Yogyakarta, 6 Juli 2025. Tim Satuan Tugas Penertiban Kawasan Hutan (Satgas PKH) melakukan penyegelan kebun sawit ilegal di Bentang Alam Bukit Tigapuluh, tepatnya di perkebunan sawit illegal Toton pada tanggal 5 Juli 2025. Annisa Rahmawati Senior Wildlife Campaigner Geopix Asia mengatakan, “Geopix mengapresiasi dan mendukung penuh tindakan tegas penegakan hukum oleh Satgas PKH untuk melindungi kawasan hutan yang masuk dalam wilayah penting konservasi”.
Plang penyegelan resmi telah dipasang di areal kebun sawit ilegal yang luasnya mencapai sekitar 2.012 ha yang dikelola oleh Toton di Blok 2, dari total sekitar 13.175 ha lahan sawit ilegal di dalam konsesi PT. ABT. Upaya tersebut merupakan penanda penting dalam sejarah konservasi alam di Bentang Alam Bukit Tigapuluh, rumah bagi sekitar 120 ekor Gajah Sumatera, 200 individu Orangutan Sumatera dan 10 ekor Harimau Sumatera, serta satwa-satwa liar endemik lainnya yang dilindungi Undang-undang.
Kejahatan perambahan di kawasan konservasi seperti Taman Nasional Tesso Nilo dan Bentang Alam Bukit Tigapuluh juga tidak lepas dari keterlibatan pejabat dan politisi busuk yang korup, yang menyalahgunakan kekuasaan mereka untuk menjalankan bisnis sawit haram ini. “Bertahun-tahun mereka tidak membayar pajak dan bertahun-tahun itu pula, kita secara tidak langsung turut mensubsidi bisnis haram mereka yang merusak hutan beserta seluruh sumber daya alam di dalamnya , habitat satwa liar dan masa depan Indonesia.” lanjut Annisa.
Namun demikian, plang peringatan tidak akan berarti apapun jika tidak dibarengi dengan upaya nol toleransi dalam pemusnahan kebun sawit illegal. “Kita semua mendesak Satgas PKH agar terus menunjukkan ketegasannya di Bentang Alam Bukit Tigapuluh sebagaimana yang telah dilakukan di Taman Nasional Tesso Nilo. Penjahat-penjahat hutan tersebut tidak boleh ditoleransi sedikitpun bahkan dengan skema-skema yang dapat melemahkan ketegasan upaya penertiban kawasan hutan seperti perhutanan sosial maupun strategi jangka benah. Skema-skema tersebut dapat ditunggangi para penjahat hutan tersebut untuk terus mendapatkan keuntungan dari bisnis sawit haram mereka dengan mengangkangi hukum di Indonesia dan mengakali kita semua”. pungkas Annisa.
PKH Task Force Pushes Back Illegal Palm Oil Operations in Bukit Tigapuluh
Yogyakarta, July 6, 2025 — The Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH) conducted the sealing of an illegal oil palm plantation within the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape, specifically at the illegal plantation operated by Toton, on July 5, 2025. Annisa Rahmawati, Senior Wildlife Campaigner at Geopix Asia, stated, “Geopix fully appreciates and strongly supports the firm law enforcement action taken by the PKH Task Force to protect forest areas that are part of a critical conservation zone.”
An official warning signboard has now been installed on the illegal oil palm plantation managed by an individual named Toton in Block 2, covering approximately 2,012 hectares, part of a much larger area of around 13,175 hectares of illegally planted oil palm inside PT ABT’s concession. This action marks a significant milestone in the history of environmental protection in the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape, home to an estimated 120 Sumatran elephants, 200 Sumatran orangutans, 10 Sumatran tigers, and numerous other endemic and legally protected wildlife species.
Crimes of forest encroachment in conservation areas such as Tesso Nilo National Park and the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape are not without the involvement of corrupt officials and unscrupulous politicians, who abuse their power to profit from this illicit palm oil business. “For years, they have evaded taxes, and for years, we have—perhaps unknowingly—subsidized their illegal enterprises, at the cost of our forests, our natural resources, our wildlife habitats, and Indonesia’s future,” Annisa continued.
However, the installation of warning signs will mean nothing unless it is followed by a zero-tolerance approach to the destruction of illegal oil palm plantations. “We urge the PKH Task Force to maintain and strengthen their enforcement in the Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape, as they have done in Tesso Nilo National Park. These forest criminals must not be tolerated—not even through mechanisms that weaken enforcement, such as social forestry schemes or ‘phased transition’ strategies,” Annisa warned. “Such schemes risk being exploited by these actors to continue profiting from illegal palm oil under the guise of legality, undermining the law and deceiving us all.”
