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Be a Force for the Forest and help protect the
last big area of rainforest in SE Asia
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Force for the Forest exists to support those people who have successfully preserved the forests of North Sumatra, the Last Remaining Rain Forest of any size in SE Asian, as you can see from the map.
The fight to save the forests around Mt Leuser, now known as the Leuser Ecosystem, started way back in 1924 when the leaders of the Alas and Gayo people asked the Dutch Colonial Government to save the forest, as they were alarmed at the deforestation back then, nearly 90 years ago.
The people involved have seen huge success over the years, particularly in the 1990's when the forests of SE Asia were subject to a huge land grab and devastation unequalled on the planet. Elsewhere, the forests have gone. Travellers along the rivers of Sarawak reported the devastation then, and throughout the early years of this century Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were regularly covered in the smoke of the burning forests of Borneo and Sumatra.
But in Aceh, the conservationists stood firm and achieved amazing success. They succeeded in closing down more than 40 projects, any one of which would have destroyed Leuser. These include:
- 9 Logging Concessions
- 2 Cattle Ranches
- 3 Oil Palm Plantations
- The damming of the Alas River
- 3 Major Road Projects
- Draining the Orang-utan Swamp
- Even reversing a transmigration project that had already started.
This success has ensured that animals that were feared on the verge of extinction are preserved and growing in population today – the Orang-Utan, The Sumatran Rhinoceros, The Sumatran Elephant, the Sumatran Tiger, the Clouded Leopard, the Fisher cat, and many, many others. In Leuser are the last major sustainable breeding populations of these animals, and keeping the forest is key to their survival into the future for the generations to come. Without Leuser, these animals will become extinct.
Many people are responsible for saving these forests, primarily Indonesians because conservation cannot be done by outsiders. The most important lesson to learn from the success of Leuser is that politics is key – if you can get the laws passed to protect the animals and the forest, then you can get them enforced. That is what has been done in Aceh Province.
Key players in saving the Leuser Ecosystem include AR Ramly, once the Indonesian Ambassador to the USA, who played a key role in persuading the then President Suharto to sign the preservation order; Djamaludin Suryohadikusomo, the Minister of Forestry who stopped the pillaging of the forest and Mike Griffiths the photographer who brought the plight of the forests to the attention of so many important people.
Today their battle goes on – companies and individuals still attempt to harvest the forest and slaughter the animals and BPKEL, the organisation Force for the Forest supports, are continually persuading the police to arrest and prosecute offenders. This is what keeps the Forest alive.
Currently they are cutting down huge areas of illegal oil palms and reforesting the land, allowing the animals to return.
If you are interested in the preservation of the forest and to help support us in our work, please register to be kept informed of our activities. Thank you.
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