JAKARTA – The government, through the ministries of forestry and environment , is designing the development of forest corridors for wildlife in Sumatera island with the aim of reducing conflict between humans and animals.
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofic revealed the government’s plan as a response to the recent incident that involves wild elephants and villagers in Air Sugihan district of Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) regency of South Sumatra province on Sunday (25/05/2025).
The wildlife corridors will function as bridges to connect fragmented habitats—as a result of deforestation and human activities, allowing wild animals to cross freely, safely and comfortably into the fragmented forest areas. The corridors will also allow the wildlife to do migration, colonization, and interbreeding, which are crucial for maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes.
According to Hanif, the ecosystem of Sumatera island stands as the habitat of five species of megafauna, namely Sumateran tiger, Sumateran elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, Sumatera bull, and Orangutan. But now their natural habitats have been fragmented due to deforestation and development activities.
“The fragmentation of their habitats have forced the wildlife to cross the residential areas, industrial forests, or plantations, which often lead to conflicts,” said Hanif.
He said that as a solution his ministry is conducting a mapping of animal crossing and designing a special forest corridor to enable them to do passing through safely and comfortably.
He cited as an example that elephants needs salt intake from certain plants. “Then for such purpose, the special corridors should be planted with vegetation of high salt content to make the corridors attractive for elephants for crossing,” he said.
Hanif said that besides South Sumatra, Riau province has also often experienced the conflicts between humans and the wild animals. Having a total 4 million hectares of oil palm plantations, Riau becomes one of the regions prone to conflict of wild animals and human activities.
“Efforts of resolving conflicts between humans and the wildlife have become our national priority. But those efforts need the support of all stakeholders,” said Hanif. (*)
