinal, an oil palm plantation company, then we asked the company to release the land to the residents," he also said.