President Prabowo Plans to Increase Forest Police to 70,000 Personnel

President Prabowo Subianto underscored the importance of strengthening the role of government apparatus to safeguard Indonesia’s natural resources and vast forest areas. This was conveyed by President Prabowo during his remarks at the Attorney General’s Office Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (10/06).

President Prabowo understood the challenges faced by government apparatus in carrying out their duties in Indonesia’s vast territory, which includes forested, mountainous, and wetland areas. In view of the circumstances, President Prabowo expressed belief that the number of personnel currently deployed to guard forest areas still needs to be increased.

“Our country is immensely wealthy. However, the PKH Task Force has only been working for two years, deep within the dense forests]. As a former soldier, I know the difficulties encountered in our forests, mountains, and swamps. I understand the struggles of our officers. I understand the challenges faced by our soldiers, our police, our customs and excise officers, and our forest police,” stated the President.

The Head of State noted that there are currently only around 4,500 forest police to guard Indonesia’s forest areas, which cover tens of millions of hectares. This situation is one of the Government’s reasons to continue to strengthen the role of its officers in addressing various threats to forest areas.

“There are only 4,500 forest police to safeguard tens of millions of hectares. How can we deal with illegal plunderers and those who burn our forests? We will continue to improve,” he added.

As part of this reinforcement effort, President Prabowo announced plans to gradually increase the number of forest police to 70,000 personnel. For 2027, the Government has set a target to increase the number to 21,000 personnel.

“Out of the 70,000 personnel [needed], we can only reach 21,000 in 2027. This means that perhaps in 3 to 4 years, we will reach the 70,000 target,” said the President.

In addition to forest police, President Prabowo is of the opinion that capacity building is also needed for customs and excise officers and other security forces. According to the President, this capacity must be scaled to the vast ​​surveillance area, which includes numerous ports and airports that must be guarded.

“[We also need to look at] our customs and excise, hundreds of ports, and hundreds of airports. How many officers do they have? How many ships? Likewise, our other security forces, we understand the problems. Therefore, we will try to improve it,” he said.

President Prabowo added that reinforcing the capacity of these officers is part of the Government’s commitment to safeguarding Indonesia’s natural resources and ensuring their management benefits the public. The President emphasized that all government policies must be directed toward the interests of the people and nation.

“We have abundant wealth. We have abundant natural resources. Our responsibility is to protect and manage them. And the PKH Task Force is at the forefront of this,” concluded the President.(BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (NST/MMB)