Ecobiz.asia — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has issued a presidential directive mandating a coordinated, cross-government effort to protect the populations and habitats of the critically endangered Sumatran elephant and the Bornean elephant, the Ministry of Forestry announced on Friday (July 10, 2026).
Presidential Instruction No. 8 of 2026 requires multiple government agencies to integrate elephant conservation into development planning, aiming to safeguard wildlife habitats while allowing infrastructure and economic development to proceed.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said the directive requires government institutions and businesses to ensure that development projects do not disrupt elephant migration routes and habitats.
“If the Ministry of Public Works builds a road that intersects an elephant home range, wildlife corridors must be provided,” Raja Juli said in a statement.
He added that plantation developments located within elephant migration routes must also maintain designated conservation areas to allow elephants to move freely and access sufficient food resources.
The directive assigns responsibilities to nine ministries, including the Ministries of Forestry, Agriculture, Home Affairs, Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, Energy and Mineral Resources, Public Works, Environment, Finance, and Investment and Downstream Industries.
It also instructs the National Police, as well as governors and district heads across Sumatra and North Kalimantan, to actively support elephant conservation efforts.
According to Raja Juli, the directive is intended to strengthen coordination among government institutions in addressing habitat fragmentation, one of the primary threats facing Indonesia’s remaining elephant populations.
“The ministries assigned under this presidential instruction all have a responsibility to protect the home of Sumatran and Bornean elephants,” he said.
The Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is classified as Critically Endangered due to habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching. Indonesia is also home to the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), whose range is limited to the northern part of Kalimantan and neighboring Sabah in Malaysia. Both subspecies face increasing pressure from land-use change and habitat fragmentation. ***
