inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Member of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Rajiv, urged the Ministry of Forestry to collaborate with the Indonesian National Police (INP) to enforce the law and strengthen protection of forest areas and national parks.
He emphasized that there is no reason for the Ministry of Forestry, particularly its Directorate General of Law Enforcement, to handle this issue partially and sporadically, without involving the police in all aspects of law enforcement.
"In a situation of this scale of crime, the Ministry’s Directorate General of Law Enforcement has proven unable to work alone. The police, particularly the Criminal Investigation Agency, must be involved and become an integral and systematic part in handling every case of forest encroachment and illegal mining in forest areas and national parks," concluded Rajiv on Monday (11/10/2025).
This was conveyed by Rajiv after police uncovered illegal sand mining in the Mount Merapi National Park (TNGM) area in Magelang, Central Java, which is estimated to have caused state losses of up to IDR 3 trillion.
According to Rajiv, if the Directorate General of Law Enforcement struggles to keep up with the speed and scale of the damage, police involvement will ensure swift and effective eradication of illegal mining and forest encroachment.
"The hundreds of illegal mining cases handled by the police demonstrate that they have a law enforcement infrastructure that can truly act as a force multiplier for the Ministry of Forestry," said Rajiv.
He also commended the police's swift action in uncovering the case and expressed concern about the long-standing destruction of the national park.
"I commend the police's swift action in uncovering illegal mining in the Mount Merapi National Park area, which has been going on for quite some time and is destroying the forest ecosystem," said Rajiv.
He believes that encroachment on national parks cannot be allowed to continue, as many forests and national parks in Indonesia have been destroyed due to the Ministry of Forestry's lack of swift law enforcement.
He urged the Ministry of Forestry to update its data, set forest restoration targets as soon as possible, and strengthen the Directorate General of Law Enforcement.
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