Road Impact Study on Ecosystem Services in RIMBA Ecosystem Corridors

The report investigates how the expansion of toll and national roads in the RIMBA Ecosystem Corridor (spanning Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra) fragments wildlife habitats and degrades ecosystem services. It highlights the critical risk to Sumatran tigers and elephants, noting that road infrastructure acts as a driver for land-use change, including conversion to oil palm and rubber plantations. The study finds that while nature-based solutions like animal underpasses have been implemented, they are often insufficient or fail during rainy seasons. It predicts a decline in carbon storage and water reserves by 2030 and recommends strategic habitat corridors and improved governance of animal crossing facilities to mitigate extinction risks and environmental degradation.

• Road infrastructure development in Sumatra, while intended for economic growth, has caused severe habitat fragmentation for tigers and elephants and degraded natural capital, specifically groundwater catchment and carbon storage.
• The RIMBA Ecosystem Corridor is under significant pressure from land conversion, with oil palm plantations being the largest land use (4.87 million hectares as of 2020), often replacing dryland forests and encroaching into swampy areas and steep hills.
• Carbon storage in the RIMBA Ecosystem Corridor is predicted to decrease by 8.2 million tons by 2030, reaching approximately 150 million tons, due to road construction, plantations, and illegal logging.
• Road networks are identified as the human activity posing the highest risk to tiger and elephant habitats in the RIMBA watershed, with 'other roads' (simple construction) serving as pioneer routes for illegal hunting.
• Existing animal crossing facilities, such as the five underpasses on the Pekanbaru-Dumai toll road, have shown failures, with wildlife crossing the road surface when underpasses are flooded during the rainy season.
• Human-wildlife conflict is a primary driver of population decline; 57% of elephant deaths are attributed to conflict with humans, while tigers are forced into human areas as their home ranges narrow and prey disappears.
• Tebo is identified as the district with the highest risk of habitat damage by 2030, with nearly 50% of its administrative area consisting of high-risk habitat ecosystems for tigers and elephants.
• The report recommends the construction of animal crossings across the road over Bukit Batabuh and the modification of existing bridges to serve as disguised animal crossings, provided they are kept sterile from human activity and reforestation is implemented.

APA

Pramono, S., Jati, V. I. M., Hadian, O., Danoedoro, P., Aarjasakusuma, S., Fahmi, M. S. I., Melati, P., Alfani, F., Kumalasari, A. N., Pratama, W. S. A., Albadara, Y. O. S., Haryanto, M. W., Hayat, D. M., & Barano, T. (n.d.). Road Impact Study on Ecosystem Services in RIMBA Ecosystem Corridors. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/521/14sk5eqp9g_Synthesis_report_EN_Digital_pages.pdf

Chicago

Pramono, Sigit, Virta Ihsanul M Jati, Oki Hadian, Projo Danoedoro, Sanjiwana Aarjasakusuma, Moh Syahrul Irfan Fahmi, Pegi Melati, et al. Road Impact Study on Ecosystem Services in RIMBA Ecosystem Corridors. WWF International, n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/521/14sk5eqp9g_Synthesis_report_EN_Digital_pages.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{pramonondroad, author = {Pramono, Sigit and Jati, Virta Ihsanul M and Hadian, Oki and Danoedoro, Projo and Aarjasakusuma, Sanjiwana and Fahmi, Moh Syahrul Irfan and Melati, Pegi and Alfani, Fitria and Kumalasari, Alfanni Nurul and Pratama, Wildan Syakhreza Adwin and Albadara, Yasmin Oktivia Shafa and Haryanto, Muhammad Wisnu and Hayat, Dimas Maula and Barano, Thomas}, title = {{Road Impact Study on Ecosystem Services in RIMBA Ecosystem Corridors}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/521/14sk5eqp9g_Synthesis_report_EN_Digital_pages.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }