Forestry businesses under the Association of Indonesian Forest Entrepreneurs (APHI) welcome the plan of Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni to implement the Reserve Forest for Food, Energy, and Water (HCPE) program.
This program can also be carried out in areas with Business Forest Utilization Permits (PBPH) through the multi-forest utilization (MUK) business model.
“PBPH members of APHI can contribute to the Reserve Forest for Food and Energy program,” said APHI Deputy Chairman Erwansyah in a statement on Thursday (9/1/2025).
He explained that the forestry sector has transformed from a commodity-based business permit (such as timber) to PBPH, which is a business license based on land/site potential. This transformation allows the implementation of the MUK model, utilizing various forest potentials, from timber products and non-timber products to environmental services, all in line with sustainable forest management principles.
The implementation of MUK in PBPH areas is regulated under the Job Creation Law and its implementing regulations.
“By implementing MUK, the development of reserve forests for food and energy can be carried out on vacant and unproductive lands within PBPH working areas,” he added.
In practice, MUK is implemented through an agroforestry model, which combines timber plants with food and/or energy crops on the same land while maintaining forest sustainability.
Additionally, Erwansyah noted that the HCPE program’s implementation through MUK opens opportunities for broader community empowerment in and around forests, as it will be executed using forestry partnership schemes.
“The development of reserve forests for food and energy can become a momentum to revitalize the performance of PBPH, which is currently in a sluggish state,” Erwansyah emphasized.
“This is an opportunity to boost PBPH performance so that forest utilization can be optimized for both business sustainability and forest conservation,” he added.
Addressing misunderstandings from some parties who claim that the program could trigger deforestation, Erwansyah clarified that the HCPE development should focus on unproductive areas.
“The Reserve Forest for Food and Energy program is clearly not deforestation. It is an optimization program for forest area utilization to make it more productive and a part of rehabilitating less productive or degraded forests,” he explained.
Earlier, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni revealed the government’s plan to develop the Reserve Forest for Food, Energy, and Water Program across 20 million hectares of forest area.
“This program is not deforestation but rather self-sufficiency while maintaining the forest,” said Minister Raja Juli.
“For example, upland rice. There are 1.1 million hectares of land suitable for upland rice cultivation. If we plant 1 million hectares, it could produce up to 3.5 million tons of rice per year,” he added after a coordination meeting with the Presidential Chief of Staff, Retired General AM Putranto, at the Ministry of Forestry Office on Tuesday (7/1/2025).
