Indonesia's President Prabowo signs Inpres to safeguard elephant habitats

President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia signed Presidential Instruction No. 8 of 2026, directing multiple ministries and regional governments to protect the remaining populations and habitats of Sumatran and Bornean (Kalimantan) elephants. The instruction outlines a mandate for the Forestry, Agriculture, Interior, Agrarian and Spatial Planning, Energy and Mineral Resources, Public Works, Environment, Finance, Investment, and Police ministries to conserve 21 Sumatran elephant landscapes covering about 5.4 million hectares and one Kalimantan landscape of roughly 19,100 hectares. Measures include population and habitat surveys, monitoring, protection, restoration, community education, and law‑enforcement actions. It requires a moratorium on new permits for development projects in critical habitats and calls for ecological connectivity such as wildlife crossings, speed limits and early‑warning systems. International conservation groups, including the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group, praised the instruction as a strong signal of Indonesia’s commitment to elephant conservation and a whole‑of‑government approach that extends beyond forest areas to corridors and community‑managed conservation zones.