TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Minister for Forestry and the Enviroment, Siti Nurbaya, has ordered West Java's Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) to intensively monitor the management of Bandung Zoo, following the recent death of the Sumatran elephant, Yani.
"I want West Java's BBKSDA to immediately check and monitor the way the Zoo is run," said Siti in Bandung on June 1, 2016. "Currently, the management is being improved by Bandung's City Administration, under the direct supervision of our conservation agency."
According to Siti, Bandung City Administration actually have the obligation and the right to act and intervene in order to improve the welfare of the animals in the Zoo.
"Our Ministry has authorized the City's Administration to issue all the permits that are required for the Zoo to operate - it turns out the Administration chose to court the private investors to help manage the zoo, which resulted in the absence of direct supervision and neglect during the cooperation."
Siti also said that her Ministry will stringently monitor the condition of the exhibits in Bandung Zoo, and will continued to push Margasatwa Tamansari Foundation - as its managers - to improve the zoo's infrastructure and welfare. "This problem is not unique to Bandung Zoo - and we will strive to ensure that similar incidents won't occur again in the future, because the conservation of endangered animals is a very important matter," she said.
The Minister also said that if the Foundation is having financial difficulties that could negatively impact the management of the zoo, the Foundation should immediately seek help from other investors - with priorities given to government-owned Regional Enterprises (BUMDs). "They have plenty of options to explore, so I believe they need to review their model of cooperation," she said.
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