Nicholas Saputra Stars in Elephant Conservation Documentary Film
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Kamis, 1 Januari 1970 07:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - To raise public awareness on the importance of Indonesian elephant and forests, the European Union has made a documentary film that promotes elephant conservation entitled ‘Save Our Forest Giants,’ starring Nicholas Saputra.
“It is very important for us to improve awareness. We want to conserve the forest as it could pose risks,” said the Ambassador of the European Union to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Vincent Guerend, in Jakarta, Sunday, June 19, 2016.
“In this case, elephants could pose risk of death to their infants,” he said.
The event was supported by the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry of the Republic of Indonesia.
“As we already know, Indonesia is endowed [with natural resources], not only plants but also animals. Therefore, we have to conserve elephants,” said the Director-General of Natural Conservation and Ecosystem Tachrir Fathoni.
The documentary film highlights the importance of forest and elephant conservation.
“The elephant is like a big umbrella. If we conserve the habitats of the elephants, we can conserve other animals,” said the Head of Conservation Response Unit Tangkahan Wahdi Azmi.
The short documentary ‘Save Our Forest Giants’ was produced by Nicholas Saputra and Amanda Marahimin, supported by the European Union.
“About 10 years ago, I travelled to Tangkahan. There, I began to develop an interest and I heard about a lot of issues and challenges to face,” Nicholas said.
“Therefore, I feel that I have a responsibility to improve people’s awareness,” he said.
‘Save Our Forest Giants’ film is aimed at improving awareness and encouraging research on new herpes virus, the EEHV.
The virus can spread acute hemorrhagic disease on elephants and is allegedly causing high mortality rates among young Asian elephants (1 to 8 years).
The death can happen in 1 to 2 days from the initial symptoms to early diagnosis and treatment is crucial for the life of the infected elephant.
“Why are the number of elephants continue to decline? Firstly, it’s because of conflicts between elephants and humans. Their habitat has changed, for instance, it’s been turned into human settlements, they have been driven out their habitat and human-wildlife conflicts occur,” Tachrir said.
“Secondly, disease and viruses. We have improved protection for elephants. At the same time, we have to conserve their habitats. Not only in national parks, but also habitats outside of conservation areas,” he noted.
ANTARA