West Java Governor Warns of Disaster Risk from Tea Plantation Conversion

“If tea plantations keep being cut down and replaced with vegetable farms, there will be landslides.”

Bandung (ANTARA) – West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has warned of an “ecological apocalypse” and major landslides in the Bandung Selatan area as tea plantations are converted to commercial vegetable crops.

Dedi issued the warning in Bandung on Thursday in response to the destruction of at least 5,000 tea plants across around 0.4 hectares of land owned by PTPN I Regional 2 Kertamanah in Pangalengan, Bandung Regency. The plants were sawn down by unidentified individuals, prompting anger from the Pangalengan Farmers’ Alliance (APP).

Dedi stressed that his main concern was not the agrarian conflict that may have been behind the incident, but the loss of deep-rooted plants that play a vital role in soil conservation and preventing natural disasters on mountain slopes.

“I am not concerned with the agrarian conflict, but what I want to emphasise is that plants serving a conservation function and protecting the environment from disaster risks must not be cut down. If tea plantations keep being cut down and replaced with vegetable farms, there will be landslides. Bandung is on mountain slopes. If everything is turned into vegetable farms, then we should prepare for destruction,” Dedi said in an official statement.

He said the provincial government was urging rural residents and farmers not to be drawn into serving the interests of a handful of people behind vegetable-growing businesses that disregard the environmental capacity of steep plantation land.

“Do not become tools for people who care only about their wealth and pay no attention to environmental safety. If disaster strikes, we will all bear the consequences. I hope this raises awareness and prevents such actions from being repeated,” Dedi said.

Dedi said the West Java provincial government considered the protection of tea plantation vegetation in Pangalengan and Ciwidey essential, given that its loss could have consequences not only today but also trigger a serious ecological disaster in the future.

He added that preserving ground cover and the natural conservation functions of the hills in Bandung Selatan was key to reducing landslide risks and protecting the environment over the long term.