2 Encroaches Of Tesso Nilo Riau National Park Forest Arrested, Threatened With 10 Years In Prison

The joint team of KLHK Law Enforcement during a press conference on TNTN encroachment at the Riau KSDA BB Office. (ANTARA)

PEKANBARU - A joint operation team from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry arrested two loggers in the Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN) conservation forest area, Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village, Ukui District, Pelalawan District, Riau Province.

Head of the Law Enforcement Center for the Sumatra Region of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Subhan said that apart from arresting the two perpetrators with the initials TMM (40) and R (30) they also secured evidence in the form of a unit of heavy equipment and a motorbike.

The two suspects are TMM as a heavy equipment tenant and R as an operator.

"The perpetrators were arrested when they were encroaching on the Tesso Nilo National Park forest area using heavy excavators. The perpetrators were encroaching to create illegal oil palm plantations within the national park area," said Subhan, Tuesday, June 27.

Both are currently being held at the Riau Regional Police Detention Center to undergo further investigation. The two suspects TMM (40) and R (30) were charged under Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems, Law Number 18 of 2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction as amended by Article 37 number 16 Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulation in lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation to become Law.

"Perpetrators of encroachment are punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years and a fine of up to IDR 5 billion," he said.

Director of Prevention and Security at LHK Sustyo Iriyono added that this joint operation was one of the efforts to enforce the law against forms of environmental and forestry crime disturbance. Currently, Tesso Nilo National Park is facing a serious threat from illegal logging, encroachment, and forest and land burning (karhutla).

"In the recovery and safeguarding of Tesso Nilo National Park, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has carried out activities to revitalize the Tesso Nilo National Park ecosystem, rehabilitate critical lands, control forest fires, patrol and operate forest safeguards," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said that the protection and security of the Tesso Nilo National Park area is very important. This area is the habitat of the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae).

TNNP is the last bastion for the protection of animals and Indonesian tropical forest ecosystems in Riau. Strict action will be taken against the perpetrators of destruction and encroachment on the TNNP area to protect the area and so that there is a deterrent effect, the perpetrators must be punished with a maximum imprisonment and a fine.

"We believe that there are other perpetrators, not only the two perpetrators who were caught. I have ordered investigators to investigate the involvement of other parties, including the imposition of multiple crimes against the perpetrators and investors. The perpetrators are not only subject to criminal encroachment on conservation areas, and destruction of forest areas, but also subject to criminal damage to the environment," said Ratio Sani.