Ministry of Forestry Targets Recovery of 80,000 Hectares of Elephant Corridor in Seblat
The Ministry of Forestry has resumed the Combined Red and White Operation in the Seblat Landscape, Bengkulu Province, targeting the recovery of approximately 80,978 hectares of forest designated as an important corridor for Sumatran elephants.
The operation, which commenced on 5 March 2026, is being implemented by the Directorate General of Forest Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkumhut) in collaboration with police, the Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA), Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS), and regional environmental and forestry agencies.
Director General of Forest Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho stated that the operation aims to disrupt illegal forest encroachment business networks that have threatened conservation areas. “This operation is designed to break the chain of illegal encroachment business, not to harm small-scale communities. Our primary targets are land owners, investors, and heavy equipment operators,” Dwi said in an official statement on Tuesday (10 March).
Beyond criminal enforcement, the Ministry of Forestry is implementing administrative sanctions against holders of forest utilisation permits who have violated regulations, as well as pursuing civil litigation to ensure area restoration and compensation to the state.
According to Dwi, the Seblat Landscape plays a strategic role as habitat for key wildlife species including the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Consequently, the government will conduct land rehabilitation, demarcate landscape boundaries, and implement integrated access control in cooperation with regional administrations and conservation organisations.
Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Centre for the Sumatra Region, Hari Novianto, stated that this year’s operation focuses on several strategic areas including Seblat Natural Tourism Park, Ipuh Water Production Forest, Teramang Production Forest, and the Kerinci Seblat National Park area.
“This continued operation represents the second phase following the first phase conducted in late 2025. In the previous operation, the combined team successfully recovered approximately 8,200 hectares of encroached forest land and destroyed at least 24,100 illegal palm trees,” said Hari.
Officers also demolished 186 worker shelters belonging to encroachers, severed seven access bridges leading to forest areas, and confiscated heavy equipment including one bulldozer and one excavator. From a law enforcement perspective, three forest encroachment case files have been declared complete and are currently being tried at Mukomuko District Court.
Additionally, a persuasive approach continues to be applied to cooperative local communities. Authorities have requested statements from village officials to investigate illegal land transactions in the area. Some residents have even expressed willingness to return land they control to the state through formal declarations.
Several welfare facilities for wildlife have already been realised at the Sebanga Wildlife Management Unit.
Director General of Forest Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho emphasised that the government will not permit forest encroachment practices in conservation areas and state forests. The Forest Law Enforcement Centre in Sulawesi has also halted illegal encroachment activities in production forest areas.
Law enforcement experts have stressed that administrative fines cannot substitute for criminal accountability processes in forest misuse cases. President Prabowo Subianto has cautioned forest crime task forces against being lobbied by business interests. Task forces have successfully recovered 4 million hectares of forest and protected Rp6 trillion in state funds.