Many animals found in Papua are also indigenous to Australia. The region is home to the cassowary, the black-spotted cuscus, the tree kangaroo, Pesquet's parrot, the long-beaked echidna and the western crowned pigeon. What is currently happening to Sumatran elephants and tigers will inevitably affect Papua's wildlife.

The situation in Papua is far more complex than on Sumatra, however, due to social and political factors. Separatist aspirations remain high in the country's easternmost territory, where many Papuans feel they are treated as second-class citizens. Furthermore, the majority of Papua's forests are designated as customary lands that belong to indigenous communities.

For decades, the mindsets of bureaucrats, politicians and businesspeople regarding the obligation to preserve our rainforests, which are the world's third-largest, have remained stagnant. Too often, faunas are regarded as pests. Short- and medium-term profits are prioritized, leaving future generations to inherit the damage caused by greed.

International conservationists have identified oil palm plantations and pulp and paper factories as the parties most responsible for Sumatra's deforestation. Now, Papua has become the next target of state-sponsored land clearing, backed by a self-professed justification of the need to provide food for the population.

Heartbreaking news surfaced again last month from Riau; ironically, from Tesso Nilo National Park. Rangers discovered a dead elephant calf in the park, an area specifically designed to protect elephant and tiger habitats. While police have arrested 16 suspects in connection with the incident, the greater culprits are the ingrained, systemic issues. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has vowed to take stern measures to protect the endangered species, yet his predecessors and law enforcement officers have all made similar commitments in the past that remain unfulfilled.

Today, less than one-eighth of the park’s 82,000 hectares of primary forest is in good condition. Most of the conservation area has been converted into oil palm plantations and human settlements. As a result, conflicts between displaced wildlife and local communities are rising, and elephants and tigers are always the losers.