Prabowo prepares directives to protect Sumatran, Bornean elephants

hartono · Mar 12, 2026

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni delivers a statement at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday (March 12, 2026) (ANTARA/HO-Sekretariat Presiden)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto is preparing a presidential instruction (Inpres) on safeguarding the populations and habitats of the Sumatran elephant and Bornean elephant.

The Presidential Secretariat here on Thursday said the president summoned Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni to the Merdeka Palace to discuss strategic steps to strengthen wildlife conservation and the management of national parks in Indonesia.

“If there is no serious intervention by the government, damage to elephant habitats will be inevitable,” Antoni said after his meeting with President Prabowo.

According to him, the planned Inpres is an important step to protect elephant populations that are currently facing serious threats due to the shrinking of their natural habitats.

He emphasized that without serious government intervention, the destruction of elephant habitats could expand and threaten the survival of the species.

“Therefore, the elephant population as one of Indonesia’s protected and iconic species could face extinction,” he said.

Through the instruction, President Prabowo will direct several ministries to support the Forestry Ministry in saving elephant populations, including by building habitat corridors that allow elephants to move between regions.

The government will also develop corridors within elephant habitat areas to expand their roaming space and prevent inbreeding that could threaten the sustainability of the population.

“For example, in existing plantation concessions in Sumatra, preservation areas will be established to create corridors that allow elephants to move between habitat pockets,” Antoni said.

He also highlighted the president’s step in supporting elephant habitat conservation by allocating 90,000 hectares of his own land for conservation purposes.

In addition to elephant conservation policies, President Prabowo is also preparing a decree to establish a task force on innovative financing and management of national parks.

“We will seek innovative and sustainable funding so that our national parks can become world-class parks with well-preserved forests and protected wildlife,” he said.