POLICY

Indonesian authorities clarify twitter feed by DG of WWF International
December 4, 2020

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JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry has provided an immediate clarification on a video posted by the Director General of WWF International Marco Lambertini on his twitter feed (Dec 4) which includes a call for fundraising for the rescue of the Sumatran rhino.

The ministry reiterated that since its collaboration with WWF-Indonesia ended in January 2020, it has yet to team up with the WWF again in any form, including in conservation efforts aimed at Sumatran rhinos and other flagship species in Indonesia.

According to the narrative of the video, which was sourced from the IUCN, "there are fewer than 80 left in the world ... If we don't act now the Sumatran rhino will disappear forever", followed by the fundraising appeal.

The Ministry's Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Director General Wiratno reacted to the twitter video (Dec 4) by stating, "The substance of the narrative in the video posted by the DG of WWF International is completely irrelevant.”

“In fact, the Indonesian government continues to work consistently to ensure Sumatran Rhinos will not face extinction with a clear state budget and human resources placed on the ground,” he added.

"The fund raising narrative in the video ignores facts about the efforts and resources from the Indonesian government. Contrary to the video's content, we are ensuring that the Sumatran rhinos will not disappear forever. Indonesia unquestionably has sufficient resources for this," he affirmed.

Earlier in the year, to coincide with World Rhino Day 2020, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya told FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 22) that "Indonesia's strategy is clear. We will keep striving to ensure that our flagship species, including rhinos, do not face extinction by ensuring the growth of their populations in sufficient habitats."

Below are some screenshots captured from the IUCN video posted by the DG of WWF International, the substance of which is wholly rejected by Indonesia's wildlife authorities.





Withdrawal of video requested

As reported earlier by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 24), Director General Wiratno previously expressed the ministry's appreciation for the complementary support it has received from relevant stakeholders in conservations efforts targeting Sumatran Rhinos.

"It's important to point out that the support from these stakeholders is merely complementary in nature and hasn't replaced our efforts. So to say that without such complementary support, Sumatran rhinos will disappear forever is simply not true,” he asserted.

"Thanks to the state budget our ministry receives, along with our ample human resources, Sumatran Rhinos will definitely not go extinct,” he added.

The ministry's DG said that the Indonesian government's enthusiasm for forest protection and conservation has been made very clear under President Joko Widodo's leadership by an increase in the state budget for these goals of up to USD300 million a year since 2019.

On this basis, Director General Wiratno called for the video to be withdrawn by the Sumatran Rhino Alliance, one of whose members is the WWF, due to its misleading and unsubstantiated narrative which suggests to the global public that the Indonesian government has no role in preventing the extinction of the Sumatran rhino.

Indonesia's clear budget power is not confined to conservation efforts but also extends to emissions reductions, as emphasized by Minister Nurbaya in the virtual G20 Environment Ministers Meeting (Sep 16) which was covered by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 17).

WWF Indonesia responds

With regard to the clarification from the ministry, FORESTHINTS.NEWS asked WWF Indonesia for a written response (Dec 4).

"Since the termination of WWF Indonesia's working relationship with the Environment and Forestry Ministry, we are no longer involved directly in Sumatran rhino conservation activities in Kalimantan, and we have submitted all previous works and assets to the local ministry authorities," WWF Indonesia wrote.

"At the international level", the written response continued, "WWF is still part of the Sumatran Rhino Alliance because our collaboration with National Geographic, IUCN, the Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is still ongoing in terms of global fundraising but with no direct involvement of WWF International or WWF Indonesia in conservation activities in the field."

Director General Wiratno stressed that since the collaboration with WWF Indonesia has ended, wildlife conservation efforts have continued as usual and all targets have been met with good performance this year, including measures involving ground-based activities during the ongoing global pandemic.


TAGS: WILDLIFE , SUMATRAN RHINO , CONSERVATION

RELATED STORIES


POLICY

Indonesian authorities clarify twitter feed by DG of WWF International
December 4, 2020

facebookfinal.png wafinal.png twitterfinal.png emailfinal.png

JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry has provided an immediate clarification on a video posted by the Director General of WWF International Marco Lambertini on his twitter feed (Dec 4) which includes a call for fundraising for the rescue of the Sumatran rhino.

The ministry reiterated that since its collaboration with WWF-Indonesia ended in January 2020, it has yet to team up with the WWF again in any form, including in conservation efforts aimed at Sumatran rhinos and other flagship species in Indonesia.

According to the narrative of the video, which was sourced from the IUCN, "there are fewer than 80 left in the world ... If we don't act now the Sumatran rhino will disappear forever", followed by the fundraising appeal.

The Ministry's Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Director General Wiratno reacted to the twitter video (Dec 4) by stating, "The substance of the narrative in the video posted by the DG of WWF International is completely irrelevant.”

“In fact, the Indonesian government continues to work consistently to ensure Sumatran Rhinos will not face extinction with a clear state budget and human resources placed on the ground,” he added.

"The fund raising narrative in the video ignores facts about the efforts and resources from the Indonesian government. Contrary to the video's content, we are ensuring that the Sumatran rhinos will not disappear forever. Indonesia unquestionably has sufficient resources for this," he affirmed.

Earlier in the year, to coincide with World Rhino Day 2020, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya told FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 22) that "Indonesia's strategy is clear. We will keep striving to ensure that our flagship species, including rhinos, do not face extinction by ensuring the growth of their populations in sufficient habitats."

Below are some screenshots captured from the IUCN video posted by the DG of WWF International, the substance of which is wholly rejected by Indonesia's wildlife authorities.





Withdrawal of video requested

As reported earlier by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 24), Director General Wiratno previously expressed the ministry's appreciation for the complementary support it has received from relevant stakeholders in conservations efforts targeting Sumatran Rhinos.

"It's important to point out that the support from these stakeholders is merely complementary in nature and hasn't replaced our efforts. So to say that without such complementary support, Sumatran rhinos will disappear forever is simply not true,” he asserted.

"Thanks to the state budget our ministry receives, along with our ample human resources, Sumatran Rhinos will definitely not go extinct,” he added.

The ministry's DG said that the Indonesian government's enthusiasm for forest protection and conservation has been made very clear under President Joko Widodo's leadership by an increase in the state budget for these goals of up to USD300 million a year since 2019.

On this basis, Director General Wiratno called for the video to be withdrawn by the Sumatran Rhino Alliance, one of whose members is the WWF, due to its misleading and unsubstantiated narrative which suggests to the global public that the Indonesian government has no role in preventing the extinction of the Sumatran rhino.

Indonesia's clear budget power is not confined to conservation efforts but also extends to emissions reductions, as emphasized by Minister Nurbaya in the virtual G20 Environment Ministers Meeting (Sep 16) which was covered by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Sep 17).

WWF Indonesia responds

With regard to the clarification from the ministry, FORESTHINTS.NEWS asked WWF Indonesia for a written response (Dec 4).

"Since the termination of WWF Indonesia's working relationship with the Environment and Forestry Ministry, we are no longer involved directly in Sumatran rhino conservation activities in Kalimantan, and we have submitted all previous works and assets to the local ministry authorities," WWF Indonesia wrote.

"At the international level", the written response continued, "WWF is still part of the Sumatran Rhino Alliance because our collaboration with National Geographic, IUCN, the Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is still ongoing in terms of global fundraising but with no direct involvement of WWF International or WWF Indonesia in conservation activities in the field."

Director General Wiratno stressed that since the collaboration with WWF Indonesia has ended, wildlife conservation efforts have continued as usual and all targets have been met with good performance this year, including measures involving ground-based activities during the ongoing global pandemic.


TAGS: WILDLIFE , SUMATRAN RHINO , CONSERVATION

RELATED STORIES