Shot in the arm for Sumatran elephants and tigers

WWF 28 Aug 08;

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.

New plans to protect native tigers and elephants in Sumatra
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 28 Aug 08;

New measures aimed at conserving dwindling numbers of native tigers and elephants on the island of Sumatra have been announced.

The Tesso Nilo National Park - a critical area of forest for the two endangered species - is to be more than doubled in size, the Indonesian government said.

The Park in Riau Province contained only 38,000 hectares of forest when it was created in 2004 but this will be increased to 86,000 hectares by the end of this year.

Riau Province has the highest deforestation rate of any province in Indonesia suffering an 11 per cent loss between 2005 to 2006. It has lost more than 4m hectares of forest in the past 25 years which represents almost two-thirds of the original forest.

The province is home to an estimated 210 Sumatran elephants - the remainder of an 84 per cent population decline in the past 25 years - and 192 Sumatran tigers after a 70 per cent loss over the same period.

It is estimated there are 60-80 elephants and 50 tigers within the new boundaries of the Park which is one of the last strongholds for both species.

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 more than 4,000 plant species recorded so far and many more still to be chronicled.

WWF, the conservation organisation, has been supporting the Indonesian government's 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.

Dr Mubariq Ahmad, WWF-Indonesia's chief executive, said: "This is an important milestone toward securing a future for the Sumatran elephant and tiger.

"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 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.

"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 the Tesso Nilo Community Forum, run by all 22 villages in the buffer zone of the national park. The forum supports joint actions to protect the forest and gives the communities a voice in park management.

WWF also works with local communities that come into conflict for land with species such as elephants which stray out of the national park into local villages and raid crops.

An Elephant Flying Squad uses domesticated elephants and mahouts to keep wild elephants inside the park from raiding village crops. It also helps plant buffer crops that are not attractive to elephants.

Two of the world's largest pulp mills are based in Riau Province which 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.

Endangered Sumatran Elephants, Tigers Get Boost
PlanetArk 29 Aug 08;

GENEVA - Sumatra's endangered elephants and tigers should get a boost from an Indonesian government move to expand one of their last havens, a four-year-old national park on the island, conservation body WWF said on Thursday.

But WWF warned that increased efforts would be vital to ensure that poaching and other illegal activities -- like unsanctioned logging and settlement -- did not continue in the park, Tesso Nilo in Sumatra's Riau Province.

"This is an important milestone towards securing a future for the Sumatran elephant and tiger," said Mubariq Ahmad, head of WWF in Indonesia as it was announced in Jakarta that the park area would be more than doubled to 86,000 hectares (212,500 acres).

"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," declared Ahmad.

WWF, whose international headquarters are at Gland near Geneva, said 60 to 80 elephants and some 50 tigers were believed to live in the area now to be covered by the park.

Set up in 2004 with 38,000 hectares (93,900 acres), it also has the highest lowland forest plant diversity known to science. Some 4,000 unique species have been recorded and many more remain to be discovered, WWF said.

Riau Province is home to about 210 elephants, down from around 1,250 just 25 years ago, and 192 tigers, whose numbers have dropped from around 650 over the same period.

The main cause of the decline of both Sumatran species, WWF indicated, is deforestation, the rate of which in Riau is the highest of any Indonesian province.

Some 65 percent of Riau's forest cover, key to the animals' survival, has disappeared since the early 1980s, largely as a result of increased activity by global pulp and palm oil companies -- and from illegal logging.

WWF said two of the world's largest pulp and paper mills are located in the province, which had lost more natural forest to pulpwood concessions than any other in Indonesia.

The clearing of carbon-rich peat land and peat forests in Riau have contributed to Indonesia having the world's third highest rate of greenhouse gas emissions, behind only the United States and China, the conservation body added. (Editing by Richard Williams)