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Once-Untouched Haven for Tigers, Orangutans, Elephants Being Systematically Targeted by APP/SMG-

Sumatran Forest is Last Home of the Indigenous Orang Rimba
and Talang Mamak

A joint media release by KKI Warsi, FZS, Eyes on the Forest and WWF-Indonesia 

Embargoed until December 14th on 12.00Western Indonesian Time  

JAMBI, Indonesia – A forest named by international scientists as one of the top 20 priority landscapes globally for the survival of the tiger is being systematically targeted for pulp production by Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group (APP/SMG), one of the world’s largest paper suppliers. This is in breach of company’s claims that it doesn’t target high quality and high conservation value forest for clearing and that it’s carbon footprint is close to neutral.

An investigation by local NGOs working in central Sumatra found that since 2004, APP-affiliated companies have systematically sought out inactive selective logging concessions on land with dense natural forests in the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape. The companies obtained government licenses to switch their status to industrial timber plantation concessions, sometimes under legally questionable circumstances. This allows for clear cutting and replacing the natural forest with commercial plantations. Such conversion leaves homeless the elephants, tigers, orangutans and forest-dwelling indigenous tribes who have been living here for centuries---

(complete story at http://www.wwf.or.id/en/news_facts/?21160/Once-Untouched-Haven-for-Tigers-Orangutans-Elephants-Being-Systematically-Targeted-by-APPSMG)

Letter From ANeT to Indonesian Government and leading International Media to save the Animals and Humans

President, Republic of Indonesia,Dr SusiloBambangYudhoyono,State Secretary Office / Bapak Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia,Gedung Utama Setneg,Jl. Veteran No.17-18,Jakarta 10110,Tel: 62-21-384 5627Fax: 62-21-384 8592

16 February 2011

Dear Mr President,

As an international network of specialists on the ants of Asia, and a group concerned for the highly threatened biodiversity and ecosystem services of Southeast Asia, we write today to express our strong support for your recent forest protection and climatechange mitigation commitments, and to respectfully request the immediate protection of the Bukit Tigapuluh forest landscape in Jambi and Riau provinces in Sumatra.

Your agreement with the Kingdom of Norway to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and to protect Indonesia’s forests has made you a world leader in climate mitigation efforts. We applaud your efforts, and Indonesia should be proud of this strong commitment to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.      

In the spirit of that commitment, we urge you to halt the proposed imminent clearance of natural forest in the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape to produce pulp and paper, and instead to place this forest into protection or restoration zoning. Sumatra’s forests have been devastated in recent decades, and many of the island’s species are now threatened with extinction. This forest is now critical to the survival of Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and innumerable other species, as well as to the indigenous Orang Rimba and TalakMamang tribes.

The Bukit Tigapuluh forest landscape is a global priority conservation area. It is the largest of the last remaining dry lowland forest blocks in Sumatra, and contains one of the richest assemblages of Sumatran fauna and flora, including almost 200 bird species and 59 mammal species according to a 1994 report.

The landscape is designated a Global Priority Tiger Conservation Landscape and is one of the six focal areas that the Government of Indonesia committed to protecting for Sumatran tigers at the International Tiger Conservation Forum in St Petersburg, Russia, in November 2010. The Frankfurt Zoological Society, in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry, has been running the world’s only successful reintroduction programme for Sumatran orangutans since 2002 in the landscape.The landscape is also critical habitat for two groups of endangered Sumatran elephants. 

Today, of the approximately 320,000hectares of natural forest in the landscape, only 130,000 hectares are protected in the National Park and majority of the unprotected forests are licensed to be cleared to produce pulp and paper. Even thenational park is under threat from illegal encroachment.

We are extremely concerned that companies associated with Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group plan to clear the largest portion of natural forest remaining outside the National Park, causing huge carbon emissions and negative impacts on the indigenous tribes, and diminishing a host of ecosystem services supplied by natural forests. We also fear the local Sumatran elephant populations will become locally extinct without this forest.

For the sake of Sumatra’s biodiversity and indigenous people, we respectfully urge you and the appropriate agencies within the Government of Indonesia to immediately protect all remaining natural forest in this landscape as the expanded Bukit Tigapuluh National Park or as Ecosystem Restoration Concessions.

We stand ready to help Indonesia protect this biodiversity treasure.

Sincerely,

Dr HimenderBharti,President,International Network for the Study of Asian Ants, Department of Zoology,Punjabi University Patiala,Punjab, India,147002
www.antdiversityindia.com
himenderbharti@gmail.com/himender_bharti@yahoo.com/himenderbharti@antdiversityindia.com/
Phone: Mobile:91-09356785454,91-09316150810 and 91-08591645454 

Dr. John R. Fellowes,Leading Biodiversity Consultant and Conservationist, United Kingdom jrfellowes@yahoo.com

Dr.CarstenBrühl,Community Ecology & Ecotoxicology+49 (0)6341 280-31310Bruehl@uni-landau.de www.uni-landau.de/umwelt/bruehl.html,Institute for Environmental Sciences,University Koblenz-LandauFortstraße 7,D-76829 Landau,Germany

Dr. Martin Pfeiffer,DAAD LongtermProfessor,Department of Ecology,National University of Mongolia,Bagatoiruu 47, P.O.Box 377,Ulaanbaatar 210646,MONGOLIA,martin.pfeiffer@biology.num.edu.mn,Mobile: ++976-95057993,Fax: ++976-11-322608

Dr. Seike Yamane
Professor in Biodiversity Science,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University,Korimoto-1, Kagoshima, 890-0065 Japan,FAX: +81-(0)99-259-4720 

Dr.ErwinSuprastowoWidodo,Deputy Director, WWF,Sumatra, INDONESIA erwinwidodo@hotmail.com

Dr. SuparoekWatanasit,Department of Biology,Faculty of Science,Prince of SongkhlaUniversity,THAILANDsuparoek.w@psu.ac.th

Dr.Bakhtiar Effendi Yahaya, Deputy Director (Research and Academics),Institute for Tropical Biology and ConservationUniversiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS,88400, Kota Kinabalu,Sabah,MALAYSIA,Tel:  +60 88 320104, Fax: +60 88 320291Email: Bakhtiareffendi@yahoo.co.uk, URL: www.ums.edu.my and http://homepage.mac.com/dorylus/index.html

And other AneT Committee Members-Dr. Rudy R. Kohout (Australia), Dr. Kazuo Ogata (Japan), Dr. Yoshiaki Hashimoto (Japan), Dr. Maryati Mohamed (Malaysia), Dr. K. Eguchi (Japan),Dr. Suputa M.P. (Indonesia), Dr. OmidPaknia (Iran),Dr. Dias R.K. Sriyani (Sri Lanka),Dr. DechaWiwatwitaya (Thailand),Dr. Veit Bui Tuan (Vietnam)

The Ministry of Home Affairs
Jalan Taman Pejambon 6, Jakarta Pusat
Indonesia
Tel: 021-3441508 , Fax: 021-380551
Email: infomed@deplu.go.id

The Ministry of Forestry
GedungManggalaWanabakti
JalanJend.GatotSubroto, Senayan - Jakarta
Tel: 021-5731820, Fax: 021-5700226
Email: pusdata@dephut.cbn.net.id

International Media

Various International NGOs