Illegal Pine Resin Tapping in TNGC, Supervision Questioned

Yosef

Contributor

18 Jan 2026 · 00:00 18 January 2026 00:00 WIB 5 minutes reading time: 5 minutes 33 read

Illegal pine resin tapping in TNGC highlights weak supervision, legal certainty, and potential state losses in conservation areas.

Aktivitas ilegal di kawasan konservasi soroti perlunya pengawasan dan penegakan hukum yang lebih ketat demi kepentingan publik. (Source: AI Gemini, Redaksi Literasi Hukum Indonesia)

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Legal Literacy - The pine resin tapping activity that has been going on for years in the Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC) area has again become a serious public concern. The practice of utilizing forest products that runs without legal certainty is considered to not only potentially disrupt the balance of the ecosystem but also indicate the weakness of the state's supervisory function in strategic conservation areas.

TNGC is a national conservation area that has very high ecological value. In addition to functioning as a fortress of biodiversity in the eastern region of West Java, this area is also the main buffer for the upstream of the River Basin (DAS) which supports the water needs and lives of millions of residents in Kuningan, Cirebon and Majalengka Regencies. With this strategic function, every form of utilization activity should be subject to strict regulations and the precautionary principle.

Administratively, the TNGC area stretches across three regencies, namely Kuningan, Majalengka, and a small part of Cirebon. This condition requires zoning-based governance, layered supervision and full compliance with forestry laws and regulations. However, the reality on the ground shows that there are structured economic activities that run without a formal licensing basis.

In the Majalengka Regency area, pine resin tapping activities have been identified as taking place in the Padaherang Block, the working area of the National Park Management Section (SPTN) Region II Majalengka under the Mount Ciremai National Park Center (BTNGC). The activity was carried out by the Mekar Raharja Forest Farmer Group (KTH) chaired by Sanukri, without holding an official permit to utilize forest products in the national park area.

The scale of this tapping activity is quite significant. Based on information from local residents, during the dry season pine resin production can reach around 12 tons in one harvest, while in the rainy season the volume decreases by almost half. This data shows that there is a sustainable economic activity with high commercial value.

However, residents admit that they have never received an official explanation regarding the legal status of the activity, standard operating procedures (SOP), potential ecological impacts or environmental monitoring mechanisms. In fact, the tapping activity takes place in the traditional zone of the national park which in principle remains under the full control of the state.

When confirmed, the SPTN Region II Majalengka through the Head of Section, Halu Oleo as the incumbent, admitted that until now there has been no official permit for the utilization of non-timber forest products (HHBK) in the TNGC area. This recognition confirms that the tapping activity that takes place in the field does not have a valid legal basis.