Protected areas of Indonesia comprise both terrestrial and marine environments in any of the six IUCN Protected Area categories. There are over 500 protected areas in Indonesia, of which 54 National Park are covering 16.4 million ha, and another 527 nature and game reserves cover further 28.3 million ha. The total protected land area represents over 15% of Indonesia's landmass.

Marine Protected Area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

s comprise over 15.7 million ha representing ca. 5% of territorial waters.

History

In 1916 the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies introduced the Natural Monuments Ordinance, which led to the gazetting of 43 nature reserves in the following decade. The first two large reserves were

Ujung Kulon Ujung Kulon National Park is at the westernmost tip of Java, in Banten province of Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa in Lampung province, and other islands including Panaitan, as well as smaller offshore islets such as ...

(1921) protecting the

Javan rhinoceros The Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus''), also known as the Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros, is a very rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It belongs to the same ge ...

and

Lorentz Lorentz is a name derived from the Roman surname, Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum". It is the German form of Laurence. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lorentz Aspen (born 1978), Norwegian heavy metal pianist and keyboar ...

(1923) protecting indigenous tribes. In 1932 through the Ordinance on Nature reserves and Wildlife Sanctuary a new legal framework for protected areas has been established. By 1940 a network of 101 nature monuments and 35 wildlife sanctuaries has been created.Jepson, P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2002
"Histories of Protected Areas: Internationalisation of Conservationist Values and their Adoption in the Netherlands Indies"
, in ''Environment and History'', nr.8, pg.129-72 After Indonesia's independence, legislation to establish game reserves was introduced in 1967, while national parks have been first defined in 1982. During the Suharto era the extent of protected areas has been increased to cover 10% of the country's land area. In a major expansion in 2004, nine new national parks were created covering over 1,3 million ha.

National parks

There are 54

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

in Indonesia, of which 9 are predominantly marine. Of these 6 are

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s, such as the

Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. It comprises three Indonesian national parks on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Buki ...

that includes three parks. Seven national parks are part of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable de ...

UNESCO
"Ecological Sciences for Sustainable Development"
retrieved 22 October 2013 and 5 are

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s of international importance under the

Ramsar convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

Nature reserves

* Hutan Pinus/Janthoi Nature Reserve, Sumatra * Singkil Barat Nature Reserve, Sumatra * Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve, Sulawesi *

Ubud Monkey Forest Mandala Suci Wenara Wana, or well known as Ubud Monkey Forest, is the sanctuary and natural habitat of the Balinese long-tailed macaque. It is located at Padangtegal Ubud, Bali. About 1260 monkeys live in this sanctuary. They are divided into 1 ...

, Bali

Marine parks

As of 2012 Indonesia had over 100

marine protected areas Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

covering an area of 15.7 million ha, of which 32 where managed by the Ministry of Forestry while the rest where managed by local governments. In 2009 the president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a target of reaching 20 million hectares by 2020. In 2010 Indonesia also set out a longer term target to further increase the coverage of its marine protected areas to 10% of its territorial waters, or 31 million hectares.Yulianto et al. (2013
"Spatial Analysis to Achieve 20 Million Hectares of Marine Protected Areas by 2020"
Wildlife Conservation Society

Other protected areas

* Gita Persada Butterfly Park, Sumatra

References

External links

{{Asia topic, Protected areas of

Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...