The PKH Task Force Visits Damaged Forest Sites and Prepares Legal Process

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Forest Area Enforcement Task Force or Satgas PKH has deployed a team to locations or forest areas that have been damaged and are suspected of causing flooding and landslides in the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. If criminal acts are found, the Satgas PKH will take legal action.

This was stated by the Head of the Legal Information Center of the Attorney General's Office, Anang Supriatna, in Jakarta, Friday (5/12/2025). Anang mentioned that the flooding incidents occurring in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra have drawn the attention of the PKH Task Force.

According to Anang, the PKH Task Force team has been active and has visited several locations suspected of having damaged environments or ecosystems. The team reportedly began its operations yesterday in the three provinces affected by floods and landslides, namely Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. However, Anang did not specify the exact locations visited by the PKH Task Force.

"This is specifically related to the damaged forest area. Whether there will be a mine or something else at that location is still being investigated. Whether this disaster is a result of the damage to the forest area or due to mining activities will be examined further. What is clear is that the PKH Task Force team has already mobilized," explained Anang.

If it is discovered that there are parties involved in committing a crime, they will definitely be prosecuted.

The PKH Task Force was established based on Presidential Regulation Number 5 of 2025 concerning the Regulation of Forest Areas. On that basis, the PKH Task Force is tasked with regulating forest areas by imposing administrative fines, controlling forest areas, and restoring assets related to activities in forest areas that are conducted illegally.

The PKH Task Force is led by the Minister of Defense, accompanied by the Attorney General, the Commander of the National Armed Forces, and the Chief of the Indonesian National Police as representatives. The Executive Chairman of the PKH Task Force is the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, with members from several ministries, such as the Minister of Forestry and the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency.

As of September 2025, the PKH Task Force has regained control of an area of 3.3 million hectares that was previously managed unlawfully. Of this total, 1.5 million hectares have been handed over to Agrinas, a state-owned enterprise established to manage palm oil plantations.

According to Anang, the PKH Task Force is currently unable to ascertain whether the damaged land or locations with environmental or ecosystem degradation belong to individuals or corporate entities. Nevertheless, the PKH Task Force will take action in that regard, including the possibility of bringing the matter to the criminal realm if criminal elements are indeed found.

"The Task Force team for the Family Hope Program consists of several institutions, including elements from the military, the Attorney General's Office, and the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency. The National Police are also involved. Clearly, if it is later found that there are parties involved in criminal acts, they will certainly be processed legally. However, we cannot act hastily; we must first conduct a thorough investigation," he stated.

As of Friday (5/12/2025), the number of fatalities due to floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra has reached 836 individuals. Additionally, 509 people have been reported missing.

On Thursday (4/12/2025) evening, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni visited the Chief of Police General (Pol) Listyo Sigit Prabowo and requested assistance in addressing the discovery of logs that are suspected to exacerbate infrastructure damage and result in casualties during the flood disaster in Sumatra. The two then established a Joint Task Force to investigate the findings.

According to Raja, his team currently has preliminary data on the conditions of disaster-affected areas, compiled from drone monitoring. Furthermore, he said, technology called Aiko, a tool for identifying wood anatomy, now exists. With this, Raja hopes to identify the origins of the logs carried by the water.

Based on this, said Raja, his party will cooperate with the National Police to promptly uncover the origin of the wood. If criminal elements are found in the future, his party supports the enforcement of the law.

"We are asking for the National Police Chief's assistance in protecting our forests. We hope that the public concern that has emerged in the past few days after the flood will be addressed, namely public curiosity about the origin of the wood material carried by the flood," said Raja.

According to the King, to date, teams from the Ministry of Forestry and the police have been deployed to the two river basins, namely Garuga and Agoli, located in Batang Toru, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Currently, they are still in the identification stage of the legal subjects that may be involved.

However, the Ministry of Forestry cannot yet confirm whether the wood originated from illegal logging or from clearing land for oil palm plantations, where the wood was piled up and washed away during the flood. The Ministry has taken wood samples for anatomical identification.

According to Sigit, his team will investigate the findings of the Ministry of Forestry team. In addition, the police have also deployed a team to join the team from the Ministry of Forestry that has already been dispatched.