Protecting the Leuser Ecosystem with IDH and FKL
Indonesia’s Aceh province is a biodiversity hotspot. It contains part of the largest intact tropical rainforest in Sumatra – the 2.6-million-hectare Leuser Ecosystem – which is the last place on earth where endangered wildlife, including the Sumatran tiger, rhinoceroses and elephants, can be found in the same area. With our partners IDH and the Leuser Conservation Forum (FKL), we’re helping to protect this forest.
We’re equipping the programme with Radar Alerts for Detecting Deforestation (RADD) satellite technology to help monitor – and verify – deforestation faster. Working through a multistakeholder forum, we’re helping to develop a response protocol for when deforestation alerts are received. And we’re working with farmers to restore the Leuser Ecosystem through agroforestry and nature regeneration schemes.
We’re also helping farmers obtain official documentation so they can apply for RSPO certification. This means they can increase the income they generate from their existing farmland, because certified sustainable crops command a higher price in the market. This in turn reduces pressure on the land as the farmers have less need to expand into the forest.
Take a closer look at this programme in our Google Earth story (Opens in a pop-up window ) or dive into the detail in the Reimagining Landscapes report (PDF 14.04 MB) (Opens in a pop-up window ).
