Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry is strengthening the management of Conservation Areas (KSA), Nature Reserve Areas (KPA), and Hunting Parks (TB) by enhancing the role of regional ranger units and expanding the implementation of the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) Patrol to improve forest protection and biodiversity conservation.
The initiative, led by the Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE), follows directives from Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni to accelerate innovation in forest management while supporting President Prabowo Subianto’s national priorities on environmental sovereignty, sustainable food and energy security, and climate resilience.
Under the policy, regional ranger units will be reinforced in accordance with Ministerial Regulation No. P.16 of 2024. The reform focuses on ecosystem-based management, institutional strengthening, capacity building, financing transformation, and the adoption of digital technologies to improve conservation services and coordination with local communities.
The ministry said regional ranger units are no longer merely administrative entities but the smallest operational management units responsible for protecting, conserving, and sustainably utilizing biodiversity across Indonesia’s 579 conservation areas, covering approximately 27.67 million hectares.
As part of the modernization effort, SMART Patrol has been integrated into field operations, enabling rangers to record wildlife observations, detect threats such as illegal hunting, illegal logging, encroachment, and forest fires, and map patrol routes using real-time spatial data.
The data collected through SMART Patrol will support evidence-based decision-making, allowing conservation managers to allocate patrol resources more effectively, respond to emerging threats, and regularly evaluate management performance.
The Ministry of Forestry said the initiative also supports the National Forestry Plan (RKTN), which prioritizes strengthening protected forest management, safeguarding biodiversity, and improving the effectiveness of conservation across Indonesia through technology-driven and science-based approaches. (*)
