Forestry Minister Hands Over 492-Hectare Community Forest to Banyuwangi Residents

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has handed over Agrarian Reform Object Land Decrees (SK TORA) covering 160.735 hectares and Transformation Community Forest (HKm) rights spanning 492 hectares to communities in Banyuwangi, East Java.

The handover follows up on residents’ complaints regarding the incomplete processing of SK TORA certificates for approximately 160 hectares of land.

“I was shown the map — the first stage was completed, but there was a small portion still unfinished, covering around 160 hectares,” Raja Juli said in a statement on Sunday (22 February).

In detail, the SK TORA recipients cover an area of approximately 160.735 hectares across 12 sub-districts and 26 villages.

Meanwhile, the HKm recipients include the Purwo Maju Sejahtera Forest Farmer Group Association (GAPOKTANHUT), comprising 1,045 households with a forest area of approximately 51 hectares, and the Kemuning Asri Forest Farmer Group, comprising 258 households with a forest area of approximately 441 hectares.

Raja Juli said the initiative is in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s mandate to maximise the function of forests for public welfare through SK TORA and Social Forestry programmes.

He also acknowledged that he had made this promise during a visit to Temurejo Village, Banyuwangi Regency, in June 2025. At the time, residents had questioned the uneven distribution of land, as other areas had already received their decrees. Raja Juli had then pledged that the certificates would be completed within six months.

The minister explained that the decrees had in fact been finalised in December. However, the handover was delayed as the government was focused on handling disasters that struck several regions in Sumatra.

“Thank God, the decrees were actually completed in December. I was preparing to come to Banyuwangi, but we then had to deal with disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra,” he said.