POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Yesterday (Nov 11) marked four years since the hugely historic day for the Leuser Ecosystem when Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya signed a decree incorporating the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries into the December 2013 Aceh spatial plan (RTRWA).
Days before signing the decree, Minister Nurbaya elaborated on the technical and policy background underlying this legal move, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS.
To coincide with this extremely significant day, yesterday - on the same date this year - President Joko Widodo bestowed the highest medal of honor for extraordinary service, the "Mahaputera Adipradana", on Minister Nurbaya for all her outstanding dedication, particularly in regard to the environment and forestry.
This was the moment when Minister Nurbaya received the "Mahaputera Adipradana" award from President Joko Widodo himself at the State Palace (Nov 11).
Ensuring boundaries incorporated
Four years ago in November, Minister Nurbaya ensured that the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries would remain in existence through her historic legal action to incorporate these boundaries into the controversial December 2013 Aceh spatial plan which had previously not included them.
A series of earlier legal efforts, carried out over several years by civil society groups, aimed at urging the Aceh government and parliament to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan, ultimately failed as these requests were rejected by court.
However, after the issuance of Minister Nurbaya's decree in November 2016, the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries became an integral and inseparable part of the Aceh spatial plan.
This move is widely viewed as a momentous legal intervention which made sure that the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries were preserved, as part of the Aceh spatial plan.
These are the Leuser Ecosystem’s boundaries, which in November four years ago were successfully incorporated into the Aceh spatial plan by Minister Nurbaya. The vast Leuser Ecosystem is a shared home for flagship species such as Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos, and the only place on earth inhabited by these rare creatures.
No new tensions created
The move to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan began with a joint declaration from Minister Nurbaya and Acehnese leaders for a moratorium on palm oil development and mining in the Leuser Ecosystem, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in April 2016.
The legal and political efforts behind the incorporation of the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries into the Aceh spatial plan were by no means easy. In fact, it took several months before the ministerial decree to this effect was issued.
Evidence shows that various other entities, local, national and international alike, also made continuous efforts over several years to put pressure on the Aceh government and parliament to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan. Unfortunately, however, these efforts failed.
In the end, the legal action undertaken by Minister Nurbaya - without creating any tension with the Aceh government of the time - proved successful in getting the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries incorporated into the Aceh spatial plan. This represents an historic and unforgettable lesson learned.
RELATED STORIES
POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Yesterday (Nov 11) marked four years since the hugely historic day for the Leuser Ecosystem when Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya signed a decree incorporating the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries into the December 2013 Aceh spatial plan (RTRWA).
Days before signing the decree, Minister Nurbaya elaborated on the technical and policy background underlying this legal move, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS.
To coincide with this extremely significant day, yesterday - on the same date this year - President Joko Widodo bestowed the highest medal of honor for extraordinary service, the "Mahaputera Adipradana", on Minister Nurbaya for all her outstanding dedication, particularly in regard to the environment and forestry.
This was the moment when Minister Nurbaya received the "Mahaputera Adipradana" award from President Joko Widodo himself at the State Palace (Nov 11).
Ensuring boundaries incorporated
Four years ago in November, Minister Nurbaya ensured that the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries would remain in existence through her historic legal action to incorporate these boundaries into the controversial December 2013 Aceh spatial plan which had previously not included them.
A series of earlier legal efforts, carried out over several years by civil society groups, aimed at urging the Aceh government and parliament to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan, ultimately failed as these requests were rejected by court.
However, after the issuance of Minister Nurbaya's decree in November 2016, the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries became an integral and inseparable part of the Aceh spatial plan.
This move is widely viewed as a momentous legal intervention which made sure that the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries were preserved, as part of the Aceh spatial plan.
These are the Leuser Ecosystem’s boundaries, which in November four years ago were successfully incorporated into the Aceh spatial plan by Minister Nurbaya. The vast Leuser Ecosystem is a shared home for flagship species such as Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos, and the only place on earth inhabited by these rare creatures.
No new tensions created
The move to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan began with a joint declaration from Minister Nurbaya and Acehnese leaders for a moratorium on palm oil development and mining in the Leuser Ecosystem, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS in April 2016.
The legal and political efforts behind the incorporation of the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries into the Aceh spatial plan were by no means easy. In fact, it took several months before the ministerial decree to this effect was issued.
Evidence shows that various other entities, local, national and international alike, also made continuous efforts over several years to put pressure on the Aceh government and parliament to include the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries in the Aceh spatial plan. Unfortunately, however, these efforts failed.
In the end, the legal action undertaken by Minister Nurbaya - without creating any tension with the Aceh government of the time - proved successful in getting the Leuser Ecosystem's boundaries incorporated into the Aceh spatial plan. This represents an historic and unforgettable lesson learned.
RELATED STORIES
