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. ***