POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Just like some of the world's other flagship species, the Sumatran elephant remains a major focus of the conservation and protection efforts in Indonesia's Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) NET SINK 2030 operational plan which was launched by the country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya in March this year.
As World Elephant Day is marked today, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry says that the country is still home to more than two million hectares of Sumatran elephant habitat lying within its primary forest and peatland permanent moratorium map.
Moreover, the Sumatran elephant’s habitat is far greater if taking the areas it inhabits outside of the permanent moratorium map into account. The ministry is working in the home ranges of Sumatran elephants spanning over three million hectares. This vast area is equivalent to more than 40 times the size of Singapore.
In line with her message from World Elephant Day last year, Minister Nurbaya has repeatedly emphasized that Indonesia will continue to ensure there will be no extinction of this flagship species and that instead its population will carry on growing and thriving.
"The presence of megafauna, including Sumatran elephants, along with the quality of their habitat is one of the measured indicators when it comes to carrying out our FOLU NET SINK 2030 operational plan," said Minister Nurbaya (Aug 12).
With regard to the Sumatran elephant habitat spread outside the permanent moratorium map, the Minister explained that "we have no other choice but to continue dealing with production landscapes so that they continue to be affordable at a certain level to act as corridors for the home range of Sumatran elephants.”
“There’s no point complaining about those production landscapes which contain Sumatran elephant habitat, the majority of which were granted permits by previous administrations. We have to keep using the evidence we find at the ground level to maximize efforts to conserve and protect Sumatran elephants,” she urged.
Not new landscapes
Minister Nurbaya also reiterated that ongoing efforts to conserve and protect flagship species, such as the Sumatran orangutan, tiger, elephant, and rhino, as well as the Tapanuli orangutan, Bornean orangutan and Javan rhino, have been properly incorporated both technically and legally into Indonesia’s FOLU NET SINK 2030 operational plan.
"Our FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target is solidly aligned with and an integral part of conservation and protection efforts for our flagship species,” she stressed.
The minister stated that “we are not working in new conservation, protection and production landscapes, but rather in the multi-purpose landscapes which are a legacy of previous administrations.”
"It’s major concern that we continue working on a time-series basis so that we don't forget the historical evidence in the multi-purpose landscapes," she added.
Minister Nurbaya concluded by pointing out that President Joko Widodo’s administration is aiming not only to ensure that Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target achieves a net carbon sink in that year, but also to keep conservation and protection efforts for flagship species within the climate target, given their direct relationship with the forestry and land use sector.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Just like some of the world's other flagship species, the Sumatran elephant remains a major focus of the conservation and protection efforts in Indonesia's Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) NET SINK 2030 operational plan which was launched by the country's Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya in March this year.
As World Elephant Day is marked today, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry says that the country is still home to more than two million hectares of Sumatran elephant habitat lying within its primary forest and peatland permanent moratorium map.
Moreover, the Sumatran elephant’s habitat is far greater if taking the areas it inhabits outside of the permanent moratorium map into account. The ministry is working in the home ranges of Sumatran elephants spanning over three million hectares. This vast area is equivalent to more than 40 times the size of Singapore.
In line with her message from World Elephant Day last year, Minister Nurbaya has repeatedly emphasized that Indonesia will continue to ensure there will be no extinction of this flagship species and that instead its population will carry on growing and thriving.
"The presence of megafauna, including Sumatran elephants, along with the quality of their habitat is one of the measured indicators when it comes to carrying out our FOLU NET SINK 2030 operational plan," said Minister Nurbaya (Aug 12).
With regard to the Sumatran elephant habitat spread outside the permanent moratorium map, the Minister explained that "we have no other choice but to continue dealing with production landscapes so that they continue to be affordable at a certain level to act as corridors for the home range of Sumatran elephants.”
“There’s no point complaining about those production landscapes which contain Sumatran elephant habitat, the majority of which were granted permits by previous administrations. We have to keep using the evidence we find at the ground level to maximize efforts to conserve and protect Sumatran elephants,” she urged.
Not new landscapes
Minister Nurbaya also reiterated that ongoing efforts to conserve and protect flagship species, such as the Sumatran orangutan, tiger, elephant, and rhino, as well as the Tapanuli orangutan, Bornean orangutan and Javan rhino, have been properly incorporated both technically and legally into Indonesia’s FOLU NET SINK 2030 operational plan.
"Our FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target is solidly aligned with and an integral part of conservation and protection efforts for our flagship species,” she stressed.
The minister stated that “we are not working in new conservation, protection and production landscapes, but rather in the multi-purpose landscapes which are a legacy of previous administrations.”
"It’s major concern that we continue working on a time-series basis so that we don't forget the historical evidence in the multi-purpose landscapes," she added.
Minister Nurbaya concluded by pointing out that President Joko Widodo’s administration is aiming not only to ensure that Indonesia's FOLU NET SINK 2030 climate target achieves a net carbon sink in that year, but also to keep conservation and protection efforts for flagship species within the climate target, given their direct relationship with the forestry and land use sector.
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