Kerinci Seblat National Park is the largest protected area on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It protects a large complex of intact forests, providing clean water to millions of people; it also shelters incredible biodiversity, and is home to one of the last viable tiger populations.
Most forests on the island have been logged, burned and then converted to oil palm plantations; most protected areas have been spared so far, but with the majority of unprotected forests gone, businesses are setting their sights on National Parks. New schemes how to get around the existing protection regulation are popping up, and now plans for new road building are being proposed within Kerinci National Park. While in theory not a bad initiative, in practice roads enable access for logging, poaching and encroachment, carving up and fragmenting the existing wildlife habitats. This is only the first step; if the road proposal is approved for Kerinci, other protected areas on Sumatra will surely follow.
The road building proposals have come from local provincial authorities, and the conservation community is mounting a last desperate attempt to stop this madness. If you wish to know more, and try to help, here is more information on Debbie Martyr's blog:
21st Century Tiger - No humour, not this time
Thank you.
P.S. For a preview of what's at stake, two recent videos of wild Sumatran tigers from Kerinci:
http://www.21stcenturytiger.org/index.php?pg=1297937748
Most forests on the island have been logged, burned and then converted to oil palm plantations; most protected areas have been spared so far, but with the majority of unprotected forests gone, businesses are setting their sights on National Parks. New schemes how to get around the existing protection regulation are popping up, and now plans for new road building are being proposed within Kerinci National Park. While in theory not a bad initiative, in practice roads enable access for logging, poaching and encroachment, carving up and fragmenting the existing wildlife habitats. This is only the first step; if the road proposal is approved for Kerinci, other protected areas on Sumatra will surely follow.
The road building proposals have come from local provincial authorities, and the conservation community is mounting a last desperate attempt to stop this madness. If you wish to know more, and try to help, here is more information on Debbie Martyr's blog:
21st Century Tiger - No humour, not this time
Thank you.
P.S. For a preview of what's at stake, two recent videos of wild Sumatran tigers from Kerinci:
http://www.21stcenturytiger.org/index.php?pg=1297937748