House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV member I Made Urip said that forest management in various regions should be people-based on account of the fact that public involvement in conservation is not yet optimal.

“People’s involvement should still be supported by managers and workers in providing education on conservation, raising awareness, promotion, publication, and dissemination of information on conservation,” Urip noted in a release here on Monday.

The problems that often emerged during conservation activity are the clash with the people’s interest and their lack of knowledge on the importance of conservation.

“To this end, to minimize potential conflict on the field, forestry management should be people-based that provides space to accommodate the public’s interest,” Urip affirmed.

In addition, a restriction should be in place on the people’s access in terms of entering and utilizing conservation areas in order to prevent conflicts between them and conservation managers, he remarked.

The House commission member also pressed for a paradigm shift in forest management in Indonesia that prioritizes people as the subject of development.

Earlier, Indonesia Center for Environmental Law’s (ICEL’s) Forestry and Land Division Head, Adrianus Eryan, at a workshop on Thursday, said that land-based business permit violations often occurred on the field.

There is also a violation of the law, he said.

The forms of violation involving permits include not conducting plantation partnership, not conducting reclamation and disregarding the regulation concerning waste disposal after mining, and not reporting periodically the implementation of Environmental permit.

Meanwhile, examples of violation of the law are clearing away forest area without permit, planning crops outside the controlled plantation areas, and causing B3 waste pollution that affects the environment.

Source: Antara News