February 26, 2026 | 10:09 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Approached three times by Tempo, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni declined to answer questions about his alleged involvement in altering the core zone of Way Kambas National Park. The change was suspected of accommodating the interests of former White House policy adviser Karen Brooks, who was planning to pursue ecotourism and carbon-trading ventures there.
Ahmad Munawir, Director of Species and Genetic Conservation at the Forestry Ministry, denied that zoning changes at Way Kambas were tied to Brooks. “At the national level, zoning can be revised or adjusted for specific management needs,” he told Tempo after the National Foresters Gathering at IPB University in Bogor, West Java, on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
Munawir elaborated on the changes to the park’s core zone and on Brooks’ tourism plans in Way Kambas. Excerpts from the interview follow.
We received information that the planned zoning changes in Way Kambas National Park (TNWK) were intended to accommodate Karen Brooks’ tourism and carbon businesses. Is that true?
It would be naïve to think zoning changes were made for that reason. We revise zoning at any time, and it can be done by the national park authority.
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