Aiptu Nunuh Sutisna Police Officer “Addicted” to Trees
Although not his main task, Nunuh Sutisna encourages tree planting and provides education on nature conservation, especially for children and youth in the area.
Photo uploaded in February 2018 on Nunuh Sutisna's Facebook, where he participated in planting mangrove tree seedlings in Karawang, West Java..
Planting trees has become a kind of “addiction” for Adj. First Inspector (Aiptu) Nunuh Sutisna. Riding his motorcycle, he distributes tree seedlings to remote areas in West Java that need to rehabilitate the local environment. If there is a shortage of funds, he contributes his assets, including his Vespa collection.
Nunuh is a member of the Ibun district police (Polsek) under the Bandung Police force. He is head of the community safety and guidance unit (Binmas) in the jurisdiction of Ibun district in Bandung regency, West Java. Environmental rehabilitation and greening activities are not central to his duties, but he has been very active in calling on the local people to plant trees and teaching others about nature conservation.
“Although we knew nothing about environmental studies, with a strong will, [and] seeking information from knowledgeable people, by the grace of God we have learned [about conservation],” Nunuh said on Saturday afternoon (28/5/2022) at Saung Monteng, Ibun. The saung (hut) is the base of environmental activists who come from various backgrounds.
The conversation with Nunuh took place over coffee harvested by local farmers around the Kamojang Crater conservation area. The tangy, bittersweet flavor of the coffee called to Nunuh’s mind of how he became “addicted” to planting trees.
“I drink water from Ibun, coffee from Ibun, [so] something should be given back to nature,” he said.
Nunuh actually lives in Sumedang and travels two hours to reach the police station in Ibun. Nunuh, who has been assigned to Ibun since 2007, first became concerned about the floods and landslides that plagued Bandung residents. Ibun’s Kamojang Forest is located in the upstream area of the Citarum River, which frequently overflows to cause flooding in Bandung. So in 2015, he observed the condition of Kamojang Forest in Ibun. It turned out that most of the forest had been denuded in the five Ibun villages of Neglasari, Dukuh, Ibun, Mekarwangi and Laksana.
I drink water from Ibun, coffee from Ibun, [so] something should be given back to nature,
He promptly bought tree seedlings for planting on critical land. But owing to his limited knowledge, the seedlings he planted did not develop properly. It seemed that the seedlings he had chosen were unsuited to the area. Since then, on the suggestion of several people, he has selected the seedlings of endemic trees such as jamuju (Dacrycarpus imbricatus), meuhmal (Litsea cubeba) and kibereum (Distylium stellare).
In the beginning, he worked on his own. He later realized that environmental damage was a complex problem that had to be handled by involving the local community. Therefore, he joined the activists of the Saung Monteng Foundation. The group “benefited” from Nunuh’s ability in public relations as the Binmas head in calling on different circles to be mindful of the environment. In this way, Saung Monteng was able to mobilize school and university students, security officers, businesspeople, as well as punks and bikers to plant trees in Kamojang Forest.
ARSIP NUNUH SUTISNA
Nunuh Sutisna
Expanding
As the tree planting activity in Kamojang grew popular under the guidance of Saung Monteng’s members, Nunuh expanded his “operational area”. He looked for critical forests and areas beyond Ibun district that needed greening, and even areas beyond Bandung regency. Most of these areas were located at altitudes of more than 1,000 meters above sea level.
To date, the recipient of Bandung regency’s 2017 Sabilulungan Award has initiated conservation education and tree planting activities in 12 regions: Bandung regency, West Bandung, Sumedang, Garut, Tasikmalaya and Ciamis, as well as Bogor, Kuningan, Cirebon, Subang, Cianjur and Karawang.
Nunuh uses his own resources to cover almost all of his tree planting activities, including his motorcycle and Vespa collection to transport seedlings to the areas that need them. The Saung Monteng Foundation provide the seedlings for free.
For areas outside Ibun, Nunuh is only able to transport 100 seedlings at a time because he relies on a two-wheeled vehicle. “It’s the [work] motorcycle, it could be damaged in the forest,” he said, laughing, pointing at his automatic motorcycle.
Nunuh usually spends two days in a single area, staying overnight and giving guidance in the evening before planting the next day. “The ‘story’ should come first. What purpose planting trees serves, what impacts cutting down trees causes,” he said.
Against proposals
As a police officer, it would be easy for Nunuh to submit a proposal and obtain funds to cover the cost of tree planting activities. But he is opposed to using such methods. “I’m afraid it might seem untrustworthy [to others], or that I might [be suspected of] using the funds [for myself].”
Some circles have indeed donated funds to Saung Monteng, but these have been relatively small compared with the actual costs. More often than not, its members, including Nunuh, use their own money to help fund the group’s activities. On the eve of World Tree Day on 21 Nov. 2021, for example, he asked fellow volunteers in Saung Monteng how much money was available to launch a tree planting program in Ibun to mark World Tree Day. Their answer was, far from enough.
Without hesitation, he sold one of his Vespas for Rp 5 million to fund the program in the Legok Badak Block of Ibun village. Some 300 people from several communities gathered to plant 2,500 tree seedlings.
Today, Nunuh is continuing with his journey to find critical land or areas that need regreening in West Java, on both sides of the road.
Nunuh Sutisna
Occupation: Binmas head, Ibun District Police, Bandung Municipal Police
Born: Sumedang, 23 Nov. 1965
Wife: Ai Rostika (deceased)
Children: two
Education:
- Voluntary Military Noncommissioned School (Seba Milsuk), West Java Regional Police, Class IV (1985)
- SMAN 24 Bandung state senior high school (1981-1984)
