Pemprov Papua Dorong Penambahan Polisi Hutan Papua Provincial Government Pushes for Additional Forest Ranger Personnel
Pemerintah Provinsi Papua terus mendorong penguatan pengawasan kawasan hutan melalui penambahan personel Polisi Kehutanan (Polhut). Langkah tersebut dinilai penting mengingat luas kawasan hutan Papua mencapai sekitar 7,8 juta hektare, sementara jumlah personel yang tersedia saat ini masih terbatas. The Papua Provincial Government continues to strengthen forest area monitoring by seeking an increase in the number of Forest Police personnel. The move is considered important given that Papua's forest area covers approximately 7.8 million hectares, while the number of available personnel remains limited.
JAYAPURA - Pemerintah Provinsi Papua terus mendorong penguatan pengawasan kawasan hutan melalui penambahan personel Polisi Kehutanan (Polhut). Langkah tersebut dinilai penting mengingat luas kawasan hutan Papua mencapai sekitar 7,8 juta hektare, sementara jumlah personel yang tersedia saat ini masih terbatas.
Kepala Dinas Kehutanan dan Lingkungan Hidup (DKLH) Provinsi Papua, Yaconias Mattindom mengatakan, saat ini hanya terdapat 41 personel Polhut yang tersebar di sejumlah wilayah.
“Idealnya itu harusnya sekitar 500 orang untuk mengawasi hutan Papua dengan luas 7,8 juta hektare,” kata Yaconias, Kamis (20/8).
Ia menjelaskan, keterbatasan personel Polhut menjadi tantangan dalam melakukan pengawasan di lapangan. Karena itu, Pemprov Papua melalui DKLH tengah mengusulkan penambahan kuota khusus Polhut kepada pemerintah pusat.
“Kami sedang minta kuota khusus Polhut ditambah. Hanya saja Polhut itu menjadi kewenangan Kemenhut,” ujarnya.
Menurut Yaconias, minimnya jumlah personel dapat membuka peluang terjadinya berbagai aktivitas ilegal di kawasan hutan, termasuk pembalakan liar (illegal logging) dan perburuan satwa yang dilindungi.
Karena itu, penguatan personel menjadi bagian penting dalam menjaga kelestarian hutan sekaligus memastikan pemanfaatan sumber daya alam dilakukan sesuai dengan ketentuan yang berlaku.
“Pemprov Papua berharap usulan penambahan kuota Polhut tersebut dapat mendapat dukungan pemerintah pusat sehingga pengawasan kawasan hutan dapat dilakukan secara lebih optimal dan berkelanjutan,” tutupnya. ***
JAYAPURA – The Papua Provincial Government continues to strengthen forest area monitoring by seeking an increase in the number of Forest Police personnel. The move is considered important given that Papua's forest area covers approximately 7.8 million hectares, while the number of available personnel remains limited.
Head of the Papua Provincial Forestry and Environment Agency, Yaconias Mattindom, said there are currently only 41 Forest Police personnel deployed across several areas.
“Ideally, there should be around 500 personnel to monitor Papua's forests, which cover 7.8 million hectares,” Yaconias said on Thursday (August 20).
He explained that the limited number of Forest Police personnel poses a challenge to effective field monitoring. Therefore, the Papua Provincial Government, through the Forestry and Environment Agency, is proposing an increase in the special quota for Forest Police personnel to the central government.
“We are currently requesting an increase in the special quota for Forest Police personnel. However, Forest Police is under the authority of the Ministry of Forestry,” he said.
According to Yaconias, the shortage of personnel could create opportunities for various illegal activities in forest areas, including illegal logging and the hunting of protected wildlife.
Therefore, strengthening personnel is an important part of protecting forest sustainability while ensuring that natural resources are utilized in accordance with applicable regulations.
“The Papua Provincial Government hopes that the proposal to increase the Forest Police quota will receive support from the central government so that forest area monitoring can be carried out more optimally and sustainably,” he concluded. ***
Tentang Penulis
Tim Redaksi Pemprov Papua
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