The Government Is Preparing a Presidential Instruction to Safeguard the Sumatran Elephants

Pekanbaru, (ANTARA) - The government is preparing a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) to conserve the Sumatran elephant population, whose habitat is continuing to shrink. Minister of Environment and Forestry Raja Juli Antoni stated the inpres is made considering that elephant habitat conditions are experiencing extraordinary fragmentation. From initially 44 elephant habitat pockets in Sumatra, the number has continued to decrease. ‘There used to be 44 elephant pockets in Sumatra. In the first week of my tenure as minister of forestry, it was recorded that 12 pockets remained, and a month later 11,’ Raja Juli Antoni said in Pekanbaru, Thursday. According to him, the shrinkage of habitat pockets was largely triggered by illegal practices in forest areas that cause elephant habitats to be divided and isolated. As a management step, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is preparing the Sumatra Elephant Conservation inpres. This policy will be focused on reconnecting the separated habitat pockets. ‘We will connect the remaining elephant pockets and also strengthen connectivity within those habitat pockets,’ he said. He emphasised that the Sumatran elephant population is currently endangered with a number of around 1,200 individuals scattered from Aceh to Lampung. Therefore, the government also pays serious attention to the practice of illegal hunting that targets elephant ivory. ‘We need to convey to the public that elephants are categorized as endangered. Poaching for ivory must be anticipated,’ he said. Raja Juli Antoni also appreciated the efforts of law enforcement by police in handling crimes against wildlife. ‘We commend the hard work of the Riau Regional Police. We hope this will be the last incident and that no more people will tamper with the existence of wildlife. The state will come to firmly act against the perpetrators,’ he said.