Lebak, Banten, Dec. 8 -- An Indonesian academic urged law-enforcement agencies to intensify crackdowns on illegal mining, warning that forest destruction in Banten Province risks triggering severe ecological disasters.

Mochamad Husen, a lecturer at Latansa Mashiro University in Rangkasbitung on Sunday, praised recent moves by Banten police, that arrested 10 illegal gold-mining suspects, and by the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (PKH), which sealed unlicensed mine shafts inside the Mount Halimun Salak National Park (TNGHS).

He said illegal mining has accelerated forest degradation across Banten, where about 200,000 hectares are classified as critical or severely critical, according to provincial environmental and forestry authorities...