Residents living in forest stirs dilemma<\/p>\n
Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Kendari<\/p>\n
La Abo's rest was disturbed by the presence of a number of
\nofficials from the Southeast Sulawesi provincial administration
\nat the location where he lives last Thursday.<\/p>\n
The middle-aged man suspiciously gazed at them one by one.<\/p>\n
His seemed inhibited when answering questions about residents'
\nland ownership titles posed by the officials, and was annoyed and
\nemotional by some accusatory questions aimed at him.<\/p>\n
Residents were stunned when La Abo shouted at the officials
\nwho were accompanied by a team from the Ministry of Environment.<\/p>\n
"We won't leave before the government replaces our land," he
\nshouted.<\/p>\n
The man who has been living in the Murhum forest preserve
\nsince 2000 said that the government only knew how to evict people
\nwithout providing any solutions.<\/p>\n
"We are humans too, and we have the right to live in this
\ncountry," he lamented.<\/p>\n
It was somewhat natural for La Abo to be frustrated because he
\nand the other residents had not been recognized by the
\ngovernment. They have not been provided with identity cards
\nbecause they are regarded as illegitimate residents by the local
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
He said that the Punggaloba village chief, Mukadas, had not
\naccommodated residents of Kampung Baru. "He (Mukadas) said that
\nit was on the instruction of the mayor," said La Abo.<\/p>\n
La Abo has been entrusted by residents as the secretary of
\nKampung Baru. He said that he and the residents had been living
\nthere since 2000. There were only 30 families living there at the
\nbeginning, and had now increased to 98 families. The families
\nlived in the 50 hectares areas, used to be forest area.<\/p>\n
Together they cleared land for residence and built an access
\nroad from funds collected on a self-supporting basis.<\/p>\n
The name Kampung Baru was based on mutual agreement. There is
\nno neighborhood or community unit, and day to day administration
\nis run together through deliberation.<\/p>\n
Residents' houses are made of wood. The distance between each
\nhouse is about 20 meters. At least 100 houses have been built.
\nThere is no electricity, and clean water stems from a spring
\nchanneled to homes through pipes.<\/p>\n
Abo said that the local administration had never forced them
\nto leave the area, but on the other hand, the Southeast Sulawesi
\nForestry Office had come in 2000 not to expel them but to request
\nthem to replant surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
"We were provided with long-term tree seedlings," said Abo.<\/p>\n
Abo hopes that the government recognizes them as official
\nresidents.<\/p>\n
However, his wish will not be granted by the government
\nwillingly especially when the Murhum forest is a protected area.<\/p>\n
The government deemed that their presence in the area would be
\na threat to the lives of Kendari city residents living on the
\nfoot of the Murhum forest preserve.<\/p>\n
"Imagine that in 10 years time city residents will panic when
\nwater debits begin to decrease and floods will loom any minute,"
\nsaid head of the Southeast Sulawesi chapter Provincial
\nEnvironment Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda), La Ode
\nZakariah.<\/p>\n
According to him, impacts may not be noticed now, but signs
\nhave already been seen. "Water shortage and decreasing quality of
\nwater in Benubenua area have been noticed in the past two years,
\nand erosion and floods are imminent," he said, adding that the
\nresidents had to leave the area.<\/p>\n
The Murhum forest preserve is not virgin anymore. Human hands
\nhave tampered with it. Land clearance in the area from 1998 to
\n1999 has created a myriad of problems, whereas the 7,877.5-
\nhectare forest is expected to become the buffer area for Kendari.<\/p>\n
The Murhum forest preserve should be protected for the sake of
\nthe lives of people in Kendari. But on the other hand, the
\ngovernment cannot simply dismiss people who had been living there
\nlike animals.<\/p>\n
Like what director of the Coastal and Outlying People
\nEmpowerment Agency (Lepmil), Rustanto said, "This is dilemmatic."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/residents-living-in-forest-stirs-dilemma-1447893297",
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