Indonesia has 4 world natural heritages. One of them, is the tropical rain forest inSumatera which is in the List of the Endangered World Heritage. Director of Heritage and Cultural Diplomacy, Directorate General of Culture, Ministry of Education and Culture, NadjamuddinRamly said his office received Monitoring Mission Reactive Team or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). On a press conference, Nadjamuddin said on Monday (16/4) that receiving the reactive team proved that the government commits to secure one of the world natural heritages. The team will conduct monitoringand giving input which will be conveyed on the World Heritage Committee meeting in Bahrain this year.
“It becomes the center of the attention of UNESCO because they hope our protected forest parks to be the lungs of the world, home to various kinds of living creatures and various kinds of flora and fauna. We grow there, in biological and genetic aspects. Rapid response team of UNESCO proves that the United Nations gives attention,” NadjamuddinRamly said.
Nadjamuddin also explained that based on the IUCN report, it will be determined whether the tropical rain forest in Sumatera is still be able to be declared as the world cultural heritage. Meanwhile, various efforts have been done by the government to save tropical rain forest in Sumatera. One of them is through empowering the surrounding community. This was stated by Head of the Department of History and World Heritage of the Coordinating Ministry for Human and Cultural Development, DohardoPakpahan in the same occasion. DohardoPakpahan recognized that the efforts have not been maximal. However, his office is optimistic to be able to secure tropical rain forest from damage. (VOISEKAR/trans-yati/DP)