iniriau.com, Pekanbaru – Chairman of Commission II of the Riau DPRD, Adam Syafa’at, said that the realization of the Riau Social Forestry (PS) regional regulations (Perda) will soon be realized in 2026.
This is because there are many positive things that have been gained from the Riau PS Regional Regulation. One of them is legal certainty for civil society in managing forests which indirectly boosts the economy of local communities.
“Social forestry has a lot of positive sides. Therefore, this regional regulation is needed so that forest management in Riau is clear. So far there has been a prohibition on managing forests, but on the one hand, the forest is still being encroached on. So, this regional regulation provides legal certainty for the people who manage these forests. Hopefully this year there will be such a regional regulation,” explained Adam after attending the Civil Society Input Workshop on the Draft Regional Regulation on Riau Social Forestry, Monday (29/6) in Pekanbaru.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Regional Regulation Formation Agency (Bapemperda) of the Riau DPRD, Sunaryo, said that good regional regulations basically have good and quality academic texts.
“We are waiting for the academic manuscript again. If this already exists and has been reviewed, I think the council members in the Riau DPRD will just have to form a special committee, and the budget will also be there. We will try to get everything done this year for this social forestry regional regulation,” stressed Sunaryo in an optimistic tone.
This social forestry workshop was carried out by the Mitra Insani Foundation together with the Riau CSO Coalition. Present at the workshop were the Director of the Yayasan Mitra Insani Herbet Panggabean, Chair of Commission II of the Riau DPRD Adam Syafa’at, Representative of the Riau CSO Coalition Tarmizi, Chair of the Riau DPRD Bapemperda Sunaryo and a number of academics from the University of Riau.
On that occasion, the Director of the Mitra Insani Foundation, Herbet Panggabean, said that this workshop was a follow-up to the initiative to establish a social forestry regulation.
“This is our follow-up to the initiative that we have been carrying out since last year. We are overseeing the formation of this social forestry regional regulation until it is completed. This regional regulation is a legal umbrella that will accommodate social forestry work units in the future,” explained Herbet briefly.
Riau environmental observer Johny Setiawan Mundung appreciated the one-day social forestry workshop. He is optimistic that with the social forestry regulation, forest management in Riau will be more orderly.
“We appreciate today’s social forestry workshop. Everything is clear to us starting from the budget, the process of making the academic text, until it becomes a regional regulation later. I hope that with this social forestry regulation, the management of forest areas in Riau will be more orderly,” concluded Johny briefly.**
