POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - In the midst of the global pandemic, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry presented footage from a field patrol and video trap in July and September 2020 respectively, which documented two individuals of one of the world's flagship species, the Sumatran rhino, in the wild in Gunung Leuser National Park.
Gunung Leuser National Park, covering an area of 830 thousand hectares, or the equivalent of nearly 11 times the size of Singapore, is a major part of the huge Leuser Ecosystem, which spans more than 2.6 million hectares, or more than 33 times the size of New York City.
In November 2016, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya took the historic legal step of reincorporating the Leuser Ecosystem’s boundaries into the Aceh Spatial Plan after the local government had previously dismissed it, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS four years ago.
Apart from being home to the Sumatran rhino, the Leuser Ecosystem, including the national park, is also inhabited by other flagship species such as the Sumatran orangutan, tiger and elephant.
"Our presence and the protection efforts we are undertaking in the Leuser Ecosystem, which includes Gunung Leuser National Park as its core, unquestionably guarantee that there will be no extinction of the Sumatran rhino, orangutan, tiger, or elephant," Minister Nurbaya wrote in a short message to FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Dec 15).
The following photos, taken from screenshots from the ministry's video trap in mid-September 2020, show a Sumatran rhino in Mamas Valley, Southeast Aceh, part of Gunung Leuser National Park.
Not a tool for baseless claims
Meanwhile, the Ministry's Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Director General Wiratno said that the ministry's video trap for Sumatran rhinos in Gunung Leuser National Park clearly forms part the government's role in protecting this flagship species (Dec 15).
The photos below are screenshots from the ministry team's patrol in July 2020 recording another Sumatran rhino in Mamas Valley, part of a stretch of forest in Gunung Leuser National Park.
"The ministry has a well-defined role, both legally and technically, especially when it comes to ensuring that conservation efforts for key wildlife species continue, backed by clear budget power," he asserted.
"It is very strange therefore that a global alliance is campaigning to raise funds while ignoring the constant efforts made by the Indonesian government, as well the role it plays and the budget it utilizes to achieve its conservation goals," he added.
Wiratno explained that collaborations with partners are among the best ways to jointly strengthen conservation efforts and that the ministry provides as much space as possible for such collaborations with a clear legal basis.
"However, the results of these collaborations should not be used as a tool to make unfounded claims that blatantly disregard the efforts, role, and budget power of the government," he cautioned.
Director General Wiratno warned that the Indonesian government will not hesitate to terminate collaborations with partners who are seemingly only interested in making claims about themselves while engaging in a fund-raising campaign that overlooks the obvious efforts undertaken by the government, the extensive role it plays, and the substantial budget power it wields.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - In the midst of the global pandemic, Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry presented footage from a field patrol and video trap in July and September 2020 respectively, which documented two individuals of one of the world's flagship species, the Sumatran rhino, in the wild in Gunung Leuser National Park.
Gunung Leuser National Park, covering an area of 830 thousand hectares, or the equivalent of nearly 11 times the size of Singapore, is a major part of the huge Leuser Ecosystem, which spans more than 2.6 million hectares, or more than 33 times the size of New York City.
In November 2016, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya took the historic legal step of reincorporating the Leuser Ecosystem’s boundaries into the Aceh Spatial Plan after the local government had previously dismissed it, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS four years ago.
Apart from being home to the Sumatran rhino, the Leuser Ecosystem, including the national park, is also inhabited by other flagship species such as the Sumatran orangutan, tiger and elephant.
"Our presence and the protection efforts we are undertaking in the Leuser Ecosystem, which includes Gunung Leuser National Park as its core, unquestionably guarantee that there will be no extinction of the Sumatran rhino, orangutan, tiger, or elephant," Minister Nurbaya wrote in a short message to FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Dec 15).
The following photos, taken from screenshots from the ministry's video trap in mid-September 2020, show a Sumatran rhino in Mamas Valley, Southeast Aceh, part of Gunung Leuser National Park.
Not a tool for baseless claims
Meanwhile, the Ministry's Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Director General Wiratno said that the ministry's video trap for Sumatran rhinos in Gunung Leuser National Park clearly forms part the government's role in protecting this flagship species (Dec 15).
The photos below are screenshots from the ministry team's patrol in July 2020 recording another Sumatran rhino in Mamas Valley, part of a stretch of forest in Gunung Leuser National Park.
"The ministry has a well-defined role, both legally and technically, especially when it comes to ensuring that conservation efforts for key wildlife species continue, backed by clear budget power," he asserted.
"It is very strange therefore that a global alliance is campaigning to raise funds while ignoring the constant efforts made by the Indonesian government, as well the role it plays and the budget it utilizes to achieve its conservation goals," he added.
Wiratno explained that collaborations with partners are among the best ways to jointly strengthen conservation efforts and that the ministry provides as much space as possible for such collaborations with a clear legal basis.
"However, the results of these collaborations should not be used as a tool to make unfounded claims that blatantly disregard the efforts, role, and budget power of the government," he cautioned.
Director General Wiratno warned that the Indonesian government will not hesitate to terminate collaborations with partners who are seemingly only interested in making claims about themselves while engaging in a fund-raising campaign that overlooks the obvious efforts undertaken by the government, the extensive role it plays, and the substantial budget power it wields.
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