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.