Indonesia's Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, stated that President Prabowo Subianto has approved the addition of up to 70,000 forest rangers to strengthen the protection of Indonesia's 125 million hectares of national forest areas.
Antoni revealed to the media in Jakarta on Thursday that he had discussed increasing the number of forest rangers with the president twice. The president believes the current ratio of one ranger per 2,500 hectares is not ideal and has decided to set a new target of one ranger for every 2,000 hectares.
According to this new target, an estimated 70,000 additional forest rangers will be needed. Antoni noted that the actual implementation will still require going through relevant bureaucratic procedures and regulatory adjustments. Currently, there are only about 4,800 forest rangers nationwide, with each ranger responsible for about 25,000 hectares of forest land on average. Some personnel have already reached retirement age, which further increases regulatory pressures.
He gave an example that Aceh province has about 3.5 million hectares of forest land but only 63 forest rangers; Bengkulu province has about 900,000 hectares of forest, but only about 50 million rupiah (around US$2,900) in ranger funding. Local government budget allocations prioritize key areas, so forestry funding is often insufficient for actual needs.
The government also plans to establish law enforcement centers in each province in order to improve the speed and efficiency of forest law enforcement. Antoni stated that this move is aimed at strengthening national supervision of forest areas while maintaining the involvement of local communities as strategic partners.
According to this new target, an estimated 70,000 additional forest rangers will be needed. Antoni noted that the actual implementation will still require going through relevant bureaucratic procedures and regulatory adjustments. Currently, there are only about 4,800 forest rangers nationwide, with each ranger responsible for about 25,000 hectares of forest land on average. Some personnel have already reached retirement age, which further increases regulatory pressures.
He gave an example that Aceh province has about 3.5 million hectares of forest land but only 63 forest rangers; Bengkulu province has about 900,000 hectares of forest, but only about 50 million rupiah (around US$2,900) in ranger funding. Local government budget allocations prioritize key areas, so forestry funding is often insufficient for actual needs.
The government also plans to establish law enforcement centers in each province in order to improve the speed and efficiency of forest law enforcement. Antoni stated that this move is aimed at strengthening national supervision of forest areas while maintaining the involvement of local communities as strategic partners.