Strengthening the protection of Indonesia’s plants and wildlife

Revision of Law No. 5 on the Conservation of Biological Resources and Ecosystems

The Javan rhino is the smallest yet most threatened rhinoceros in the world. Once distributed throughout north-east India and Southeast Asia, now less than a hundred remain, with the final population found in Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, Indonesia.  Yet this deeply threatened population has decreased by one-third since 2019, victim of illegal poaching and hunting.

Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, Indonesia, home to the only remaining population of Javan rhinoceros.

This illegal activity is often carried out as organised crime.

Unfortunately, Indonesia’s conservation laws do not address organised crime. Yet, conservation crimes often involve criminal and transnational organisations: in the rhino case, for example, the horns are being exported and sold as far as China.

Currently, the Indonesian House of Representatives is revisiting the revision of Law No. 5 of 1990 on the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems (KSDAHE Law). Instead of merely revising a few articles, there is a need for comprehensive changes to protect Indonesia's plants and wildlife.

ICEL is working to highlight three critical issues that must be included in the revision of the KSDAHE law:

These are just three of the most important steps that need to be taken, but there are several other aspects of the law that merit revision.

Read the full list of issues in the draft revision of the KSDAHE Law here (in Indonesian).