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Govt to build more wildlife crossings in infrastructure development
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said more wildlife crossings would be constructed across the archipelago in order to reduce disruption to wildlife conservation and protected species.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo looks over a wildlife crossing at the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road on Jan. 5. There are six wildlife crossings along the 131-kilometer-long toll road to help wildlife such as Sumatran elephants roam safely in their habitat. (Environment and Forestry Ministry/File)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said more wildlife crossings would be constructed across the archipelago in order to reduce infrastructure-development disruption to wildlife conservation and protected species.
“Infrastructure development in the Motherland [Indonesia] must be mindful of environmental sustainability and ensure wildlife conservation,” Jokowi said during a visit at wildlife crossings over the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road in Riau on Thursday.
“Elephants are visible, walking under the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road this morning. I am on the kilometer-12 section of the toll road where there is a tunnel for elephants to cross. There are six of these crossings along the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road,” Jokowi said on his Twitter account.
The 131-kilometer toll road started construction in July 2017 and was inaugurated by the President on Sept. 25, 2020. It is part of the Trans Sumatra highway network.
He said the wildlife crossings were constructed as the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road crossed through Sumatran elephant habitat located across two cities and two regencies where about 76 Sumatran elephants lived.
The Sumatran elephant is one of 25 species under threat of extinction listed in the Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Director General’s Decree No. 180/2015. The species is also protected under the Environment and Forestry Ministry Regulation No. 106/2018.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Sumatran elephant as “critically endangered” on its Red List since 2011.
