Saving Sumatra's last lowland rain forests

Saving Sumatra's last lowland rain forests

Jeni Shannaz, BirdLife Indonesia, Bogor, West Java, jshannaz@burung.org

Sumatra's lowland rainforests are disappearing fast, and many of
the spectacular birds that depend on them face extinction.

The cause of the forests' destruction include political
upheaval in Indonesia, and investment and purchasing decisions
made by European companies and consumers. However, innovative
action by local groups in Sumatra has shown that local people
care about the future of their rainforests, and that the
situation is not hopeless.

Indonesia has 117 globally threatened bird species, more than
any other country. Nowhere in Indonesia is the birds' plight more
dire than on the island of Sumatra, where a shocking 90 species
are listed as globally threatened or near-threatened. Among these
species are the gorgeous Red-naped Trogon and the spectacular
Rhinoceros Hornbill.

The World Bank has predicted that virtually all of Sumatra's
lowland rainforests will be lost by 2005 if the present rate of
logging continues.

It is not only birds that will suffer if these forests are
lost. Many other forms of wildlife will be affected, including
the Sumatran orangutan, the Sumatran tiger and the Sumatran
rhinoceros, all of which are critically endangered, as well as
Rajah Brooke's birdwing butterfly and Rafflesia, the world's
largest flower.

The rainforest is being cleared legally and illegally for
timber, for pulp wood to make paper, and to make way for oil palm
plantations. Indigenous people's rights are being ignored in the
rush for timber and land, as are statutory limits on how much
timber can be logged in logging concessions, government land-use
plans and laws protecting conservation areas. Tragically, more
and more of Sumatra is becoming useless, eroded scrubland.

Without action by both Indonesian local and provincial
governments, little can be done. Many local groups are now
pushing for forest conservation and community rights, and in some
places their efforts are having an impact. A new national park
has been created to protect indigenous rainforest peoples and
wildlife, and in an existing park, local people are taking action
to control illegal logging.

However, the problem cannot be solved within Indonesia alone.
Much of the investment driving the logging of Sumatra's
rainforests comes from Europe, and much of the palm oil and paper
made in Sumatra is sold to Europe. In 1997, EU bought more than a
third of Indonesia's palm oil for use in potato chips, biscuits,
ice creams, margarines, soaps and cosmetics.

There is an alternative to the process of destruction. Some
3.8 million hectares of land already cleared in Sumatra could be
used for plantations to supply the pulp industry. In addition,
oil palm estates could manage their lands and trees with methods
and strategies aimed at sustainability, instead of continually
clearing new areas.

Some European banks and companies have already acted to avoid
funding the destruction of Sumatra's rainforests. Changing the
attitudes of other investors and consumers means raising public
awareness and focusing concern where it can have an effect.

Institutions that finance the industries involved could ensure
that they do not fund illegal or unsustainable practices, and
that pulp wood from rainforests is replaced with pulp wood from
sustainable sources, certified by independent bodies such as the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Paper buyers could also ensure
that they purchase from independently certified sources.

Sumatran groups campaigning for their rainforests need our
help to tell the outside world what is happening.

This is a big and complex problem, and we are running out of
time to tackle it.

Since last year, BirdLife Indonesia has been working with
local groups in Sumatra to identify the most important remaining
areas of lowland rainforest. Field surveys and discussions with
local people have been turned into action plans at five of the
sites where we can make a difference.

These sites are: Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park, which is one
of the largest areas of remaining lowland rainforest; two logging
concession areas, where logging is not yet widespread or
destructive; and two nature reserves, which are threatened by
forest clearance around them but are still in good condition. In
total, these sites contain more than 7,000 square kilometers of
critical habitat.

With support from the British Birdwatching Fair, BirdLife
Indonesia will work at these five key sites. At each site, local
groups that have a stake in the future of the rainforest,
including local communities, conservation societies, student
groups and researchers, will combine forces to campaign for
business and government to stop the uncontrolled destruction.