Julmansyah, Director of Tenurial Conflict Management and Customary Forests at the Ministry of Forestry, explained on Monday that two indigenous communities on Sipora Island — Uma Sakerebau Mailepet and Uma Sibagau — began the process of applying for customary forest recognition in 2017.
The customary forest recognition overlaps with 6,937 hectares of the 20,710 hectares submitted by SPS for Forest Utilization Business Permits (PBPH), he said.
Julmansyah noted that the process has been ongoing for some time, even though the ministry only started handling it a few months ago.
"We're not stopping it, but we're pausing it temporarily because we have some matters to resolve with our colleagues at the Directorate General of Sustainable Forest Management (PHL)," he said.
Ministry officials have met with indigenous communities and local governments in the Mentawai Islands regarding the process. They are also preparing a draft document for the composition of an integrated team to verify customary forest proposals.
"From the verification results and the team’s work, we will determine which of the approximately 6,900 hectares of overlapping area will be approved by the integrated team. There is potential for both increases and decreases," Julmansyah explained.
Saparis Soedarjanto, PHL secretary, stated that his office has not yet issued a PBPH for SPS because several stages are still pending. These include the preparation of geographic coordinates of the work area, approval of environmental documents including the Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL), and payment of PBPH dues.
However, he confirmed that consolidation has been carried out regarding the overlap between proposed customary forest areas and areas submitted for PBPH.
"This is what we will consider later, including the issuance of the permit. If policy prioritizes customary forests, then that is what will happen," Soedarjanto said.
Previously, the Sipora Island community announced their opposition to the issuance of a PBPH in the forest area. SPS’s proposed area of 20,710 hectares covers 33.66 percent of Sipora Island's land, which includes customary forests managed by the local community.
The objection was also raised by the Civil Society Coalition during a public consultation meeting at the West Sumatra Environmental Agency on May 22, part of the process SPS must undergo to obtain an AMDAL.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna Violleta, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Anton Santoso
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