location: Aceh

location: Aceh

Social media activity version | Lean version

Hold my ointment: Wild orangutan observed healing wound with medicinal plant
- Researchers observed a wild orangutan in Sumatra treating a facial wound with a plant known for its healing properties, marking the first documented case of such behavior in a wild animal.
- The adult male Sumatran orangutan was observed chewing on the plant Fibraurea tinctoria, which has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects, and rubbing the resultant ointment on the wound, which later healed without infection.
- This finding supports the idea that orangutans might self-medicate, demonstrating their cognitive abilities and drawing parallels to human practices.
- Conservationists have welcomed the finding, highlighting its significance for understanding forest biodiversity and the urgency of protecting orangutan habitat amid declining populations and persistent threats.

Study challenges use of charismatic wildlife as umbrella species for conservation
- A new study from Indonesia’s Leuser forests challenges the traditional use of charismatic “umbrella species” like tigers and rhinos to represent ecosystem biodiversity.
- Researchers found that focusing on these well-known species neglects other important wildlife and may not accurately represent overall biodiversity.
- Instead, the study proposes a data-driven approach using camera-trap data to identify the most suitable umbrella species based on their association with higher levels of community occupancy and diversity.
- The study identified the sambar deer and Sunda clouded leopard as better umbrella species than tigers and rhinos in the Leuser Ecosystem, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to wildlife conservation that includes multiple species, not just the most charismatic ones.

Palm oil deforestation persists in Indonesia’s Leuser amid new mills, plantations
- Deforestation for palm oil persists in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, including inside a national park that’s supposed to be off-limits to plantation activity, a new investigation has found.
- The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) characterizes the current deforestation trend as a “death by a thousand cuts,” with a large number of small operators hacking away at the ecosystem, in contrast to past deforestation carried out by a small number of large concession holders.
- RAN’s investigation also identified two new palm oil processing mills near the deforesting concessions, indicating that the presence of the mills, which need a constant supply of palm fruit, may be a driver of the ongoing deforestation.
- There’s a high risk that mills in the area may ultimately be supplying deforestation-linked palm oil to major global consumer products companies, including those with stated no-deforestation policies.

Indonesia remembers Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, rare policymaker who stood for nature
- Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, a respected Indonesian policymaker and environmentalist, passed away earlier this month, leaving behind a legacy of dedicated and direct leadership.
- Kuntoro’s lifelong dedication to environmental causes, including his support for Indigenous rights, was rooted in his early years as a nature lover.
- His former colleagues and collaborators recall Kuntoro’s integrity and commitment to balancing developmental and environmental interests.
- His ability to find common ground among diverse stakeholders, address challenges with innovative solutions, and emphasize the well-being of Indigenous communities showcased a practical leadership style with a lasting impact.

Burn now, pay later: Fines trickle in from Indonesia’s crackdown on forest fires
- Ten years since a landmark lawsuit over forest fires, the palm oil company at the center of the case has finally begun paying its $23 million fine in installments.
- The case against PT Kallista Alam (KA) was supposed to set an example for how the government is cracking down on companies that allow burning in their concessions, but has instead highlighted the difficulty of collecting on the fines.
- KA has paid just $3.6 million of its total fine, and despite a 2021 regulation barring fine payments in installments, the company has been allowed to stagger its payments over time.
- The company is one of 22 sued by the government since 2013 for fires; 14 of these have been found liable and ordered to pay a combined 5.6 trillion rupiah ($353 million), but only one has paid in full.

For 1st time, Indonesia government recognizes ancestral forests in Aceh — but only some
- The Indonesian government has recognized 22,549 hectares (55,700 acres) of ancestral forests in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra — the first time for the region.
- In total, Indigenous communities in Aceh seek recognition of 144,497 hectares (357,060 acres) of customary forests, and thus activists are calling for the government to recognize the rest of the forests.
- The communities welcome the recognition, saying it will give them legal protection to manage their forests in a sustainable manner.

Deforestation for palm oil continues in Indonesia’s ‘orangutan capital’
- Carbon-rich peatlands continue to be cleared and drained in an Indonesian protected wildlife reserve known as the “orangutan capital of the world,” with 26 kilometers (16 miles) of new canals dug so far in 2023, up from 9 km (5.6 mi) in 2022, according to an investigation by the advocacy group Rainforest Action Network (RAN).
- While new plantations appeared to have not been established yet along the new canal channels, there is a mosaic of illegal oil palm around the locations of the new canal, indicating a future development of palm oil.
- As new canals continue to be dug, deforestation has also picked up, reaching 372 hectares (919 acres) in the first six months of 2023, a 57% increase from the same period in 2022.
- RAN has called on global brands like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to address the development of new canals and illegal plantations as their supply chains are tainted with illegal palm oil from the wildlife reserve.

In Indonesia’s Aceh, Indigenous communities seek recognition of their forest rights
- The Indonesian government is set to recognize community claims to ancestral forests in Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, for the first time in history.
- Thirteen Indigenous communities in Aceh are seeking recognition of their rights to 144,497 hectares (357,060 acres) of customary forests, an area nearly the size of London.
- The Ministry of Environment and Forestry says there are still some challenges, like unclear boundaries, that could prevent the issuance of the legal titles for the customary forests.

Migrating orangutan males imitate locals to learn about food: Study
- Male orangutans that resettle to a new area appear to be imitating the behavior of a local individual in an effort to survive and find a future home range, a new study says.
- The researchers have dubbed the behavior learning skill as “peering” and describe it as when migrant male orangutans intensively observe over a period of time a certain local they have chosen as a role model.
- The scientists analyzed data of hundreds of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans in research stations in Aceh and Central Kalimantan.
- Indonesia is home to the world’s three orangutan species: Sumatran, Tapanuli (P. tapanuliensis) and Bornean orangutans.

Palm oil deforestation hits record high in Sumatra’s ‘orangutan capital’
- Deforestation in a protected wildlife reserve known as the “orangutan capital of the world” hit a record high in 2022, according to various analyses.
- The forest loss was driven by clearing for oil palm plantations by well-connected local elites, rather than smallholders, according to advocacy group Rainforest Action Network (RAN).
- RAN’s investigation found that palm oil from these illegal plantations had wound up in the global supply chains of major brands like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever, among others.

Video: Life in the awe-and-terror-inspiring vicinity of the Sumatran elephant
- Villagers living on the forest’s edge in Indonesia often marvel at the intelligence of elephants, even as they struggle to keep the animals from trampling their farms and homes.
- Sumatra has lost around half its rainforest since the turn of the century, driving the forest-dwelling creatures into increasing contact with humans.
- Watch our short film Indonesians on the front lines of human-elephant conflict in northwestern Sumatra.

Podcast: With less than 10 years to save Sumatran elephants, what’s being done?
- The provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh in Indonesia’s embattled and highly deforested island of Sumatra are some of the last holdouts for the critically endangered Sumatran elephant.
- With the clock running out to save them, and extractive industries like oil palm fragmenting their habitat, pushing them to the brink, villagers are taking measures into their own hands by reducing human-elephant conflict to save the species from further harm.
- Also in North Sumatra lies a controversial planned hydroelectric dam site in the last habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, a project that has also claimed 16 human lives in less than two years.
- On the Mongabay Newscast this week, Leif Cocks, founder of the International Elephant Project and the Orangutan Project, weighs in on the status of the Sumatran elephant and the Tapanuli orangutan.

Sumatran conservationist Rahmad Saleh Simbolon dies at 47
- The head of the conservation agency in Jambi province, Indonesia, died of a heart attack on Aug. 9.
- After working in protected forest areas in South and North Sumatra provinces, Rahmad oversaw several accomplishments in a province home to numerous threatened species.
- Jambi lost more than a third of its old-growth forest between 2002 and 2021.

‘Chased from every side’: Sumatran elephants pinned down by forest loss
- Sumatran elephants in Indonesia’s North Aceh district are being increasingly pinned down in shrinking patches of forest amid the ongoing destruction of their habitat, primarily for oil palm plantations.
- This is driving an increase in human-elephant conflict, with the animals forced into more frequent encounters with villagers, who resent them for destroying their crops and homes.
- Conservationists say deforestation in the district overlaps with the elephants’ migration routes and could grow worse under local government policies.

Saving Sumatran elephants starts with counting them. Indonesia won’t say how many are left
- Efforts to save the Sumatran elephant have been hamstrung by the Indonesian government’s delay in releasing an updated conservation plan, which includes the latest population estimates.
- The last estimate, from 2007, put the population at 2,400-2,800 elephants, but that was based on data from the early 2000s.
- Mongabay has obtained a copy of the updated plan, meant to be released in 2019, which gives a population estimate of 924-1,359 — a precipitous decline of 52-62% from the 2007 figure.
- Conservationists, including one who worked on the plan, have called for its publication to inform conservation measures, and note that similar plans for other iconic threatened species — including Sumatran tigers and orangutans — have also been delayed.

Palm oil producer mired in legal troubles still razing Sumatran forest
- A palm oil company has resumed clearing forest in its concession in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, the only place on Earth where tigers, orangutans and rhinos coexist.
- Analysis of satellite imagery by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) shows the company, PT Cemerlang Abadi (CA), cleared 309 hectares (761 acres) of secondary and regenerating forests between September 2021 and February 2022.
- RAN says it’s possible that palm oil from trees grown on this deforested land may have entered the global supply chain, as CA isn’t blacklisted by any of the major brands or traders that buy palm oil.

Indonesian official charged, but not jailed, for trading in Sumatran tiger parts
- A local politician previously convicted of corruption has been charged in Indonesia for allegedly selling Sumatran tiger parts.
- Ahmadi, 41, the former head of Bener Meriah district in Aceh province, was arrested on May 24 with two alleged accomplices — but he wasn’t detained, pending an investigation.
- Critics say the authorities’ refusal to jail him is emblematic of a core problem in Indonesian wildlife conservation, which is the impunity that powerful politicians and officials enjoy when keeping and trading in protected species.
- Aceh province, at the northern tip of Sumatra, is believed to hold about 200 of the world’s remaining 400 Sumatran tigers — the last tiger endemic to Indonesia following the extinction in the last century of the Bali and Javan subspecies.

Probe finds palm oil firm illegally clearing forest in Sumatra wildlife haven
- An investigation by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) indicates that a palm oil company in Sumatra has been clearing forests illegally since at least 2016.
- The extent of the clearing by PT Nia Yulided Bersaudara (NYB), nearly two and a half times the size of New York City’s Central Park, makes it the top deforester among companies that have an oil palm concession in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem.
- RAN’s investigation found the company’s logging activities and timber royalty payments aren’t registered in government databases, and its initial permit was granted under suspicious circumstances by a politician related to the NYB president.
- Yet despite these red flags, NYB has so far managed to evade government measures to crack down on licensing irregularities and environmental violations in the palm oil industry, including the mass revocation of permits announced at the start of this year.

More coffee, less gold: Sumatra farmers alarmed over revival of mine project
- A recent stock exchange filing indicates that a gold mining project in Sumatra’s Gayo Highlands may soon be revived after being stalled due to popular opposition.
- The Linge Abong concession also overlaps onto the Leuser Ecosystem, the largest remaining swath of intact rainforest in Sumatra, and home to critically endangered tigers, orangutans, rhinos and elephants.
- Farming communities here who grow the world-renowned Aceh Gayo coffee, and who would be directly affected by the mine, have called on the authorities to shut down the project for good.
- “A lot of people live and prosper from Gayo coffee. Don’t let the lives they’ve built off of coffee farming be destroyed just for the sake of gold mining,” said a village head.

Groups welcome decline in deforestation in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem
- Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem experienced a decline in deforestation in 2021, after an increase in forest loss in 2020 linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a satellite analysis by local forest watchdog HAkA.
- Leuser, known for being the last place on Earth where critically endangered Sumatran rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans coexist, lost 4,472 hectares (11,051 acres) of its forests as of November 2021, compared to 7,331 hectares (18,115 acres) in 2020.
- Conservationists attribute the decline to an increase in monitoring efforts as well as greater scrutiny of palm oil producers operating in the landscape, by brands and buyers with zero-deforestation commitments.
- Despite the drop in deforestation, experts warn against complacency, noting that forest clearing is still taking place inside oil palm concessions, and areas of primary forest are still zoned for production, which means they can still be legally cleared.

In Sumatra, a snare trap costs a baby elephant her trunk, then her life
- A female elephant calf in Indonesia has died days after her rescue and an emergency amputation by conservation authorities in Aceh province.
- Authorities link the elephant’s death to the severe wounds on her trunk believed to have been inflicted by a snare trap set by wildlife poachers.
- Veterinarians amputated half of her trunk, and reported that the elephant appeared to be recovering from the procedure. She died on Nov. 16.
- Snare traps, typically made of steel or nylon wire and usually set for bushmeat like wild boar, are indiscriminate in what they catch, resulting in the capture of non-target species, as well as females and juvenile animals.

Work starts on new sanctuary for captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos
- Indonesian conservation authorities have started building a new sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos in the Leuser Ecosystem on the northern tip of Sumatra.
- The facility will be the third in a network of Sumatran Rhino Sanctuaries (SRS), joining the Way Kambas SRS in southern Sumatra and the Kelian SRS in Indonesian Borneo.
- Conservationists plan to capture at least five rhinos from the wild in Leuser and move them to the new SRS as part of a captive-breeding program that’s seen as the best option for staving off the species’ extinction.
- There area currently seven rhinos at the Way Kambas SRS and one at the Kelian facility; in the wild, there are believed to be just 30-80 Sumatran rhinos left, all of them on Indonesia’s Sumatra and Borneo islands.

As tigers dwindle, Indonesia takes aim at poaching ring
- Indonesian officials recently confiscated three tiger skins from a man in Sumatra.
- They believe the perpetrator is connected to a larger ring of wildlife traffickers.

Captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos: Where the program stands today
- In a series of video interviews, Mongabay speaks with Sumatran rhino experts to get up-to-date information on efforts to breed the species in captivity.
- The interviews focus on three locations that host the vast majority of Sumatran rhinos, whose entire population is believed to number no more than 80.
- The interviews reveal fears stemming from the dire state of the species, as well as optimism that officials and conservationists are finally working with united purpose to keep the species from sliding into extinction.

Mother tiger and her cubs found dead in Sumatran forest
- The tigers were caught in a snare trap in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem.
- The Sumatran tiger is a critically endangered species, with only a few hundred left in the wild.

Local leaders in Indonesia make forest and peatland protection pledge
- Nine districts across three islands in Indonesia have pledged to protect 50% of their forests, peatlands and other “important ecosystems” by 2030.
- The pledge encompasses a total of 5.8 million hectares (14.3 million acres) of forest and 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) of peat — a total area the size of South Carolina.
- The declaration mirrors the 2018 Manokwari Declaration by the governors of Papua and West Papua provinces, who pledged to protect 70% of the forestland in those two provinces.

Development of third Sumatran rhino sanctuary advances to save species
- The development of a highly anticipated sanctuary for the Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia’s Aceh province is advancing as part of conservation efforts to save the nearly extinct species.
- The planned facility will be the third in a network of Sumatran Rhino Sanctuaries to breed the species in captivity.
- Its location in the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra means it will have access to what is believed to be the largest population of the critically endangered species.
- Indonesia is now the only home in the world for Sumatran rhinos, a species decimated by a series of factors, from poaching to habitat loss and, more recently, insufficient births.

Deforestation of orangutan habitat feeds global palm oil demand, report shows
- Palm oil giant Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) has allegedly sourced the commodity from a plantation responsible for deforesting prime orangutan habitat in Sumatra, which would constitute a violation of the group’s no deforestation and no peatland destruction policies.
- An investigation by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) detected deforestation within the plantation operator’s concession in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, home to some of the rarest species on Earth.
- According to the investigation, palm oil from the concession ended up in RGE’s supply chain, and subsequently the global market; RGE is a key supplier to major brands like Unilever, Kao, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Mondelēz, Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive.
- RGE’s palm oil arm, APICAL, said it had put a monitoring system in place and carried out risk engagement and supplier engagement measures in its supply chain, but RAN said these efforts were not enough as deforestation-tainted palm oil from the Leuser Ecosystem was still ending up in its supply chain.

Never too late to save Earth: Q&A with Leuser forest guardian Rudi Putra
- The Leuser Ecosystem is a protected tropical rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, boasting 10,000 species of plants and 200 species of mammals, dozens of them found nowhere else on Earth.
- For 20 years, Rudi Putra has been working on saving this ecosystem which covers nearly 23,000 square kilometers (8,880 square miles) and is home to the Sumatran rhino, tiger, elephant and orangutan.
- Rudi’s efforts to save Leuser includes reforestation of illegal oil palm plantations, for which he was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2014.

Final court ruling orders Indonesian government to publish plantation data
- An Indonesian court has upheld a landmark ruling that says all plantation data and maps are public information and thus should be made available to the public.
- The court’s decision was made in 2020, but it wasn’t until March 2021 that the court informed the plaintiff in the case, the NGO Forest Watch Indonesia.
- But the government, in this case the land ministry, has refused to comply with the order to release the data, going back to a 2017 Supreme Court ruling.
- The ministry has also refused to share the data with other government ministries and agencies, prompting even lawmakers to call on it to comply.

Video: Doomed or viable? Sumatran rhino captive breeding faces a dilemma
- A new animated short film from Mongabay, illustrated by artist Roger Peet, depicts one of the most urgent questions facing experts trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction.
- With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth, many of them isolated into groups too small to be viable, the species’ natural birthrate is so low that experts have reached a consensus that human intervention is necessary to stave off extinction.
- The question now is which rhinos to capture: Isolated ones are less likely to be healthy and fertile, but removing rhinos from populations that are still breeding in the wild could risk the survival of these last few viable groups.

Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven
- A road in Sumatra that cuts through the only habitat on Earth that houses rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans has recently been upgraded, stoking fears of greater human incursion into the rainforest.
- Already the upgrades have seen a proliferation of human settlements along a section of the road in a forest adjacent to Gunung Leuser National Park, resulting in the loss of 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of forest.
- Environmentalists say it’s only a matter of time before the encroachment spreads into the national park, triggering fears that it will fragment the habitat of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans.
- The road upgrade was carried out despite calls against it from UNESCO, which lists the national park as part of a World Heritage Site and has identified infrastructure projects as a threat to the ecosystem.

Snare traps decline, but still pose a threat to Leuser’s Sumatran rhinos
- The number of wire snares being found in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem has declined in recent years, but the traps continue to pose a severe threat to the region’s critically endangered rhinos.
- Poachers set the snares to catch anything ranging from wild boars for bushmeat to trophy animals — including the native Sumatran rhinos, elephants and tigers.
- Increased patrols have managed to reduce the numbers of snares found in Leuser, from 1,069 in 2016 to 241 in 2019.
- Conservationists say the Indonesian government must crack down harder on the entire supply chain of the illegal trade in Sumatran rhino parts, from poachers to buyers overseas.

Planned road projects threaten Sumatran rhino habitat, experts say
- Authorities in the Indonesian province of Aceh are planning 12 road-building projects through 2022, some of which will cut through the habitat of critically endangered Sumatran rhinos.
- The species is already under threat from forest fragmentation, which has isolated rhino subpopulations and led to the biggest threat to the animal: the inability to find other rhinos to mate with.
- Conservationists have called for full protection of the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh to safeguard the rhinos’ habitat from the road projects.
- But even in a protected part of the ecosystem, Gunung Leuser National Park, deforestation is already taking place on the fringes.

‘Luckiest people’: Encountering a newborn Sumatran rhino in the wild
- In 2018, five rangers had a rare encounter with a newborn Sumatran rhinoceros in the forests of Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem.
- Leuser is known as one of the last strongholds of the Sumatran rhino, one of the most endangered large mammals on Earth.
- Conservationists have called for beefing up security across the Leuser Ecosystem to allow the rhinos there to feel secure enough to continue breeding.
- The species is down to no more than 80 individuals in the wild, with forest fragmentation and a low birth rate driving it toward extinction.

Palm oil from Indonesian grower that burned forest is still being sold
- An investigation by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) shows that palm oil from PT Kallista Alam, a company in Sumatra, entered the global supply chain and may have ended up in products made by Nestlé and Mars.
- The company was largely blackballed by buyers with sustainability commitments after a 2012 fire on its concession razed 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of pristine lowland rainforest that’s home to critically endangered Sumatran orangutans.
- An “oversight” in the second half of 2019 led to its crude palm oil being bought by a refinery run by the Permata Hijau Group, a top Indonesian palm oil processor that supplies commodities giant Cargill.
- Cargill, in turn, sells palm oil to multinational brands including Nestlé and Mars; RAN has called on the latter two companies to explicitly issue a no-buy order to their suppliers for Kallista Alam’s palm oil.

Poaching in Indonesia’s biodiverse Leuser Ecosystem on the rise amid COVID-19
- Poaching is on the rise in the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, the last place on Earth that’s home to rhinos, tigers, orangutans and elephants.
- Conservationists say the illegal hunting appears to be by locals targeting wildlife for food, and not for the trade in animal parts or pets that typically target the more exotic species.
- They attribute the increase to economic hardship faced by local communities amid shutdowns imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The pandemic response has also halted patrols in Leuser, with ranger teams unable to mobilize as normal.

A new sanctuary for the Sumatran rhino is delayed amid COVID-19 measures
- Indonesia has been working on a new sanctuary for the captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos in the Leuser Ecosystem in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
- But measures imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have slowed down the progress of the facility, which had been slated for completion next year.
- Aceh’s Leuser Ecosystem is touted by experts as the most promising habitat for wild rhinos because it’s believed to hold the largest population of the species, at about 12 individuals.
- Indonesia is now the last refuge for the world’s Sumatran rhino population, which numbers between 30 and 80 individuals.

Road project in economically deprived Indonesian region threatens wildlife habitat
- A road project at the northwestern tip of Sumatra poses the threats of deforestation and habitat fragmentation for a lowland forest that is home to critically endangered tigers, elephants and orangutans.
- Officials say the project is necessary to boost connectivity and local livelihoods in this remote part of Indonesia’s Aceh province.
- But conservationists say they fear the project will carve up important wildlife habitat and lead to greater human encroachment into this wilderness area.
- They have called on the government to review the project in light of the potential for environmental damage.

PepsiCo renews sustainable palm oil policy to close supplier loophole
- PepsiCo has updated its palm oil sustainability policy to require all its suppliers, not just direct ones, to commit to ending deforestation, conversion of pealands, and worker exploitation.
- The so-called NDPE policy previously didn’t apply to subsidiary or third-party suppliers, presenting a substantial loophole that meant PepsiCo couldn’t guarantee it wasn’t sourcing non-sustainably produced palm oil.
- The updated policy is expected to have a major impact on PepsiCo’s Indonesian joint-venture partner, Indofood, whose subsidiary IndoAgri withdrew from the certification body RSPO after labor rights violations were flagged at its plantation.
- PepsiCo is also expected to boost efforts to improve traceability of the palm oil it sources from suppliers in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, where pristine forest has been razed to make way for oil palm plantations.

Rangers in Indonesia’s Aceh to get guns as officials flex on violators
- Rangers in Indonesia’s Aceh province will get firearms to defend themselves against poachers, illegal loggers and miners.
- Rangers elsewhere across Indonesia are already armed, but those in Aceh were disarmed in the 1970s in response to a separatist insurgency there that only ended in 2005.
- Conservationists have largely welcomed the decision to rearm Aceh’s forest rangers, but some have expressed doubt that it will be effective in reducing human encroachment into forests that are home to near-extinct species such as Sumatran tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants.
- Aceh authorities are also deliberating an Islamic bylaw that would prescribe 100 lashes of the cane for wildlife poachers, in addition to the jail time and fines prescribed under national laws.

Coal spill bedevils Indonesian beach more than a year later
- Coal from a barge that spilled onto a beach in Indonesia’s Aceh province in July 2018 still hasn’t been fully cleaned up.
- Lampuuk Beach, on the northern tip of Sumatra, is hosting a surfing championship this weekend, but participants and residents say that coal continues to litter and contaminate the site.
- The coal was destined for a power plant run by a cement producer, which had experienced an identical spill in 2016 at a nearby beach.
- While authorities have ordered the cement producer to clean up the site, the company says the barge operator should be held responsible.

Sumatra survey looks to identify at-risk rhinos for captive breeding
- The Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra is home to as many as 50 Sumatran rhinos, out of no more than 80 believed to survive in the wild.
- Surveys in the area have identified some subpopulations large enough to breed naturally, as well as isolated individuals or small groups unlikely to find mates.
- Indonesia’s current plan calls for larger groups to be protected in situ, while more isolated rhinos are to be gathered into sanctuaries for a captive-breeding program.
- Both national and local officials back a plan to create a new sanctuary in the northern Sumatran province of Aceh.

Report links major brands to illegal oil palm plantation in orangutan haven
- Nestlé, Kellogg’s and Hershey are among several global brands sourcing some of their palm oil from an illegal plantation in an Indonesian forest that’s home to the highest density of orangutans anywhere on Earth, a report says.
- The findings are based on an investigation by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), which found that palm fruit in Sumatra’s Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve was being processed at nearby mills and sold on to global traders who supply global major consumer companies.
- The companies and traders identified all subscribe to the practice of “No Deforestation, No Peatlands, No Exploitation” (NDPE); the companies have reportedly said they will verify the findings.
- In the past 10 years, more than 3,000 hectares of critical lowland forest habitat within Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve has been cleared, largely for new oil palm plantations.

Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
- An initiative in Indonesia’s Aceh province is engaging local farmers in restoring parts of the biodiverse Leuser Ecosystem by allowing them to farm and reforest tracts of land previously used for illegal oil palm plantations.
- The forest is the last place on Earth where critically endangered elephants, orangutans, rhinos and tigers all still exist in the wild, but is being lost to encroachment for illegal plantations.
- Under the initiative, farmers are trained to plant tropical hardwoods as well as fruit and vegetable crops from which they can make a sustainable living.
- Only long-degraded land from past encroachment qualifies, removing any incentive for someone to damage land then apply for a management license.

15 years after tsunami, Aceh reckons with an inconsistent fisheries recovery
- When a tsunami killed tens of thousands of people in Indonesia’s Aceh province, international donors contributed billions of dollars to disaster recovery efforts
- Today, gaps in post-disaster recovery are still visible. A breakdown of community dynamics post-disaster limited the effectiveness of some initiatives.
- The example of Aceh provides lessons to be learned for future disaster recoveries under the “build back better” approach, including the importance of long-term thinking when it comes to such initiatives.

Indonesian court cancels dam project in last stronghold of tigers, rhinos
- A court in Indonesia’s Aceh province has ordered an end to a planned hydroelectric project in Sumatra’s unique Leuser Ecosystem.
- Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Aceh government and the dam’s developer earlier this year over potential environmental destruction and violation of zoning laws.
- The area is the last place on Earth that’s home to wild tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants — all critically endangered species whose habitat would be flooded and fragmented by the dam and its roads and power lines.
- Villagers in the region were also widely opposed to the project, which they say would have dammed up the river on which they depend and forced them to relocate to make way for the reservoir.

Sumatran rhinos to get a new sanctuary in Leuser Ecosystem
- A third captive-breeding sanctuary for the nearly extinct Sumatran rhino is set to be built in Indonesia, according to a top official.
- The facility, scheduled to open in 2021, will be located within the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, home to what’s believed to be one of the largest populations of the critically endangered species.
- Global and local rhino conservation groups have welcomed the plan and pledge to help with financial and technical support for the new facility.
- Indonesia currently has two captive-breeding centers for the rhinos: in Sumatra’s Way Kambas National Park, which holds seven rhinos, and Borneo’s Kelian forest, which has a single rhino.

Rare rhino’s death should light a fire under Indonesia (commentary)
- Tam died on Monday, likely from old age, after living in captivity for 11 years.
- Tam never bred in captivity despite repeated attempts with captive females.
- Tam represented hope when he was captured – today he represents the need to move aggressively on measures to save his species.
- This post is part of “Saving Life on Earth: Words on the Wild,” a monthly column by Jeremy Hance, one of Mongabay’s original staff writers.

Indonesia trains its citizens to deal with sea-mammal strandings
- The waters around Indonesia serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of species of whales, dolphins and porpoises.
- These cetaceans, however, are often found dead on Indonesian beaches, or alive but unable to return to deeper waters themselves.
- To prevent the deaths of marine mammals that strand themselves on its shores, the government has sought to establish a network of first responders equipped with the knowledge and training to deal with problem.
- Experts say what’s more important than providing an adequate response is to reduce the threats that lead to the strandings, including by improving the management of marine habitats and tackling pollution in the sea.

Sumatran governor jailed over bribes to award infrastructure projects
- A court in Jakarta has sentenced the governor of the province of Aceh, in Sumatra, to seven years in prison for taking bribes to award local infrastructure contracts.
- Irwandi Yusuf had previously gained a reputation as a “green governor” for his policies championing environmental conservation and sustainable development of the province’s natural resources.
- He was arrested last July for taking a bribe from the head of a district in Aceh to approve infrastructure projects there, and for taking kickbacks from members of his campaign team to farm out government contracts.

Indonesia rescues captive orangutans, but leaves their owners untouched
- Authorities in Indonesia have confiscated two juvenile Sumatran orangutans, a critically endangered species, being kept as pets.
- Possession of an orangutan is punishable by up to five years in prison in Indonesia, but authorities have never prosecuted any pet owners, who tend to be powerful and influential figures, and instead go after the poachers and traders.
- Conservationists say there need to be legal consequences for keeping orangutans as pets, in order to discourage the illegal trade, which involves poachers killing mother apes to capture babies and juveniles.

Study warns of dire ecological, social fallout from Sumatran dam
- A new study warns that the environmental impact of a planned hydroelectric plant in Sumatra’s unique Leuser Ecosystem will be much greater than initially thought.
- The area is the last place on Earth that’s home to wild tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants — all critically endangered species whose habitat would be flooded and fragmented by the dam and its roads and power lines, activists say.
- They also warn of the dam exacerbating disaster risks to local communities, in a region already prone to flooding, landslides and earthquakes.
- Activists are mulling a lawsuit to void the project permit, but the developer says it has done everything by the book and that the new study is based on an outdated environmental impact analysis.

Indonesia’s Aceh sees harshest penalty yet for a wildlife crime
- Two men who tried to sell a tiger pelt received four-year sentences in Indonesia’s Aceh province earlier this month.
- Sentences for wildlife traffickers have typically been low. Activists are pushing to revise the law to increase the maximum five-year penalty for wildlife crimes, but courts have tended to impose even lower sentences.
- Just a few hundred Sumatran tigers remain in the wild. The big cat is one of a number of rare species sought after by poachers in Indonesia.

Indonesia demands cleanup after coal spill pollutes beach
- A coal barge spilled 7,000 tonnes of the fossil fuel just off a beach in northern Sumatra on July 30.
- The coal was reportedly destined for a nearby cement plant run by a subsidiary of Swiss giant LafargeHolcim, but now blankets a popular beach.
- Local fishermen and activists say the coal has damaged coral and killed marine life, devastating the livelihoods of the community.
- Officials have called on the cement firm and barge operator to clean up the coal, while environmental experts are pushing for a lawsuit against the companies.

Two suspected poachers arrested for killing of Sumatran elephant
- Indonesian authorities have arrested two of four suspects alleged to have killed a rare Sumatran elephant and hacked off one of its tusks.
- The arrest took place about a month after the elephant was found dead in the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra’s Aceh province. News of the killing garnered widespread attention and calls to solve the case.
- There are only an estimated 2,400 Sumatran elephants left in the wild, scattered across 25 fragmented habitats on the island.

PepsiCo to probe deforestation in palm oil supplier’s Leuser Ecosystem concession
- PepsiCo has launched an investigation into reports of deforestation in one of its supplier’s oil palm plantations, located in the Leuser Ecosystem, a biodiversity hotspot that is home to some of the last Sumatran tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants left on Earth.
- The investigation comes in response to a complaint from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), which says the company has failed to act since the deforestation allegations were first reported four years ago.
- For its part, the supplier alleges that the deforestation was carried out by local villagers encroaching into its concession, and that it is in discussions with them on resolving the long-running dispute over the land tenure.
- Separately, PepsiCo has also recently updated and expanded its policy on sustainable palm oil, which has been criticized by RAN for failing to ensure the elimination of labor rights violations and forest destruction from the company’s extensive supply chain.

Poachers blamed in second Sumatran elephant death this year
- Forest rangers in northern Sumatra have found one of their patrol elephants dead and missing a tusk inside a protected forest.
- Authorities have cited poisoning by poachers as the cause of death, making it the second such poaching-related elephant killing in Sumatra this year.
- The local conservation agency has called on law enforcers to bring the perpetrators to justice, but past cases suggest this will be slow in coming.

Typo derails landmark ruling against Indonesian palm oil firm guilty of burning peatland
- A district court in Indonesia has shielded an oil palm company from a Supreme Court ruling ordering it to pay $26.5 million in fines for burning peatlands in a high-biodiversity area, citing a typo in the original prosecution.
- The verdict has stunned activists, who had hoped that the original guilty verdict would set a strong precedent for the judicial fight against environmental crimes.
- The government is appealing the latest ruling, which, ironically, is fraught with typos that — under the same legal logic — would render it just as invalid as the original guilty verdict.

Sumatran habitat for tigers, orangutans gets a partial reprieve from development
- The Aceh provincial government has vowed to protect Gunung Leuser National Park, the core part of the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, by canceling infrastructure projects in the park.
- However, questions linger over the future of the remaining part of the wider ecosystem, where planned infrastructure projects remain unaffected by the latest pledge.
- Activists have called on the provincial government to recognize the wider Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh’s spatial plans so that the region is excluded from any infrastructure development that could threaten the habitat of the many endangered species living there.

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