Indonesian conservation figure Widodo Sukohadi Ramono passed away today at 11.00 at the Bogor BSH Hospital. He died at the age of 75, leaving behind a wife and three children.
Widodo Sukohadi Ramono is one of the main pioneers of the conservation of the Javan and Sumatran Rhino, who currently leaves a legacy of rhino conservation in Ujung Kulon National Park and Way Kambas National Park, the two main locations for the remaining rhino populations in Indonesia.
Widodo Ramono is well known worldwide for successfully leading conservation breeding efforts of the Sumatran Rhino in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. A rhino named Andatu, born in 2012, is the first Sumatran rhino to be born in a breeding facility in Asia in over 124 years. After that the second rhino was born in 2016 and was named Delilah by President Joko Widodo.
Currently the Javan rhino population remains under 80 and the Sumatran rhino is believed to remain below 80. The IUCN includes the Javan and Sumatran Rhino in the Critical Endangered category.
Throughout his life, Widodo Ramono has focused on helping the Indonesian government save the Javan and Sumatran rhinos as well as their natural habitats, especially in Ujung Kulon National Park, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, and Lampung Way Kambas National Park.
Various countries and international institutions are helping the Indonesian government, particularly the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, to save the Javan and Sumatran Rhino from extinction. Currently, the Indonesian government is assisted by the international community such as the TFCA, the International Rhino Foundation, Global Wildlife Conservation, and a consortium of international NGOs working hard and working together to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction in Sumatra.
Widodo Ramono’s expertise and decades of field experience in rhino conservation went beyond national borders, where Widodo is highly respected internationally and has become a reference internationally for many experts biologists and rhino conservation.
During his lifetime, Widodo received various national and international awards. Among them received the IUCN Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit in 2015. This award was given by IUCN for his lifelong work to save the Javan and Sumatran Rhino from extinction, from his days in the field in Ujung Kulon National Park, to his exemplary commitment as a senior Indonesian government official, to his leadership at the Indonesian Badak Foundation.
The IUCN is a collective body of 1,400 organizations and 17,000 experts. This diversity and broad expertise make the IUCN the global authority on the status of nature and the steps needed to protect it.
The late Widodo Ramono was also awarded the Knight of Order of the Golden Ark in 1991 from the Golden Ark Foundation led by Prince Bernhard in the Netherlands for his dedication to lead the conservation of Javan Rhino in Ujung Kulon National Park.
He was previously awarded the IUCN WCPA Fred M. Packard award in 2014, for “outstanding service to protected areas and conservation”.
During his lifetime, Widodo Ramono was trusted on the world stage to become the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Survival Service Commission (SSC) – Asian Rhino Specialist Group, IUCN – SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group / Deputy Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) , as a Member of the BOS Foundation Borneo Orangutan Survival Advisory Board, as well as the IUCN – SSC Crocodile Specialist Group, and had been active in assisting The Nature Conservancy in Indonesia
In addition, recently, Widodo Ramono received an award from the Minister of Environment and Forestry at the 2020 Environment Day Celebration for supporting elements of strengthening the function of conservation areas.
Until his last time before falling ill at the end of November, Widodo was still working in the field assisting the Indonesian government in its efforts to save the Sumatran rhino in Lampung province.
The deceased won the battle against Covid-19 infection and was declared officially cured after undergoing treatment for two weeks at the Siloam Bogor Hospital.
In the recovery period after being declared negative and recovering from Covid-19, it was found that the battle that Widodo won against Covid-19 left damage to his body, resulting in complications that caused Widodo’s death.
Until the end of his life, Widodo still communicated to strengthen his fellow rhino conservation fighters to keep up the spirit and maintain health and comply with health protocols.
The deceased will be buried in Giri Tama Bogor on Friday (25/12/2020) at 09.00 am