Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Wednesday that the land, formerly an industrial forest concession owned by Prabowo, will be turned into an elephant sanctuary.
“President Prabowo initially handed over 20 thousand hectares, which was later expanded to 80 thousand hectares,” he said.
The GWF, now based in Liechtenstein, Europe, is an organization mandated by King Charles III of the United Kingdom to participate in the elephant conservation program, according to Antoni.
“This is an important mandate, reflecting our relationship with the UK. Tomorrow, I will meet with representatives from GWF, which has received a mandate from King Charles to continue preparations for this elephant conservation program,” he added.
Earlier, Antoni had visited the site in Aceh with officials from the British Embassy to review conditions on the ground.
According to the minister, a comprehensive plan has been drawn up to address recurring human-elephant conflicts, which tend to occur when elephants enter residential areas.
“To prevent conflicts between humans and elephants, such as when elephants wander into villages, we will implement enrichment efforts, such as providing dietary enrichment for the elephants, and establish corridors to connect one area to another,” he informed.
The minister also confirmed that the project is already underway and an initial evaluation with the GWF is scheduled for Thursday (August 7, 2025).
President Prabowo earlier announced the land handover during a speech at the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Congress in Solo, Central Java, on July 20.
Initially, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) had requested 10 thousand hectares of land, but the Head of State offered the conservation group 20 thousand hectares.
After receiving a letter of appreciation from King Charles III, who serves as patron of the WWF, Prabowo decided to further expand the land donation to 80 thousand hectares out of the total 98 thousand hectares under his management.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Primayanti
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