Designing Aceh's Wildlife Corridor, the Last Frontier to Save Sumatran Elephants and Tigers

Designing Aceh’s Wildlife Corridor, the Last Frontier to Save Sumatran Elephants and Tigers

July 1, 2022
8:46 am

TRIBUNJAKARTA.COM, ACEH – The Aceh Provincial Government in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has carried out the Socialization of Wildlife Corridor Design at the Kyriad Muraya Hotel, Banda Aceh.
The meeting was attended by more than 100 participants from central and local governments and NGO partners.

Head of Aceh Provincial Office A. Hanan, SP, MM said that Aceh, which has an area of more than 3.5 million hectares, is the last bastion of efforts to save four key animals namely Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants, Sumatran orangutans, and Sumatran rhinos and help the lifestyle of people who may be in the proposed corridor.

“This socialization initiative is the initial stage of our joint efforts so that there is a synergy of needs
development and conservation for protected species and other wildlife,” Hanan explained in a written statement, Friday (1/7/2022).

The designed corridor will be located in various functions of the area without changing its status, which can provide structural connections for wildlife and provide sharing space between humans and wildlife.

According to Danang Anggoro from the Directorate of Ecosystem Management and Recovery, corridor management must be done together, including the community.

That is why it is important to socialize the process and build consensus through a multi-stakeholder and multi-interest approach.

“In addition to the ecological aspects of wildlife, the mapping of authorities, rights and interests is also important to identify. In essence, a comprehensive landscape management concept is a necessity in the future,” Danang explained.
In this socialization activity, there were nine proposed corridors to be included in the indicative map of Aceh’s spatial layout, including the Aceh Jaya Corridor, Bengkung-Trumon Corridor, Cot Girek Corridor, Lokop-Serbajadi Corridor, Peusangan Corridor, Pidie-Pidie Jaya Corridor, Woyla-Beutong Corridor, Tripa-Babahrot Swamp Corridor, Seulawah-Jantho Corridor.

According to Agus Arianto, the head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) hopes that this wildlife corridor will become a compromise space between local governments so that development policies are harmonized and there is no overlap in development in Aceh.

“This wildlife corridor is also expected to reduce conflicts between humans and wildlife that still occur in Aceh, especially in Other Use Areas (APL). This socialization is expected to create an integrated program of activities in the context of wildlife conservation and community welfare,” Agus explained.