PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MEF) of the Republic of Indonesia has taken decisive action by sealing off the palm oil plantations belonging to PT Sampoerna Agro, located in the Pedamaran Subdistrict of the Ogan Komering Ilir District in South Sumatera Province.
This measure is part of the MEF’s efforts to enforce the law in response to incidents of forest and peat fires that have had detrimental effects on the environment.
Rasio Ridho Sani, the General Director of Environment Law Enforcement at MEF, revealed that the sealing action affected approximately 586 hectares of land owned by Singaporean investors.
Also Read : Urgent Compliance Required: Palm Oil Plantation Permits Mandated by UUCK in November 2023
“We seal the areas in flame in the location of PT Sampoerna Agro that laid on about 586 hectares. This is also a warning for other companies,” he said in his official statement in Jakarta, Wednesday (4/10/2023), as quoted from Antara.
MEF did seal the plantations of PT Tempirai Palm Resources that laid on about 648 hectares. The seal was the first thing to get wider scale – law enforcement to the companies that got involved in the fire. In his statement, Sani also told that the fire in the forest and areas would deliver serious impacts for health and environment.
“The fire in the forest and area definitely delivers impact for health and environment,” he said.
He also mentioned, around the sealed plantations, there was fire in about 1.030 hectares. That is why MEF and other law officers got to get more information who owns the areas because of lack of data about business rights.
“Sampoerna Agro claimed that the location in fire was not its business rights. We would coordinate with Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial/National Land Agency to know who owns the business rights of the area in flame. Business rights data is significant to know who is in charge in the fire,” Sani said.
Also Read : The Assessments of Palm Oil Plantation
11 plantations that laid on about 9.953 hectares were sealed in South Sumatera Province. The numbers significantly increased compared to data by the late of September 2023 which reached about 11 plantations and laid on about 3.315 hectares to seal. MEF keeps monitoring the situation by analyzing hotspot and satellite images. If the location is in fire, the team would immediately go to the spot to take action needed.
Director of Administration Sanction and Supervision MEF, Ardy Nugroho said the numbers of sealed location could be more because the ministry keeps analyzing hotspot and satellite image data. “If we know the location in fire, we would send the team there,” he said. (T2)
