Covering an area of 129,609 hectares, the certificate was handed over to the main director of BPOLBF and witnessed by high-ranking members of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, the BPN, West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi, the police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the media.

During the handover ceremony Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo revealed that the land is expected to be transformed into a national strategic project (PSN) to be able to attract tourism and create employment for the surrounding areas.

"The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has been asked to develop various tourism areas and one of them is in Labuan Bajo. And for your information, Parapuar is also included in the PSN. Two days ago, I attended the Sewindu PSN event, which was attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. There, it was stated that in the last eight years, 161 PSNs had been completed and had succeeded in absorbing 11 million workers," said Angela.

Plans have been drawn up to separate the land into four districts; the cultural zone, the leisure zone, the adventure zone and the wild zone. It is hoped that this can provide a place for people from all walks of life to visit Labuan Bajo to do as they please.

Raja further clarified that the full land management was given to BPOLBF so that it can be utilized optimally according to its designation, both in the Agrarian Law and its derivatives. It is stated in the certificate that the plot of land is considered state property.

He added that the authority must also guarantee a sense of security for investors who are interested in Labuan Bajo, as the government has relied heavily on investment to accelerate economic growth in the country.

“One of the biggest problems faced by investors when investing in Indonesia is legal certainty. We face many problems with legal certainty, making it difficult for investors to predict profit and losses within a certain period of time,” said Raja. “This is the main task that the President has given us at the ministry/BPN to provide legal certainty to investors who come so that they can happily and comfortably invest in the archipelago.”

The deputy minister and the regent also stressed that the West Manggarai regency administration is committed to supporting the development of the Parapuar area as an integrated tourism destination in Labuan Bajo. Apart from developing the land as a tourist spot, the development is expected to create employment opportunities, help the economy and welfare of local communities. Therefore, Edistasius urged surrounding communities to participate and support the projects.

“Keep moving forward, keep working, we are all behind the BPOLBF. We must use the culture of deliberation and [local wisdom] as a fundamental shoulder for us to move toward a better tomorrow, especially in terms of community involvement in development," he conveyed.

The managing director of the BPOLBF, Shana Fatina, explained that the lengthy process of the certificate was attributed to the support and cooperation of several parties. Explaining the process, she said that the land was originally categorized as a permanent production forest area.

“Because it was a forest area, we started coordinating with the Environment and Forestry Ministry in 2019 to process the legalization of our land, from the 400 ha, at the direction of the Directorate General of the PKTL. It was then divided into two; 136 ha for forest area exchange [TMKH], and 264 ha with a business permit for utilization of natural tourism services/environment [IUPJWA]," she explained.

The process was followed by the legalization of the 136 ha of land in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions for forest area exchange with the Environment and Forestry Ministry and land management rights certification with the Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Ministry/BPN. After the release of the forest area, the process to gain the HPL certification was done throughout 2023. Therefore, the event was a joyous one as the certificate was officially handed over that day.

By obtaining the HPL certificate, Shana reiterated that the commitment of future development of the Parapuar area would be an instrument to encourage economic improvement in the community through opening up employment opportunities.

The event was also attended by the deputy for destination and infrastructure development at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, the minister's expert staff for sustainable development and conservation, the head of land affairs for Mabar regency, the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum of West Manggarai and potential investors.

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