Coalition Proposes Permits For 4 Companies Exploiting Bengkulu Seblat To Be Revoked

World Elephant Day action activities at the training ground for Bengkulu Seblat elephants. (ANTARA/HO-Personal Documents)

BENGKULU - The Coalition to Save Bengkulu Nature Center (KSBAS) proposed a permit for four companies that exploited Bentang Seblat Bengkulu Province as the key area for Sumatran elephants to be revoked. "The four companies are PT Inmas Abadi, PT Anugrah Pratama Inspirasi (API), PT Bentara Arga Timber (BAT), and PT Alno Agro Utama (AU) to save Sumatran Sumatran Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus) from extinction," said KSBAS representative Suarli Salrm while commemorating World Elephant Day in Bengkulu, quoted from Antara, Monday, August 12. KSBAS Bengkulu, which consists of organizations from students, communities, students, and civil society, hopes that the authorities can revoke PT Inmas Abadi's coal mining permit in an area of 4,050 hectares located in the key habitat of the Seblat elephant. The same thing must also be done to PT Anugrah Pratama Inspiration (PT API) and PT Bentara Arga Timber (PT BAT) which has forest entrepreneurship rights covering an area of 44,476.15 hectares in Bentang Seblat. They also proposed the revocation of the right to use for the plantation of PT Alno Agro Utama (AU) which divides elephant habitat. “ We ask the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to be more serious about saving Sumatran elephants by saving the habitat of this endangered animal,” said Suarli. The population of Sumatran elephants in Bengkulu decreased drastically from 100-150 in 2008 to no more than 50 in 2024. The population is only spread over two bags, namely Air Rami and Air Teramang pockets in North Bengkulu Regency and Mukomuko Regency. Population downturn, he continued, was partly due to forest loss as a “ home ” this rare animal. The Bentang Alam Seblat consortium noted that three elephants died in the period 2020-2022. In fact, elephant animals are included in the red list of endangered species (critically endangered) issued by the World Conservation Institute-IUCN. Sumatran elephants are also included in protected animals according to Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems and are regulated in government regulations, namely PP Number 7 of 1999 concerning Management of Plant and Animal Types. In addition to being the last home for elephants, Bintang Seblat covering an area of 323,000 hectares also has a function of natural services for the lives and livelihoods of the people in Putri Hijau and Marga Sakti Seblat sub-districts, especially as a source of water.

According to him, based on the monitoring of the Bentang Alam Seblat Consortium in the 2020-2023 period, 31.1 thousand hectares of 80,978 hectares of the key area of elephant habitat in Bentang Seblat were damaged by forest additions to be used as oil palm plantations.