Antara, Jakarta – About 10 percent of the total 105,072 hectares of conservation forest in Mount Halimun Salak National Park (TNGHS) has been damaged. Located in Lebak, Bogor, and Sukabumi regions, the damages are attributed to widespread illegal gold mining activities.
"The ecological environmental degradation in TNGHS could cause flash floods and landslides, as seen in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh," he said.
The head of TNGHS, Budi Chandra, has reported this condition to the Forest Area Management Task Force (PKH). "A crackdown is imperative to avoid damage caused by [illegal gold mining practices]," he said in Lebak, on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
Budi emphasized that the conservation forest in the national park is a habitat for the unique and protected Javan wildlife population, such as the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus), Javan hawk-eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi), and Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch).
The extensive forest damage at the Mount Halimun Salak National Park puts these animals at serious risk.
Based on the 2015 TNGHS data, about 58 Javan leopards were recorded, and there has not been a re-census. But trap cameras in several locations have never picked up the same number of animals ever since.
The same goes for the Javan hawk-eagle and Javan gibbon; only one or two groups are seen. "The numbers are down," said Budi.
The extensive damage in the conservation forest of TNGHS also affects endemic flora, such as orchids, puspa, saninten, and rasamala. According to Budi, these plants and trees have been destroyed and but down due to land clearing by miners.
More than a thousand mining pits
Budi said about 55 illegal mining pits have been closed down in Panggarangan Resort, scattered in Cirotan, Cimari, and Cisopa blocks. "We strongly urge collaboration to crack down on illegal mining activities," said Budi.
PKH Task Force Commander Major General (TNI) Dody Trywanto said the worst damage to the TNGHS conservation forest is located in the Lebak Regency. He mentioned that illegal gold mining activities dated back to 1990, after PT Antam Cikotok ceased operations.
He agreed that illegal mining activities must be stopped due to the damage and disasters they bring to the surrounding environment. "We must take stringent actions," he said.
Director of Forest Crime Enforcement, Rudianto Saragih Napitu, mapped around 1,400 mining pits in TNGHS scattered in Lebak, Bogor, and Sukabumi. These pits have a depth of 20-50 meters, forming a labyrinth stretching thousands of kilometers.
"I believe these pits could become a time bomb for potential disasters in the vicinity of the TNGHS area and have detrimental impacts on communities and other ecosystems," he said.
He said that, together with the PKH Task Force team, they have conducted three operations to crack down on illegal mines since late October 2025. According to Rudianto, almost 400 illegal mining pits have been closed.
"We aim to gradually close down 1,400 illegal mining pits through this operation," he said.