After the meeting here on Tuesday, Antoni revealed that the Ministry of Forestry and the TNI Headquarters are planning to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which will serve as the basis for cooperation and collaboration between the two institutions in the future.
"Soon, there will be a signing of the MoU between the Ministry of Forestry and the TNI regarding how we can cooperate to protect the forests so that they are not plundered by private hands, communities, or corporations that damage our forests as a source of water and oxygen," he said.
The MoU will also include cooperation in rehabilitating damaged forests, including replanting deforested areas.
"Considering the limited human resources that we have, the success of the Ministry of Forestry in protecting forests is very dependent on cooperation and collaboration with the TNI—which has a wide network reaching remote villages," he said at a press conference after the 30-minute closed-door meeting at the TNI Headquarters.
Meanwhile, Subiyanto welcomed the invitation for cooperation from the minister.
He emphasized that the TNI is also committed to protecting Indonesia's forests from the hands of irresponsible individuals.
"There are 125 million hectares of forest that we must protect so that it is not taken by irresponsible people, who can turn them into unproductive land, and later result in natural disasters," he said.
The TNI commander will deploy village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) across the country to help the Forestry Ministry protect forests.
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Translator: Genta Tenri Mawangi, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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