Jember Farmers Oppose Ministry of Defense Batalyon Construction in Social Forestry Area

Anxiety is mounting among farmers organized under Gabungan Kelompok Tani Hutan (Gapoktanhut) Jati Jaya in Silo District, Jember Regency, East Java, following the Ministry of Defense's plan to build a Batalyon Teritorial Pembangunan (Territorial Development Battalion) within their social forestry area. The planned project spans approximately 55.25 hectares, covering plots 1, 2, 3, and 15. "We want our scope of income to remain so that development does not occur there. We are worried about the social impact, including the socio-economy that is already running," said Masis, Chairman of Gapoktanhut Jati Jaya, during a hearing with the Jember Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Thursday (17/6/26). He questioned the plan to build a battalion, which the government claims is for food security, while simultaneously threatening the community's food sources. This is particularly concerning as the location recently obtained social forestry status through a decree from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut). Sutrisno, a member of Gapoktan, stated that the area designated for the battalion construction is part of the community forest (HKm) area with a 35-year management right. He added that the farmers had never received official notification about the battalion plan. They only learned of it when military personnel arrived in the forest area with a drone for mapping. The farmers present were surprised and questioned the purpose of the survey. "Suddenly, the military came with a drone. The farmers were shocked. Why the drone, what for? Because neither the village nor the military had ever coordinated with the group," said Sutrisno. Since then, the farmers have begun to realize that part of the land they manage will be the site for the Batalyon Teritorial Pembangunan. He recounted that due to this plan, one farmer even... This article was originally published on Mongabay.