Repossession of Forest Areas Must Not Compromise Residents' Basic Educational Rights

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Since its establishment in February 2025, the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force or Satgas PKH has taken control of 2,092,393.53 hectares of industrial forest and conservation areas that were previously held illegally. The state's efforts to regain control of forest areas face several obstacles, including the issuance of illegal land ownership certificates and resistance from local communities.

This was stated during the handover event of the second phase of forest area control covering 1 million hectares to PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara and the control of Tesso Nilo National Park, as well as the oil palm plantations resulting from the control of the PKH Task Force at the Attorney General's Office, Jakarta, Wednesday (9/7/2025).

Present at the event were the Minister of Defense as the Chair of the PKH Task Force Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the Attorney General as the Vice Chair of the PKH Task Force ST Burhanuddin, the Commander of the National Armed Forces as the Vice Chair of the PKH Task Force General TNI Agus Subiyanto, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) as a Member of the PKH Task Force Nusron Wahid, the Minister of Environment as a Member of the PKH Task Force Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, and the Minister of Transmigration M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara.

On that occasion, the PKH Task Force handed over a forest area resulting from the reclamation of 394,547.29 hectares to PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara (Persero). This handover is a continuation of the transfer of an area of 221,868.421 hectares that was previously controlled by the Duta Palma Group, as well as an area of 216,997.750 hectares that was previously controlled by 109 companies.

Thus, the industrial forest area that has been handed over to be managed by PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara (Persero) is 833,413,461 hectares.

The Attorney General's Office's Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, Febrie Adriansyah, who is also the Chair of the PKH Task Force, stated that the land handed over to Agrinas this time comes from 232 companies located in Central Kalimantan, Riau, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra provinces. The total area of land that has been controlled by the PKH Task Force is 2,092,393.53 hectares.

The total is divided into two phases of land control, namely the period of February-March 2025 for an area of 1,019,000 hectares spread across 9 provinces, 64 districts, and 369 companies. The second phase is the period of April-June 2025 for an area of 1,072,782.22 hectares in 12 provinces, 108 districts, and 315 companies.

In addition to regaining control over industrial forest areas, the PKH Task Force is also working to restore conservation areas, particularly in Teso Nilo National Park located in Riau Province and Kerinci Seblat National Park. In Teso Nilo National Park, the PKH Task Force has regained control over a conservation area of 81,793 hectares. Meanwhile, in Kerinci Seblat National Park, the area regained control measures 101,105 hectares.

"And of course, efforts will be made to return this area to its original function as a forest," said Febrie.

In the process of land control in Tesso Nilo National Park, the PKH Task Force faces several challenges. One of them is the existence of illegal land ownership certificates (SHM) that require legal proceedings for their revocation. Additionally, there are community members who oppose the efforts of the PKH Task Force and require relocation efforts.

A similar sentiment was expressed by the Deputy Commander of the PKH Task Force, Brigadier General Dody Tri Winarto. According to Dody, the encroachment of the Tesso Nilo National Park area has been occurring since 2004. The encroachment took place after the area was no longer designated as a concession area for industrial plantation forests located adjacent to the Tesso Nilo National Park.

For forest area regulation mechanisms, we prioritize the principle of ultimum remedium. Criminal law is a last resort.

According to Dody, there are 13 access roads that the community has been using to enter and exit Tesso Nilo National Park. Dody also requested that the government promptly establish a portal and signage indicating that the area is part of Tesso Nilo National Park.

In addition, the PKH Task Force also recorded approximately 5,000 individuals residing within the Tesso Nilo National Park area. However, they are referred to merely as garden keepers or garden workers. The PKH Task Force also discovered that there are more than 1,000 land certificates within the Tesso Nilo National Park area.

Still within the area of Tesso Nilo National Park, a school has been found that is a branch of a school located outside the national park. It is estimated that there are around 1,000 students.

"For the mechanism for regulating forest areas, we prioritize the principle of ultimum remedium. Criminal law is a last resort," said Dody.

The Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, Nusron Wahid, stated that a total of 1,758 land certificates (SHM) were found within the Tesso Nilo National Park area. Approximately 400 of these land certificates that purely overlapped with the national park area have been revoked.

However, there are land certificates issued between 1999 and 2006 that were granted based on the local regent's decree in the context of agrarian reform. Therefore, he has requested the local regent to evaluate the decree and revoke it. If the decree is revoked, the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency will follow up by canceling the land certificates.

On that occasion, Sjafrie stated that the PKH Task Force is targeted to regain control of 3 million hectares of land that was previously occupied illegally by August 2025. This is an achievement, as that land had been illegally occupied for years.

According to Sjafrie, land with high economic value will be handed over to the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises to be managed by PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara (Persero). "To my knowledge, there has never been a state-owned enterprise that manages palm oil on a scale of 833 thousand hectares," he stated.

Separately, the Director General of Human Rights Services and Compliance, or the Director General of Human Rights at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Munafrizal Manan, highlighted the cessation of teaching and learning activities as well as the prohibition of new student admissions in the Tesso Nilo National Park area, Pelalawan Regency, Riau.

He emphasized that the right to education is a fundamental right that must be guaranteed and should not be sacrificed due to relocation policies or the regulation of forest areas.

"Any policy must be placed within the framework of protecting and fulfilling the basic rights of citizens, including the right to education for children in the Tesso Nilo area," said Munafrizal in an official statement.

According to Munafrizal, educational activities there have been halted as a result of the forest area enforcement by the PKH Task Force. In an initial survey, approximately 11,000 households or 40,000 individuals are affected by the self-relocation, which must be completed by August 22, 2025, at the latest. Dozens of elementary and secondary schools are also impacted, with alternative schools located more than 20 kilometers from the residents' settlements.

Munafrizal stated that he has assigned the West Sumatra Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in the Riau Working Area to conduct field reviews and establish communication with stakeholders. They are tasked with accurately mapping the facts and promoting dialogue among the community, local government, and educational institutions.

Munafrizal also urged the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to give serious attention to the impacts of this policy. In particular, to ensure that educational services remain available and geographically and socially accessible for affected children.

In addition, they also urged the Ministry of Forestry not to hastily relocate residents before the best solution based on human rights principles is found.

Any policy must be placed within the framework of protecting and fulfilling the basic rights of citizens, including the right to education for children in the Tesso Nilo area.