Protecting Bukit Soeharto Forest Reserve from Land Clearing Pressures

Samarinda (ANTARA) - It was still early morning when security personnel vehicles entered the forest area in Bakungan Village, Loa Janan District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, on 24 September 2026.

Personnel disembarked from the vehicles one by one. The group comprised members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), the prosecutor’s office, the Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIK_N), the Forest Area Stabilisation Agency (BPKH), and the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP).

They were conducting an enforcement operation within the Bukit Soeharto Forest Reserve (Tahura). The targets of this operation were buildings and community activities located within the conservation forest area.

Amidst the trees, the team discovered several huts built inside the forest area. Surrounding these structures was cleared land, some of which had been planted and other parts that appeared to be prepared for further expansion.

Officers moved from one point to another to inspect buildings and land situated within the conservation zone.

“An enforcement action is currently being carried out against illegal residential buildings constructed by individuals who are not from the local area—specifically not residents of Kutai Kartanegara or Penajam Paser Utara Regency—but are occupying this location,” one official stated.

According to him, some parties entering the area have been building huts and clearing land for gardening. Such activities are strictly prohibited within the conservation forest area.

The enforcement also aims to prevent land clearing that could increase the risk of forest and land fires (karhutla). Clearing areas by felling trees and subsequently converting them into plantations or settlements alters the fundamental condition of the forest.

In the Bukit Soeharto Forest Reserve, this issue does not exist in isolation. The enforcement operation is taking place while the government is simultaneously managing forest fires within the same region.