Bengkulu, Aug. 19 -- The Bentang Seblat Coalition has urged the government to designate 80,000 hectares of production forest in Bengkulu as a wildlife sanctuary to strengthen protection for critically threatened Sumatran elephants.

"We want to raise the area's protection status to a conservation area. The coalition proposes designating 80,000 hectares of forest in Seblat as a wildlife sanctuary," Kanopi Hijau Indonesia Head Ali Akbar said here Wednesday.

Ali said the proposal reflects growing pressure on Seblat, one of the remaining habitats for Sumatran elephants in Bengkulu, as forests are increasingly converted and fragmented.

Coalition analysis shows Seblat's core area covers about 80,978 hectares, with about 30,017 hectares report...