President Prabowo Receives Report on Elephant Rescue and National Park Financing Task Force

Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni gives a press statement at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (03/12).

President Prabowo Subianto received a report from the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday (03/12). The brief meeting discussed a number of strategic steps taken by the government to strengthen wildlife conservation efforts and the management of national parks in Indonesia.

Following the meeting, Raja Juli stated that President Prabowo was preparing two important policies, namely a presidential instruction regarding saving the population and habitat of Sumatran and Bornean elephants, and a presidential decree regarding the formation of a task force for innovation in financing national park management.

According to Raja Juli, the Presidential Instruction is a crucial step in saving the elephant population, which is currently facing serious threats due to the shrinking of their natural habitat. He emphasized that without serious government intervention, the destruction of elephant habitat has the potential to spread further and threaten the survival of the species.

“And without serious government intervention, the destruction of these elephant enclaves is inevitable. Therefore, the elephant population, as a protected animal and an iconic species in Indonesia, is likely to become extinct,” Raja Juli said in his statement to the media after the meeting.

Through this Presidential Instruction, President Prabowo will direct several relevant ministries to support the Ministry of Forestry in efforts to save the elephant population, including by establishing habitat corridors to allow elephant movement between areas. Furthermore, the Government will also build corridors within elephant enclaves to expand the animals’ range and prevent inbreeding, which could threaten the sustainability of the population.

“For example, in the Right to Use (HGU) that has been issued, palm oil plantations in Sumatra will be designated as preservation areas. These preservation areas are areas that allow elephant corridors between these enclaves, allowing elephants to move from one area to another,” explained Raja Juli.

On that occasion, Raja Juli also mentioned about President Prabowo’s concrete measures in supporting elephant habitat preservation, including handing over 90 thousand hectares of his land for conservation.

In addition to policies related to elephant conservation, President Prabowo is also preparing a Presidential Decree to establish a National Park Financing and Management Innovation Task Force. The task force aims to promote a more sustainable funding model for national park management in Indonesia.

“We will seek innovative, sustainable funding, including involving the private sector, so that our national parks can once again become world-class national parks, with protected and sustainable forests, while at the same time ensuring the well-preserved wildlife, our pride and the wealth of this nation,” he said.

As an initial step, the government will prepare several pilot projects for national park management, including in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung province. Raja Juli also revealed that President Prabowo has prepared funding to address the frequent human-elephant conflicts in the area.

“He decided to allocate presidential aid funds to build a fence or canal that will fortify the boundary between the Way Kambas National Park and the villages along the Way Kambas National Park in Lampung,” he added.

Raja Juli also emphasized that the measures being prepared demonstrate President Prabowo’s strong commitment to preserving Indonesia’s natural resources and wildlife. “This once again demonstrates that President Prabowo Subianto, as conservation activists have said, is the president in Indonesian history who cares most about elephant conservation in Indonesia,” he concluded. (Bureau of Press, Media, and Information of Presidential Secretariat) (AW/LW)