TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) found new traces of illegal logging in the Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve (GSK), Bengkalis, Riau through an aerial surveillance on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.

Based on the images captured, the tents that belong to the perpetrators and illegal canals used as the distribution path had been closed by a joint operation team.

Other than that, Director General of the ministry’s Law Enforcement Rasio Ridho Sani said unrecovered logs surrounding the canal’s perimeter are still there. “The joint team consists of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation, Law Enforcement Board of Sumatra, Bengkalis Police, and the Bengkalis Military District Command has carried out various efforts to cope with illegal logging,” according to his written report on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.

The team has closed down the 1,000 meters canal, destroyed illegal cabins and 230 cubic meters of processed wood from the illegal logging activity throughout October 2016. “The operation has been done since 2014 and has closed 21 lanes used to deliver the illegal woods and destroyed 1.500 hectares of palm tree plantation.

Rasio said that there are 205 families who still clearing off 867 hectares of land in the GSK area. Legal State officials have conducted legal efforts against the perpetrators. Reports of three cases have been completed (P-21) in 2015.

According to him, the law enforcers have sent out warning letters, conducted socializations, as well as collected supports from Malay's traditional institutions, non-governmental organizations, and youth and religious organizations in order to dispel the settlers that are inside the forest area.

AHMAD FAIZ