Jakarta, March 3 -- The Ministry of Forestry has officially begun a large-scale reforestation program in Tesso Nilo National Park, aiming to restore 66,704 hectares of degraded land in central Sumatra.

"We can no longer delay restoration efforts. Tesso Nilo is a critical habitat for Sumatran elephants and many other species. If we fail to act now, we risk the future of Sumatra's ecosystem,"Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in a statement on Tuesday.

The inauguration ceremony took place in Riau, where Antoni declared the restoration of the conservation area a national priority due to its ecological importance.

The initiative is part of Indonesia's broader policy to rehabilitate forests impacted by land-use changes, particularly oi...