The Riau Police Chief, Inspector General of Police Agung Setia Imam Efendi, S.H., S.I.K., M.Sc., stated that in the year 2021, the police discovered 29 incidents of illegal logging in Riau Province.
Out of the overall cases, 41 people were detained for encroachment involving wood from the Giak Siak Kecil Wildlife Sanctuary (SM), Rimbang Baling SM, and Kerumutan SM. Furthermore, the Regional Police and ranks are currently dealing with 20 cases involving 24 individuals in the Karhutla case.
“I assure you that law enforcement will continue to be carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the BKSDA, and other parties involved,” Riau Police Chief stated.
Securing these reckless parties, according to the Riau Police Chief, is proof that the state is present and cannot be defeated by crime. The Riau Police Chief stated, “Riau Police continue to educate the public that taking or cutting wood in forest areas is a felony that causes very serious environmental damage.”
In order to conserve and maintain Riau’s woods, his party, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and other relevant stakeholders, declared that they were consistent in exposing environmental crimes such as forest and land fires and illegal logging.
“This is also in keeping with President Joko Widodo’s remarks during the G20 Summit in La Nuvola, Rome, Italy, that Indonesia plays a critical and strategic role in the fight against climate change as one of the world’s largest owners of tropical forests and mangrove forests. As a result, Indonesia has made a promise to be a part of the solution to the problem of climate change, preserving forests and wildlife from the hands of environmental mafias “The Riau Police Chief came to a conclusion.
