"Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya told her colleagues at the G-20 Ministerial Meeting that Indonesia has allocated at least Rp4 trillion in the state budget for the land rehabilation and conservation efforts," Wiratno said.
The Ujung Kulon National Park, which is a natural habitat for Javan rhinos, has also benefited from the government's conservation efforts, said Wiratno, director general of Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation at the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
The government's commitment to the protection of Indonesia's wildlife, including rhinos, orangutans, Komodo dragons, and tigers, has contributed to the preservation of those critically-endangered animals, he said.
Amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic situation, Minister Siti Nurbaya also ordered wildlife rangers in the country to keep conducting patrols in conservation areas, he said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the wildlife monitoring activities were continued through video cameras, as carried out in the Ujung Kulon National Park, Wiratno said.
To mark the commemoration of this year's National Nature Conservation Day, the Environment and Forestry Ministry announced the birth of two Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest 1822) in the Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten Province.
The male baby rhino is named after "Luther" while the female one is named after "Helen", Wiratno said, adding that the birth of this rhino couple revealed that the natural habitat of these critically-endangered mammals apparently remains preserved well.
Last year, four baby Javan rhinos were also born in the Ujung Kulon National Park area. The births of these one-horned rhinos also revealed that the population of this species had kept rising and given a hope for a successful Javan rhino conservation.
The living condition of Luther and Helen is precisely known from 93 video cameras that the Ujung Kulon National Park authority installed for monitoring the rhino couple from March to August, he said.
The food availability for the Javan rhinos in the protected national park area is more than enough, he added.
As of August 2020, the total Javan rhino population in Indonesia has reached 74 individuals comprising 40 males and 34 females, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
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Translator: Virna PS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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