Enviro News Asia, Aceh – Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, and the British Ambassador to Indonesia, Dominic Jermey, visited Karang Ampar Village, Ketol Subdistrict, Central Aceh Regency to review the progress of the Peusangan Elephant Conservation Initiative (PECI).
The visit highlighted the shared commitment of Indonesia and the UK to protect a critically endangered species and conserve Aceh’s vital forest landscapes.
PECI is part of a collaborative effort involving the Indonesian government, WWF-Indonesia, PT Tusam Hutani Lestari, and various local and international partners—including the UK government—to ensure the long-term survival of the Sumatran elephant through habitat protection and human-wildlife conflict mitigation, supported by mobilized funding.
Minister Raja Juli Antoni was accompanied by Central Aceh Regent Haili Yoga, Deputy Regent Muchsin Hasan, Member of the House of Representatives (DPR-RI) from Aceh Electoral District IV H. Teuku Abdul Khalid, CEO of WWF-Indonesia Aditya Bayunanda, and CEO of PT Tusam Hutani Lestari Edhy Prabowo.
The visit also reaffirmed President Prabowo Subianto’s commitment, who has allocated 20,000 hectares of PT Tusam Hutani Lestari’s concession land to establish a protected wildlife corridor for the critically endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus).
In a further show of dedication, President Prabowo personally summoned the British Ambassador to inform him of Indonesia’s readiness to expand the elephant conservation area up to 80,000 hectares, if needed.
During the visit, the Forestry Minister and the British Ambassador toured key conservation sites, including the wildlife corridor and human-elephant conflict mitigation centers in Pantan Muslimin and Karang Ampar villages, Ketol Subdistrict, Central Aceh. They also engaged with local communities actively involved in supporting on-the-ground conservation efforts. (*)
