Budi Otmansyah Jakarta Globe 5 Mar 10;
Environmental authorities in Riau province have dispatched a team to the Indragiri Hulu district to investigate a report that was filed by a respected tribal leader claiming massive illegal conversion of forest into palm oil plantations.
Patih Laman, head of the nomadic Talang Mamak tribe, which lives in the forests of Indragiri Hulu, last year spoke of the illegal conversion. He said that since 2008, 1,800 hectares of tribal forest had been illegally felled in his area.
But after his call went ignored, Patih, 90, traveled 300 kilometers from his forest lands to Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau, to return to the governor the Kalpataru Award he had received from then-President Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2003.
However, he was not able to meet with Governor Rusli Zaenal at the time.
"This team will evaluate and seek input from the field. They will also try to find a solution [to the issue] and will see first-hand how Patih looks after the forests," said Sabar Ginting, head of the Sumatra Regional Environmental Management Agency.
The team will have five members, from the Indragiri Hulu Environment Agency, the Indragiri Hulu Plantation Office, the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park, the Rengat Natural Resources Conservation Center, and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).
The Talang Mamak tribal forests consisted of four areas — the 1,800-hectare Panguanan and Panyabungan forests, the 105-hectare Sungai Tunu forests, the 22-hectare Pusaka Kelumbuk Tinggi Banir forest, and the 98-hectare Durian Berjajar forest.
Patih told the Jakarta Globe that he was deeply disappointed and resented the situation in the tribal forests. He said the government “knows we’re illiterate and they think they can fool us just like that.”
He added that Megawati had acknowledged the tribal control of the forest and in 2007 a joint decree signed by the head of Indragiri Hulu district, Thamsir Rahman, and the head of Indragiri Hulu Legislative Council, H Marpolli, confirmed the tribe's possession of the forest.
Patih was given the Kalpatari Award by the president for his role in managing tribal forests.
