InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In the Festival Like 2 in Jakarta this week, the villagers of Rantau Bertuah, Sub district of Minas, Regency of Siak, Riau Province would get the first decision in Indonesia that substituted their areas to be legal ones in forest areas. The decision published by Minister of Environment and Forestry Number 617 / 2024, would deliver the legal for the smallholders that cultivated the areas for about 20 years.

Expert Staff of Minister of Environment and Forestry, Afni Zulkifli was happy. “Alhamdulillah, The Blue Decision for Village of Rantau Bertuah would be handed over in the Festival Like 2 in Jakarta. This would be significant to solve tenure conflicts and protect the villagers’ rights in the forest areas,” he said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from Media Indonesia, Wednesday (7/8/2024).

The changing status would be the implementation of Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja (UUCK) that would deliver solution for the villagers that cultivated the areas less than five hectares for about two decades. The decision would be part of what the government did to solve land mastery in forest region arrangement in the second revision of Ministry of Environment and Forestry that covered seven villages in the Regency of Siak.

The next would be about to get the legal definitively by having indicative maps. This would be the important base in the process. Afni emphasized the process would run as the available regulations to confirm that the villagers of Rantau Bertuah would get the advantages legally and sustainably. (T2)