WB approves $19m park loan

JAKARTA: The World Bank has approved a US$19.1 million loan to support the Indonesian government's effort to preserve the Kerinci Seblat national park in Sumatra.

Indonesia needs about $46 million to protect the national park from agricultural encroachment, mining, poaching and to promote sustainable development of forest cover in the buffer zones bordering the park.

The bank's representative office in Jakarta said yesterday the project will consist of park management, area development and integrating biodiversity in forest concession management.

The 1.3-million-hectare Kerinci Seblat, which stretches over four provinces in Sumatra, is internationally recognized as one of the most important conservation projects in Southeast Asia.

It is home to a wide range of wildlife, including species-rich lowland forests, montane forests and subalpine plants on the island's highest mountain.

Many of the protected species in the park are poorly represented and nonexistent in other conservation areas in Sumatra and elsewhere in Asia. (pan)