Up to 10,000 ha of the Gunung Leuser National Park (GNLP) has been illegally encroached in Sekoci area, Besitang. The coalition for protection of the Gunung Leuser National Park (Koalisi Penyelamat Taman Nasional Gunung Leuser/KP-TNGL) which consists of 7 Indonesian NGO’s concluded that the GNLP authority is no longer able to solve the problem of illegal encroachment in the GNLP.
The KP-BTNGL (include: YOSL-OIC, Vesswic, Yayasan
Ekosistem Lestari (YEL), Scorpion Foundation, Leuser International Foundation (LIF), HAkA
Foundation, and the Forum for Leuser Conservation/FKL) on Monday (17th of October 2016) held a press conference in Medan to insist President Joko Widodo immediately intervenes to solve this problem.
Speaker for KP-BTNGL, Panut
Hadisiswoyo, said that the GNLP authority, along with law enforcement officials
at provincial level and provincial governments in North Sumatra have not been
able to solve the massive scale of encroachment for conversion to oil palm
plantations and settlements, especially in Sekoci area in Langkat regency of North
Sumatra Province.
Part of Sekoci area is encroached by displaced people as a result of the Aceh conflict,
local community, and some other communities coming from outside Langkat regency.
Since 1999 the intake area has reached 10,000 ha.
"We request that president Joko Widodo immediately intervene to
protect the GNLP which is the last place on earth where four large mammals (orangutans,
rhinos, elephants and tigers) can still be found in one landscape," said
Panut.
Nizar Tarigan and Pindi from Leuser International Foundation (LIF), Wahyu from VESSWIC, and Gunung Gea from Scorpion Foundation also spoke at the Press Conference asking for serious attention from the national government to solve the problem of encroachment in the GNLP.
Left map: deforestation in 1990 while the right map : deforestation in 2016.
(Source: KP-TNGL)
GNLP area in Besitang converted to oil palm plantation. (Photo: KP-TNGL)
Members of the Coalition for Protection of Gunung Leuser National Park:
1. YAYASAN ORANGUTAN SUMATERA LESTARI (YOSL-OIC)
2. YAYASAN EKOSISTEM LESTARI (YEL)
3. YAYASAN LEUSER INTERNASIONAL (YLI)
4. VETERINARY SOCIETY for SUMATRAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION (VESSWIC)
5. YAYASAN SCORPION INDONESIA
6. FORUM KONSERVASI LEUSER (FKL)
7. HUTAN ALAM DAN LINGKUNGAN ACEH (HAKA)
