JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities have collected US$190 million in fines from companies working illegally in forestry areas, and seized more than 6.2 million hectares of land, the attorney general announced Tuesday (Oct 6).
Indonesia features regularly among the countries with the largest annual forest loss, NGOs have said, with mining, plantations and fires causing the clearance of large tracts of its lush rainforest.
President Prabowo Subianto established a task force last year to enforce forest protection laws and go after companies, including palm oil and mining firms, found to be in violation of the rules.
The task force can impose and collect fines and reclaim forest land found to have been used illegally.
On Tuesday, the task force handed over 13.24 trillion rupiah ($740 million) recovered from violating companies, attorney general Sanitiar Burhanuddin told reporters in Jakarta.
The amount included 3.4 trillion rupiah in fines, with the remaining sum coming from taxes and earnings.
Sanitiar said the task force had seized more than 6.2 million hectares of forest area in eight separate operations since last year from non-compliant companies and individuals.
Another 14,600 hectares were recovered from illegal mining operations.
More than 140,000 hectares from the latest seizure will be given to the forestry ministry to be managed by state-owned palm oil company Agrinas Palma Nusantara, while another 118,000 hectares will be reforested, said Sanitiar.
Prabowo attended a handover ceremony at the attorney general's office, where stacks of money were displayed.
The president said the task force was "saving and securing the state's wealth". - AFP
