28 Aug 2008
- The Indonesian government is to double
the size of a national park that is one
of the last havens for endangered Sumatran
elephants and tigers.
Tesso Nilo National
Park was created in 2004 with 38,000 hectares
of forest. Today’s declaration will see
that figure increase to 86,000 by the end
of this year.
"This is an important
milestone toward securing a future for the
Sumatran elephant and tiger," said
Dr. Mubariq Ahmad, WWF-Indonesia's Chief
Executive. “To ensure the commitment is
effectively implemented we must redouble
our efforts to eliminate poaching and illegal
settlements within this special forest.”
With more than 4,000
plant species recorded so far, the forest
of Tesso Nilo has the highest lowland forest
plant biodiversity known to science, with
many species yet to be discovered.
WWF has been supporting
the government effort to extend and protect
the park as the last block of lowland forest
in central Sumatra large enough to support
a viable elephant population. About 60 to
80 elephants are estimated to live there,
along with 50 tigers.
Tesso Nilo forest is
also an important watershed for more than
40,000 people living in the surrounding
22 villages.
“Tesso Nilo is still
under serious threat from illegal activities,
but if we can protect the forests there
it will give some of Sumatra’s most endangered
wildlife the breathing room they need to
survive,” Dr Ahmad said.
“And while we greatly
appreciate this precedent for more protection
from the Indonesian government, there are
other areas on Sumatra that need safeguarding
for the sake of its wildlife, its threatened
indigenous peoples and to reduce the climate
impacts of clearing.”
WWF helped establish
and supports the Tesso Nilo Community Forum,
run by all 22 local communities living in
the buffer zone of the national park. The
forum supports joint actions to protect
the Tesso Nilo forest and gives the communities
a unified and more influential voice in
park management.
WWF is working with
local communities that suffer from human-wildlife
conflict as a result of disappearing forests
in the province. Hundreds of elephants have
died in the last few years.
A successful Elephant
Flying Squad uses domesticated elephants
and mahouts to keep wild elephants inside
the park from raiding village crops outside
the park. WWF also promotes the planting
of buffer crops that are not attractive
to elephants.
+ More
New hope for Sumatra’s
elephants and tigers as Indonesia doubles
size of key national park
28 Aug 2008 - Jakarta,
Indonesia: The government of Indonesia today
declared its commitment to enlarging the
most suitable block of forest for Sumatran
elephants, expanding the vital Tesso Nilo
National Park on Sumatra island to 86,000
hectares.
"This is an important
milestone toward securing a future for the
Sumatran elephant and tiger," said
Dr. Mubariq Ahmad, WWF-Indonesia's Chief
Executive. “To ensure that the commitment
is effectively implemented, we must redouble
our efforts on the ground to eliminate poaching
and illegal settlements within this special
forest.”
Tesso Nilo is one of
the last havens of endangered Sumatran elephants
and critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
With more than 4,000 plant species recorded
so far, the forest of Tesso Nilo has the
highest lowland forest plant biodiversity
known to science, with many species yet
to be discovered.
Tesso Nilo National
Park was created in 2004 in Riau Province,
but only 38,000 hectares of forest were
included. With today’s declaration, the
government of Indonesia is to extend the
national park into 86,000 ha by December
2008 and integrate an additional 18,812
ha into the national park management area
of 100,000 ha.
WWF has been supporting
the government effort to extend and protect
the park as the last block of lowland forest
in central Sumatra large enough to support
a viable elephant population. About 60 to
80 elephants are estimated to live there,
along with 50 tigers.
Tesso Nilo forest is
also an important watershed for more than
40,000 people living in the surrounding
22 villages.
“Tesso Nilo is still
under serious threat from illegal activities,
but if we can protect the forests there,
it will give some of Sumatra’s most endangered
wildlife the breathing room they need to
survive,” Dr Ahmad said.
“And while we greatly
appreciate this precedent for more protection
from the Indonesian government, there are
other areas on Sumatra that need safeguarding
for the sake of its wildlife, its threatened
indigenous peoples and to reduce the climate
impacts of clearing.”
WWF helped establish
and supports the Tesso Nilo Community Forum,
run by all 22 local communities living in
the buffer zone of the national park. The
forum supports joint actions to protect
the Tesso Nilo forest and gives the communities
a unified and more influential voice in
park management.
WWF is working with
local communities that suffer from human-wildlife
conflict as a result of disappearing forests
in the province. Hundreds of elephants have
died in the last few years.
A successful Elephant
Flying Squad uses domesticated elephants
and mahouts to keep wild elephants inside
the park from raiding village crops outside
the park. WWF also promotes the planting
of buffer crops that are not attractive
to elephants.
“WWF is committed for
finding solutions for Sumatra’s people and
wildlife and the global environment,” Dr
Ahmad said. “This is
where the focus should be, rather than on
the narrower interests of global pulp and
palm oil conglomerates.”
Notes for Editors:
• Riau Province has
the highest deforestation rate of any province
in Indonesia, with an astounding 11 percent
forest loss between 2005 to 2006. It has
lost more than 4 million hectares of forest
in the past 25 years (65% of the province’s
original forest).
• Riau is home to an
estimated 210 Sumatran elephants (the remainder
of a 84 percent population decline in the
past 25 years) and 192 Sumatran tigers (after
a 70 percent decline in the past quarter
century). The new boundaries of Tesso Nilo
National Park are estimated to be home to
60-80 elephants and 50 tigers.
• Riau is home to two
of the world’s largest pulp mills, owned
by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asia
Pacific Resources International Holding
Ltd (APRIL). The province has lost more
natural forest to pulpwood concessions than
any other Indonesian province.
• The clearing of carbon-rich
peatlands and peat forests in Riau has contributed
to Indonesia having the third-highest rate
of greenhouse gas emissions in the world,
behind only the United States and China.
About WWF
WWF, the global conservation organization,
is one of the world's largest and most respected
independent conservation organizations.
WWF has a global network active in over
100 countries with almost 5 million supporters.
WWF's mission is to stop the degradation
of the earth's natural environment and to
build a future in which humans live in harmony
with nature, by conserving the world's biological
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable
natural resources is sustainable, and promoting
the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.
