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Government commits to restoring Sumatra’s tropical rainforest
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A crab-eating macaque howls at Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra. (Shutterstock/Anton Petrus)
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ndonesian delegates have reportedly taken part in the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee, which ran from June 24 to July 4, in Manama, Bahrain.
According to a statement released by the Indonesian Embassy in France, the country’s delegation stated that the government was committed to restoring the degraded parts of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS), a UNESCO world heritage site. Restoration would be conducted in cooperation with locals, state officials and other relevant bodies.
The statement also said that the government would not allow for the exploration of geothermal energy at the site. Instead, area conservation and the development and protection of key species would be integrated into the restoration program.
Despite Indonesia’s commitment to rainforest restoration, the World Heritage Committee kept the TRHS on the World Heritage in Danger list for the eighth year in a row.
The government is working with the committee and an advisory board to remove the TRHS from the list. It launched last April the Reactive Monitoring Mission, which aims to monitor and set up strategies for the restoration of the degraded heritage site.
In this year’s session, the World Heritage Committee gave out several recommendations to aid Indonesia’s effort in monitoring key animal species and abiding by the committee's conservation framework and rules on THRS borders.
In addition to discussing the conservation of world heritage sites, the committee deliberated over the nomination of an additional 28 sites.
There were also discussions on the World Heritage Fund and efforts in implementing the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
Read also: Remains of ancient Arab city in Spain get UNESCO heritage status
Indonesia has been a member of the committee for four years since 2015. In its third year as a member, it discussed the conservation statuses of World Heritage sites and newly nominated sites. (mut)
