The alarming rate of deforestation occurring within the Leuser ecosystem might drive the Sumatran orangutan to extinction. It’d be the first of the four great ape species to go extinct.

Prayugo Utomo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Leuser ecosystem (pronounced “low-sir”) is one of earth’s most ecologically rich ecosystems, houses over 105 mammal species, 352 bird species, and 95 reptile and amphibian species. It spans six-million acres across the northernmost tip in the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its lowland rainforests, alpine meadows, and peat swamps form Southeast Asia’s largest carbon sink. And it provides 400 hundred million Acehnese people with ecosystem services such as fresh water and disaster mitigation.

The rapid destruction of rainforest has destroyed homes of some of the world’s most endangered species. 85% of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans live in the Leuser. 

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognized the Lesuer as “the world’s foremost irreplaceable protected areas”. 

But since 2011, The Leuser  has been listed under UNESCO’s “World Heritage in Danger” due to the ongoing destruction.

In addition to being protected as a World Heritage Site, it also has special legal status under the Aceh provincial government, which prohibits activities that threaten the forest, such as development and cultivation. 

Unfortunately, these protections have not kept the palm oil industry at bay. Weak governance and poor monitoring have allowed for oil palm growers to invade the protected areas — as of 2019 1.1 million acres of the Leuser had been deforested (over a million football fields).  

I first found out about the rapidly disappearing Leuser when I was a senior in high school in 2018. A series of images described the crisis: swaths of green forest engulfed in fire, an orangutan that laid limp in the arms of an Achenese local…. It’s 2021 and the imagery has not changed. 

The growing global demand for palm oil has been driving corporate interests to continue to deforest  this ancient Indonesian territory to turn its resources into profit — an all too familiar story. 

Palm oil can be found in most packaged foods, soaps, baked goods… just check the nutrition label. It might even be hiding under a different name. Palm oil’s ubiquity has to do with the fact that it’s the cheapest vegetable oil and it doesn’t spoil.

The work of NGOs may be the best defense for the protection of habitats and conservation of the Leuser. 

NGOs are playing an active role in assisting Indonesia’s local governments in conservation efforts and law enforcement. 

Global Conservation aims to protect and conserve the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra through their initiative “No cut, No kill”. Their priorities over the next few years include wildlife habitat protection, removal of illegal plantations, better forest ranger patrolling, and lobbying and legal actions to better enforce the legal protections of the Leuser ecosystem under its designation as a national park. 

One of Global Conservation’s biggest goals is to close up to six illegal palm plantations. Holding small and large scale oil palm producers accountable will help make clear that cultivating oil palm without proper permitting will be prosecuted. With the support of the European Union, other national governments, and foundations like the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation, Global Conservation aims to raise  $10-20 million in support of these goals. 

Though a small part to a greater whole, NGOs have been playing an important role in protecting and advocating on behalf of the Leuser ecosystem and the thousands of species and millions of people that depend on it. NGOs like Global Conservation’s capabilities of gaining international attention from other countries, celebrities, and spreading awareness is key to long term success in saving the Leuser.