Elephant Bag Only Half, President Prepares Rescue Inpres

JAKARTA - Half of the elephant pockets in Indonesia are missing. After meeting President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace complex, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni said the government was preparing a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) to save the population and habitat of Sumatran elephants and Borneo elephants.

Raja Juli said that of the 42 elephant pockets that had been scientifically recorded, only 21 remained. According to him, without serious intervention, habitat destruction will continue and could lead to the extinction of elephants as protected animals and iconic Indonesian species.

"This presidential decree will give orders to the relevant ministers to help the Ministry of Forestry in saving this elephant population," Raja Juli told reporters, Thursday, March 12.

He explained that one of the steps prepared was the establishment of a preservation area in the palm oil HGU area that had been issued in Sumatra. The area will be used as a corridor so that elephants can move from one pocket to another.

According to Raja Juli, the problem is not only the loss of elephant pockets. The remaining habitat is also fragmented. Therefore, the government will also create a corridor within the habitat pocket to expand the animal's travel ability and prevent inbreeding that could damage the elephant population in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Raja Juli also touched on the elephant habitat area in Aceh which came from PBPH or Prabowo's forest utilization permit. According to him, the land that was originally requested for 10 thousand hectares has now increased to 90 thousand hectares and is intended for the protection of the habitat of Sumatran elephants.

In addition, elephant and human conflicts in Way Kambas were also discussed with the President. Raja Juli said the government was preparing presidential assistance to build a fence or canal that separates the national park area from the villages and farmland of residents in Lampung.

Of the total delineation or total boundary of the Way Kambas area along 176 kilometers, about 130 kilometers are considered to need to be fenced or made embankments. This step was prepared after the elephant and human conflict lasted for years in the area, including an incident that killed a village head a few months ago.