An Indonesian minister has denied reports the country could move to blacklist Leonardo DiCaprio after the Oscar-winning actor criticised the environmental impact of palm-oil cultivation on a recent visit to the Sumatran rainforests.
On Saturday the Associated Press reported comments from Heru Santoso, spokesman for the directorate general for immigration at Indonesia’s law and human rights ministry, who said DiCaprio’s recent visit to the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra had been used to discredit both the palm-oil industry and the nation’s government.
“We support his concern to save the Leuser ecosystem,” said Santoso. “But we can blacklist him from returning to Indonesia at any time if he keeps posting incitement or provocative statements in his social media.”
The comments followed statements from Indonesian immigration director-general Ronny Sompie, who last week threatened to deport DiCaprio – though it turned out the actor had already left local soil.
However, a different government minister has now praised DiCaprio’s visit to highlight the plight of Sumatran elephants, orangutans, rhinos and tigers and dismissed talk of blacklisting the actor.
“My view is that DiCaprio’s concerns are both sincere and substantial, and he has certainly acted in good faith,” Siti Nurbaya, Indonesia’s minister of the environment and forestry, told foresthints.news. “In fact, we largely share his concerns on this matter.
“In light of this and to reciprocate his sincerity and good intentions, I am open to working together with DiCaprio in a joint effort whereby both of us can have our concerns addressed, including those that pertain to the Leuser Ecosystem.”
Nurbaya also revealed DiCaprio had been accompanied by one of her own officials during an excursion to see orangutans in Gunung Leuser national park. “It’s really not relevant to link the concerns conveyed by DiCaprio with immigration matters,” she added.
DiCaprio aims to establish a “mega-fauna sanctuary” in the 6.5m acre Leuser rainforest ecosystem, a lowland Sumatran national park where palm oil plantations, mining, logging and other developments are endangering local wildlife populations. The plan includes the construction of barriers, training of wildlife patrols and rangers and the reporting of habitat destruction.
“The expansion of Palm Oil plantations is fragmenting the #forest and cutting off key elephant migratory corridors, making it more difficult for elephant families to find adequate sources of food and water,” wrote DiCaprio in an Instagram post last week after arriving in Indonesia from Japan on 26 March.
