Forestry Ministry ready to spare land for post-disaster recovery
In a statement on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki said that his office is responsible for two main tasks within the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra, namely timber clearance and land provision facilitation.
“We are ready to facilitate the provision of land in forest areas if needed and proposed by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) or local governments. For temporary housing, the mechanism used is forest area use approval. Meanwhile, for permanent housing, the mechanism is through forest area release in accordance with statutory provisions,” Marzuki explained.
In a task force meeting held on Monday (February 23), he stated that to date, there have been no proposals for forest area locations for the construction of temporary or permanent housing.
However, the Ministry of Forestry has received a letter from the Minister of Public Works regarding a request to use forest areas for timber storage, dam construction, raw water supply, and the maintenance of roads and bridges crossing forest areas.
Regarding timber removal, the ministry has issued a policy on the use of driftwood to support post-disaster recovery and established a Driftwood Removal Acceleration Team in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
One example of accelerated removal was carried out at Padang Beach, West Sumatra, with an eight-kilometer cleanup.
Cleanup was also carried out in the Garoga Watershed in North Sumatra, at the Darul Mukhlisin Islamic Boarding School in Aceh Tamiang, and in Langkahan Sub-district, North Aceh District.
In Langkahan, approximately 1 million cubic meters of timber were piled up across an area of approximately 36 hectares, spread across five locations, and have now been dealt with.
Meanwhile, in Geudembak Village, Langkahan, the ministry is providing wood for the construction of temporary housing in collaboration with Rumah Zakat and Gadjah Mada University for construction engineering. A total of 103 temporary housing units are planned. To date, 66 units have been completed, with 37 units under construction.
Regarding the handling of the wood piles at the Krueng Keuruto Dam in North Aceh District, Marzuki said the ministry is ready to provide administrative support to ensure legal certainty regarding the location of the wood piles originating from the disaster.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Resinta Sulistiyandari