The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it is awarding a $64,000 grant to Fauna & Flora International-Indonesia Program to aid in Tsunami relief efforts for the hard-hit province of Aceh, located on the northwestern tip of Indonesias of Sumatra.
This grant is part of the Services effort to lessen the threat to wildlife and ensure sustainable long-term relief efforts on behalf of the regions human populations, by supporting efforts to integrate biodiversity conservation planning into post-disaster recovery programs.
"Environmental concerns need to be integrated into all recovery and resettlement plans and programs," said Acting Service Director Matt Hogan. "This needs to be done early-on and throughout the process in order to ensure a sustainable recovery and rebuilding for both local people and regional wildlife."
The humanitarian crisis is expected to accelerate pressures on the already highly imperiled forests and wildlife populations of Southeast Asia. Northwest Aceh holds lowland rainforest habitat used by endangered Sumatran elephant populations, as well as endangered Sumatran orangutans, the endangered Sumatran tiger, Thomas leaf monkey, and white handed gibbons. There are even reports of rare Sumatran rhinos living in this region. As a result of the disaster there is a fear that a large number of refugees lacking alternative livelihood options will turn to natural resources, which would lead to increased pressures on forest ecosystems. In addition to hunting for bush meat to supplement food provided by relief agencies, the need for building materials -- mainly wood -- to reconstruct the more than 300,000 destroyed houses may lead to widespread, uncontrolled logging. Unchecked reconstruction and resettlement programs may result in significant environmental impacts as well.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is the worlds longest established international conservation body. USFWS funds being granted to FFI will be used to: 1) provide emergency assistance to the provincial nature conservation department and local stakeholders in Aceh Jaya district; 2) assist local stakeholders to integrate environmental concerns into post-disaster recovery programs; and 3) strengthen the capacity of the nature conservation department in Banda Aceh and in Aceh Jaya to protect the Ulu Masen forest complex.
Funding for this support comes from the Asian Elephant Conservation Act, passed by Congress in 1997 in order to address the growing threats to the survival of Asian elephants in the wild.
"Congress showed great foresight in establishing these funds with such flexibility," said Dr. Mini Nagendran, the Services Program Officer for the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund. "We were able to jump in and use this money to not only protect a vital population of Asian elephants, but also assist in aiding the local people during their time of need."
The USFWS is continuing to meet with international wildlife conservation groups and international support agencies to discuss other ways to assist in the disaster relief efforts and ensure that both people and wildlife are being helped during this continuing global aide effort.
