Jakarta – The government has set up a new task force to scale up efforts to improve forest management and curb illegal oil palm plantations and illegal mines within forest areas.
Presidential Regulation No. 5/2025, signed on Jan. 21, forms the legal basis for the task force, Tempo.co reported.
The new team comprises officials from several state institutions, including the Attorney General's Office (AGO), the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) and the Forestry Ministry, and is required to report directly to President Prabowo Subianto every six months.
It also has an advisory board led by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and consists of the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief, the National Police chiefs and relevant ministers.
One board member is Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni, who first revealed the plan to form the task force in November.
"A collaboration between the AGO, the BPKP and the Forestry Ministry is expected to ensure that our natural resources are managed well and used for the welfare of the people," he said on Nov. 1, as quoted by Antara.