Plantations Instead of Orangutans?

The coastal peat swamp forest of Tripa is one of the most precious rainforests in the world. Nevertheless it is being relentlessly logged and converted for palm oil plantations. SOCP participates in a programme to halt this destruction and offer alternative sources of income to local communities.

The three remaining coastal peat swamp forests of Aceh, namely Tripa, Kluet and Singkil, are among the most precious natural habitats in the world. They harbour the highest orangutan densities in the world and about 30% of the remaining 6,600 Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutans. They represent vital biological corridors linking the Indian ocean to the dryland rainforests of the rest of the Leuser Ecosystem and the Gunung Leuser National Park, that sits within it (itself a Man and Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site). These coastal forests also constitute an effective barrier against natural disasters, such as Tsunamis, and play a crucial role in sustainable local livelihoods. Furthermore, peat swamp forests store huge amounts of carbon, both in the above ground vegetation, but also below ground, in the deep peat layers, and their destruction contributes significantly to global climate change. Despite these many assets, two thirds of the Tripa peat swamp forest have already been logged for palm oil plantations.

The Tripa Programme
With this acute and desperate situation, the SOCP's principal partner organisations, PanEco and YEL, began in 2005 a programme to halt the destruction and ensure the long-term restoration and conservation of these unique forests. The programme is built around two complementary aims: improving local environmental governance and providing livelihood opportunities to local people. The Tripa Programme contains these main elements:

  • Campaign to raise local public awareness and improve the general level of education and understanding regarding the unique functions and value of peat swamp ecosystems
  • Support the Leuser Ecosystem Management Authority in Aceh BPKEL and the Leuser International Foundation LIF in their efforts to raise local institutional capacity and to implement existing policies and laws to protect the Leuser Ecosystem and its peat swamp forests
  • Developing sustainable livelihood opportunities for local people in the region such as ecotourism, carbon-trading, sustainable palm oil production and micro-enterprises

The overall concept of the programme has been supported by UNEP, UNESCO, IUCN, the BRR technical committee for Aceh's reconstruction after the tsunami, the local district governments and the Governor of Aceh.

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