Update: Aceh Spatial Plan

Dear friends,

The Indonesian President SBY walked out of office some days ago and unfortunately, he did it without cancelling the Aceh Spatial Plan. That means he didn’t keep his promise to his granddaughter Almira to leave a green legacy and take action to save significant forests like the Leuser Ecosystem.

The Leuser Ecosystem is still facing its most serious threat to date: The Aceh Spatial Plan ignores its very existence which means it can be sold out to loggers, miners and poachers. This is outrageous considering the Leuser Ecosystem is the last place on earth where orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers still co-exist in the wild.

We were blown away by the amazing effort you all put in to our International Day of Action #SaveLeuserEcosystem and this gave us the momentum to keep pushing with more political work behind the scenes.

Together with 140 other local, national and international organizations we wrote a letter to the central government urging them to cancel the spatial plan and save the Leuser Ecosystem. Last week a coalition of over 30 individuals representing this huge group travelled to Jakarta to deliver the letter to senior Indonesian officials and explain why protecting the Leuser Ecosystem is so important.

We received a commitment that our message will be communicated to the incoming President. Our hope is that the new President Joko Widodo “Jokowi” who just started his term among much optimism will be more willing to take the bold action Indonesia and the rest of the world needs, and protect Indonesia’s remaining forests like the Leuser Ecosystem. We will continue to keep the pressure on him so that he stops the Aceh Spatial Plan once and for all.

At this point we would like to thank you again for your incredible support over the last couple of weeks and hope you are in it for the long haul with us and the iconic creatures of the Leuser Ecosystem! Please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for updates…

Warm regards,

Endoftheicons

Environmentalists file legal action on Aceh’s Spatial Plan

Photo: Paul Hilton

Banda Aceh – Various Indonesian NGOs organized in the Environmental Forum Walhi Aceh have filed judicial review on Aceh’s Spatial Plan to the Supreme Court.

“Our previous actions have not led the Government of Aceh to accommodate inputs. Therefore we decided to file a judicial review,” said Muhammad Nur, Executive Director of Walhi Aceh.

“It has been reported that still many different forms of violations exist within this particular law. These violations potentially provide access to a systematic destruction of the environment,” said Nur.

According to the environmentalists the Spatial Plan should be cancelled because it does not include the protection of the Leuser Ecosystem as required under higher law.

According to Muhammad Nur, there are a number of legal backgrounds that enable Walhi Aceh to file judicial review on the Spatial Plan.

“This judicial review is not the last measure that will be taken by us, while the Government of Aceh refuses to listen and to accommodate inputs and community participation,” added Nur.

Muhammad Nur, Walhi Aceh

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Read the full article in Indonesian: http://atjehlink.com/walhi-uji-materil-qanun-tata-ruang-aceh-ke-ma/