Saving the Last
Lowland Forests
Spanning approximately 2.6 million hectares, both the terrain and wildlife of Sumatra are extraordinarily diverse. Centered on the Barisan Mountain Chain, the Leuser Ecosystem drops steeply into the Indian Ocean on the west side. Meanwhile, on the east side, it slopes down more gradually into the Sunda Straight.
Imagine traveling through six different eco-regions, beginning with high-altitude cloud forests that transition through tropical pines and montane forests as you descend. Further down the slope are where the lowland rain forests meet the coastal mangrove forests and peat swamp
Throughout the many distinct ecoregions in Sumatra are 174 species of mammals, 450 bird species, 191 reptile species, 52 amphibian species, and over 4,500 plant species. Some of the many rare mammals in the Leuser Ecosystem include clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi), sun bears (Ursus malayanus), and wild dogs (Cuon alpinus).
In 2018, Saving Nature launched an initiative to build a wildlife corridor in the Leuser Ecosystem to combat the loss of habitat, reestablish elephant migration routes, and build a buffer against poachers.
Our long-term goal is to connect a 5,500-ha area recently designated by the government as an elephant conservation area with nearly 300,000 ha of protected forest (production forest, protection forest and national park). Our approach combines forested elephant routes, increased monitoring to impede poaching, and meaningful protections that preserve important forests from exploitation.
Sumatra Elephant Corridor Goal
Corridor Goal
3,773 acres
Total Cost
$1,500,000
Funds Raised to Date
$1,178,764
Support Needed
$321,236
THE SUMATRA CORRIDOR
24,000
Species Protected
2,965
Acres Restored
2,000,000
Trees Regenerating
3,987
Tons CO2 removed per year
We are establishing an important elephant corridor to protect and restore connectivity of large forest blocks in the northeast Leuser Ecosystem (Serbajadi District, Aceh Timur Regency, Aceh Province). Maintaining connectivity will help ensure that wildlife can move freely, preventing populations from becoming isolated. Without this corridor, increasing human development will further sever the connections between forest blocks, impeding wildlife movement and undermining their resiliency.
Saving Nature is working with Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL) to protect the largest remaining tract of lowland forest in Sumatra. Together, we are establishing an important elephant corridor to protect and restore connectivity of large forest blocks in the northeast Leuser Ecosystem (Serbajadi District, Aceh Timur Regency, Aceh Province).
Sumatran rhinos, tigers, elephants, pangolins, helmeted hornbills, and orangutans are all listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Their populations are declining worldwide due to poaching and habitat loss. As they disappear from other forests, the survivors face even more pressures. Today, international poachers are moving into the last places where supply can be found for body parts for the Chinese black market.
As a result, poaching is rising at an alarming rate in the last of Sumatra’s forests, with an influx of hunters from Central Sumatra and other Asian countries targeting elephants, rhinos, tigers, pangolins, hornbills, and wild birds.
With insatiable demand on the black market for tusks, horns, feathers, skins, and other body parts used in traditional medicine, cultural rituals, and decorative arts, species are moving closer to extinction.
The Leuser Ecosystem offers one of the last places where there is hope to rescue them from the brink of extinction. By connecting the two large remaining protected areas, we can help enormously. By restoring forests, you hinder access deeper into untouched areas. To do so, returning failed farms and plantations to forest is vital to a sustainable future.
But time is critical in the race against the relentless demand. As the forests continue to recede, access becomes easier for poachers. Already driven to extinction in other parts of Indonesia, these vulnerable species, the last of their kind on earth, are now in the cross hairs.
Our corridor reforestation project with FKL has already achieved several milestones. We completed the initial land acquisition to secure the anchor points of the corridor, thus protecting the forest from further destruction. Following our initial purchase of 39 hectares (96 acres) in 2018, the corridor has expanded to 1,158 hectares (2,758 acres).
We have planned out our next phases of land acquisitions, which will be implemented as funding for the project allows. We estimate the costs to complete the corridor at $368,000 for the remaining 368 hectares (911 acres).
In 2018, we began the work of monitoring movement through the corridor. We have a network of 10 camera traps installed at key points throughout the corridor to track wildlife movement. Our camera traps are monitoring the area on a 24/7 basis, recording both photos and videos. We have recorded over 2,000 images and 230 videos, documenting 16 species moving through the corridor, including elephants, macaques, hornbills, and Asian golden cats. Unfortunately, we have also recorded poachers moving through the forest, collecting birds for the pet trade.
Furthermore, regeneration of habitat is an important measure of project success. In addition, we continue to monitor habitat restoration progress with an annual drone survey to evaluate progress in establishing a continuous canopy. This data will be the foundation for modeling forest regeneration in tropical landscapes to determine the pace of forest recovery.
When We Started
One Year Later
Perhaps the best narrative for why Sumatra matters is our camera trap videos. They animate our work better than anything else. Importantly, they demonstrate both the progress and the importance of saving the wildlife here.
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