Enviro News Asia, Semarang — The Ministry of Forestry is strengthening Indonesia’s forest protection capacity through the recruitment of 21,000 additional Forest Police officers (Polhut), following approval from President Prabowo Subianto. The recruitment will be conducted gradually to address increasingly complex threats to Indonesia’s forests.
The announcement was made by Vice Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki while opening the 2026 Forest Police Formation Training at the Police Community Guidance Training Center in Semarang Regency, Central Java. The training is being conducted through collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry, the Indonesian National Police Security Maintenance Agency (Baharkam Polri), and the Police Education and Training Institute (Lemdiklat Polri).
A total of 586 participants are taking part in the 2026 Forest Police Formation Training, comprising 517 participants from the Ministry of Forestry and 69 participants from regional forestry agencies and the Nusantara Capital Authority (IKN).
Rohmat said the planned addition of 21,000 Forest Police officers was necessary given the growing range of threats facing Indonesia’s forests, including illegal logging, illegal mining, forest fires, illegal wildlife trafficking, and organized cross-border environmental crimes.
To address these challenges, the Ministry of Forestry is implementing three key pillars of modern forest protection: technology-based monitoring through smart patrols, integrated law enforcement supported by scientific crime investigation, and community-based forest patrols.
“Integrity is the most important foundation,” Rohmat said, emphasizing that Forest Police officers require not only physical resilience and technical expertise but also strong ethical standards in carrying out their duties.
The Ministry is also directing the development of the Forest Police profession toward preventive forest protection through risk-based patrols and early detection. Officers are expected to develop constructive relationships with communities living around forest areas while strengthening their technical, legal, social, digital, and field leadership competencies.
The new approach also emphasizes collaboration among communities, local governments, the Indonesian National Armed Forces and Police, law enforcement agencies, academics, businesses, and civil society organizations. The goal is to transform Forest Police officers from conventional security personnel into professional and competency-based forest protection officers.
Director General of Forest Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho said strengthening the capacity and mentality of Forest Police officers was increasingly important as environmental crimes continue to evolve.
According to Dwi, Forest Police officers often operate across vast and remote areas and face significant risks while protecting forests and wildlife. Their responsibilities require officers who are courageous, intelligent, adaptive, and capable of understanding changing patterns of environmental crime.
The 2026 training is therefore expected to serve as an important foundation for preparing Forest Police officers to become key actors in forest law enforcement at the field level.
The Ministry of Forestry also expressed appreciation to Lemdiklat Polri, Baharkam Polri, and all parties involved in organizing the training. Participants were encouraged to follow the curriculum with discipline, maintain their health and teamwork, and uphold integrity throughout their careers.
Through the expansion and professionalization of the Forest Police force, the government aims to strengthen forest protection, improve law enforcement, and safeguard Indonesia’s forests as critical ecological assets for environmental sustainability and community livelihoods. (*)
