Jakarta, December 20, 2017, on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 the delegation of Organizations / Institutions from West Sumatra came to the Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to report suspected criminal acts of corporations (timber companies) operating in the Mentawai Islands Regency. The timber company is PT. Minas Pagai Lumber (PT. MPL) as the holder of ± 78,000 hectares of IUPHHK-HA and PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera (PT.SSS) holder of 48,420 hectares of IUPHHK-HA. The two companies are allegedly not submissive and obedient to Law 41/1999 concerning Forestry and Law 18/2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction, and are considered to have ignored P.30 / MenLHK / Setjen / PHPL.3 / 3/2016 concerning Management Performance Assessment Sustainable Production Forests and Timber Legal Verification of Permit Holders, Management Rights or in Private Forests.

Director of the Mentawai Citra Mandiri Foundation, Rifai, stated, “We finally took legal steps, the activities of timber companies (PT. MPL and PT. SSS) were categorized as criminal acts. Some violations and / or forestry criminal acts allegedly committed by the company are; First, do logging outside the CTR (in 2016). Second, cutting down the wood on the border of the river and the edge of the cliff. Third, hoarding tributaries with logged and road trails. Though the tributary is a source of clean water for the Mentawai people. Of course this condition cannot be tolerated.

Meanwhile, the West Sumatra Province Forestry Independent Monitoring Network (JPIK), Khalid Khalilullah, said, JPIK West Sumatra has long been monitoring the performance of PT. SSS and PT. MPL as Holder of IUPHHK-HA and PHPL Certificate. We have reviewed the field findings of Independent Monitors in West Sumatra for these two companies. We concluded, it was time for the two companies to be investigated by the KLHK Gakkum team. The act of destroying forests (aspects of production) and damaging the environment (ecological aspects) is a prominent aspect that is carried out, if not investigated and taken legal action, it will injure the commitment of the Indonesian Government in the legal timber trade. Therefore, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Directorate must have the courage to take legal action, to ensure the legal upstream-downstream aspects of timber trade in Indonesia. Good for the context of fulfilling timber trade in national and international markets. 

Furthermore, Uslaini (Director of Walhi West Sumatra) explained the arrival of the group of reporters to Gakkum KLHK in order to carry out the obligations of article 60-61 of Law 18/2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction. The community is obliged to report (including indications) forestry crimes that have occurred to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

“On this occasion, we reported that the companies holding IUPHHK-HA in Mentawai (PT. MPL and PT. SSS) were suspected: First, they had illegally logged timber, including by cutting timber on the banks of the river which was violated by law. invited. Our data shows that in the location of IUPHHK-HA logging was found at a distance of 7 meters from the riverbank. These violations are threatened with imprisonment for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years, and criminal penalties of at least 5 billion and at most 15 billion, he said.

Second, logging has been carried out that is not in accordance with the forest utilization permit, including by logging timber outside the CTR. These violations are also threatened with imprisonment for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years, and criminal penalties of at least 5 billion and at most 15 billion. Third, it has been negligent in protecting, securing, maintaining and maintaining the sustainability of water and water sources in the IUPPHK-HA location, by dumping rivers in the IUPHHK-HA locations by logging and excavating land. The violation is subject to a maximum sentence of 3 months imprisonment.

In essence the reporter asks the Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to conduct an investigation / investigation of forestry crime allegedly carried out by PT. Minas Pagai Lumber and PT. Salaki Summa Sejahtera and other legal actions to eradicate forestry crimes by corporations in the Mentawai Islands Regency.

Press Release documents can be downloaded on the link Langgar Hukum Kehutanan, Pemegang IUPHHK-HA Dilaporkan ke Direktorat GAKKUM KLHK

Contact:

Rifai (Director of the Citra Mandiri Mentawai Foundation): 0813 7449 7885
Khalid Khalilullah (Elemen JPIK West Sumatra): 0813 7461 7262
Uslaini (Director of Walhi West Sumatra): 0811 3345 654