POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The exclusion of the Leuser Ecosystem from the 2013 Aceh spatial plan caused a lot of controversy, especially considering that the huge conservation-protection-production landscape, equivalent to over 85% the size of Belgium, is the only place on earth cohabitated by key wildlife species such as Sumatran rhinos, orangutans, tigers, and elephants.
Pressure and legal efforts at the time from relevant stakeholders to reintegrate the Leuser Ecosystem into the Aceh spatial plan were unsuccessful, even ending in failure in the court.
As such, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stepped in and took the legal move of reincorporating the Leuser Ecosystem into the Aceh spatial plan by issuing a decree dated November 11, 2016 which, among other things, asserted that the Leuser Ecosystem is an inseparable part of the Aceh spatial plan.
Since this ministerial decree took effect, the Leuser Ecosystem has been a legally binding part of the Aceh spatial plan. There is no longer any controversy surrounding this matter, including from the Aceh provincial government.
November 11, 2016 thus represents a historical moment of triumph for the Leuser Ecosystem given that since then it has formed an indispensable part of the Aceh spatial plan and will continue to do so going forward.
The Google Earth images below show the Leuser Ecosystem's landcover situation from 2016 to 2020. While presenting landcover updates for the past five years (2016-2020), Minister Nurbaya pointed out that almost 79% of the Leuser Ecosystem is still composed of natural forest cover, ranging from lowland to highland, dryland to peat forests.
Furthermore, the deforestation rate in the Leuser Ecosystem plunged, by 81.76%, between 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, including a sharp drop in deforestation in the Gunung Leuser National Park during this period of 85.91%, as previously announced by Minister Nurbaya and reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Mar 11).
Major efforts ongoing
Although the Leuser Ecosystem is a conservation-protection-production landscape, Minister Nurbaya recently emphasized (Nov 12) that it must continue to be maintained at the maximum possible level.
"Satellite and ground-based monitoring efforts remain underway and law enforcement measures at a certain level are also an option," she said.
Minister Nurbaya added that the protection of the Leuser Ecosystem not only reinforces its role as a host for multiple key wildlife species, which are among the world’s flagship species, to live and breed, but is also aimed at fostering sustainable development, especially in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra province.
'The Leuser Ecosystem is also playing one of the key roles in Indonesia's efforts to achieve net carbon sink in the forestry and land use (FoLU) sector by 2030," she affirmed.
In two speeches at the recently concluded COP26, President Joko Widodo declared Indonesia's 2030 FoLU net carbon sink to be one of the country's legally binding climate targets, reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Nov 4).
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - The exclusion of the Leuser Ecosystem from the 2013 Aceh spatial plan caused a lot of controversy, especially considering that the huge conservation-protection-production landscape, equivalent to over 85% the size of Belgium, is the only place on earth cohabitated by key wildlife species such as Sumatran rhinos, orangutans, tigers, and elephants.
Pressure and legal efforts at the time from relevant stakeholders to reintegrate the Leuser Ecosystem into the Aceh spatial plan were unsuccessful, even ending in failure in the court.
As such, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stepped in and took the legal move of reincorporating the Leuser Ecosystem into the Aceh spatial plan by issuing a decree dated November 11, 2016 which, among other things, asserted that the Leuser Ecosystem is an inseparable part of the Aceh spatial plan.
Since this ministerial decree took effect, the Leuser Ecosystem has been a legally binding part of the Aceh spatial plan. There is no longer any controversy surrounding this matter, including from the Aceh provincial government.
November 11, 2016 thus represents a historical moment of triumph for the Leuser Ecosystem given that since then it has formed an indispensable part of the Aceh spatial plan and will continue to do so going forward.
The Google Earth images below show the Leuser Ecosystem's landcover situation from 2016 to 2020. While presenting landcover updates for the past five years (2016-2020), Minister Nurbaya pointed out that almost 79% of the Leuser Ecosystem is still composed of natural forest cover, ranging from lowland to highland, dryland to peat forests.
Furthermore, the deforestation rate in the Leuser Ecosystem plunged, by 81.76%, between 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, including a sharp drop in deforestation in the Gunung Leuser National Park during this period of 85.91%, as previously announced by Minister Nurbaya and reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Mar 11).
Major efforts ongoing
Although the Leuser Ecosystem is a conservation-protection-production landscape, Minister Nurbaya recently emphasized (Nov 12) that it must continue to be maintained at the maximum possible level.
"Satellite and ground-based monitoring efforts remain underway and law enforcement measures at a certain level are also an option," she said.
Minister Nurbaya added that the protection of the Leuser Ecosystem not only reinforces its role as a host for multiple key wildlife species, which are among the world’s flagship species, to live and breed, but is also aimed at fostering sustainable development, especially in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra province.
'The Leuser Ecosystem is also playing one of the key roles in Indonesia's efforts to achieve net carbon sink in the forestry and land use (FoLU) sector by 2030," she affirmed.
In two speeches at the recently concluded COP26, President Joko Widodo declared Indonesia's 2030 FoLU net carbon sink to be one of the country's legally binding climate targets, as reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Nov 4).
RELATED STORIES
