Military Member Responsible For Biosphere Encroachment In Riau: Task Force

Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - A forest fire chief emergency responder said, here on Monday, a military member was responsible for illegal logging and encroachment in the Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu (GSK-BB) biosphere reserve in Riau.

"The suspected army member had been arrested for illegal logging in a biosphere reserve previously," Brigadier General Prihadi Agus Irianto, the chief of Riau s Haze Emergency Response Task Force, told Antara.

"It is now time for us to speak about it openly because this "sin" can no longer be forgiven," he said.

Brigadier General Prihadi, who is also the chief of the regional Wira Bima 031 Resort Military Command, said the army member was known as Major Sergeant Sudigdo.

He said Sudigdo was financing the illegal logging activities in the biosphere reserve.

Sudigdo was earlier arrested by the army police for the same offence and put in a military detention cell in Padang in West Sumatra.

"I will see whether he has been fired, or is still under detention, because his men continue to conduct their activities in the field," he said.

He stated that he discovered Sudigdo s alleged involvement after he asked a special team to conduct order operations, following the imposition of a haze emergency response status by the Riau provincial administration on February 26.

Two of Sudigdo s workers were arrested in the operations led by Lt.Col. Asep Ridwan, the chief intelligence officer of the Wira Bima 031 Resort Military Command.

According to the two suspects, Sudigdo was last seen in the log collection center last week.

He said the special operations team has identified three wood buyers, namely Udin, Buyung and Giran.

Illegal logging activities have caused large fires in the biosphere reserve recently.

According to the Task Force s latest data, more than 3,000 hectares of the biosphere reserve had been burned, including 800 hectares in the nucleus zone.

The GSK-BB, which is located in the Bengkalis and Siak districts in the Riau province, gained the UNESCO s recognition as a biosphere reserve in 2009; the recommendation was made by the Sinar Mas Forestry (SMF) pulp and paper company.

Biosphere reserve is one of the ways to preserve the world s ecosystem, including the bio and cultural diversity contained therein, and as a means of mitigating the negative effect of global warming.