GSM’s Watershed Rehabilitation Reaches 1,089.37 Hectares, Beyond Regulatory Requirements
An area of 589.37 hectares that has been fully rehabilitated was officially handed over by PT Gorontalo Sejahtera Mining (GSM) to the Ministry of Forestry on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at the Manggala Wanabakti Building in Jakarta. This handover represents the company’s commitment under the Watershed Rehabilitation (Rehab DAS) program.
The handover continues the first phase of rehabilitation covering 500 hectares that had been delivered earlier. With this second phase, the total rehabilitated area submitted by GSM now reaches 1,089.37 hectares. This exceeds the company’s forest-use permit obligation (PPKH) of 999.90 hectares by 89.47 hectares.
The handover documents were signed by GSM Director Cahyono Seto and received by Ir. Sri Handayaningsih, M.Sc, Director of Soil Conservation and Forest Reclamation (TKTRH), representing the Directorate General of Watershed Management and Forest Rehabilitation (PDASRH) of the Ministry of Forestry.
The rehabilitation sites are located in Suka Damai and Wonggasari Tengah villages, Lemito District, Pohuwato Regency, Gorontalo Province. Planting was carried out in two phases: the first from 2018 to 2022, and the second starting in 2022 and evaluated on November 12, 2025.
The evaluation results show a planting success rate of 83.09 percent, surpassing the Ministry’s minimum standard of 75 percent. The planted species include timber trees such as mahogany, nyatoh, and white teak, along with fruit trees like durian, cashew, clove, nutmeg, and rambutan.
Watershed Rehabilitation is a government-mandated effort to restore forest and watershed functions as compensation for forest areas used for business activities. Under the PPKH mechanism, each hectare of forest utilized must be replaced with rehabilitation on another hectare of land. This ensures ecological balance, soil and water conservation, and long-term environmental sustainability.
For GSM, the watershed rehabilitation program reflects the company’s environmental responsibility. “This watershed rehabilitation not only fulfills our regulatory obligations, but also delivers real benefits for the environment and surrounding communities,” said GSM Director Cahyono Seto. “We want to ensure that forest areas remain productive and sustainable.”
GSM is one of the permit holders for the Pani Gold Mine in Pohuwato, Gorontalo, alongside several other companies involved in its management. GSM is a subsidiary of PT Merdeka Gold Resources Tbk (MGR), which in turn is part of the PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk. With the completion of this second-phase handover, GSM has now fulfilled its entire watershed rehabilitation obligation.
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