Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra

The Indonesia island of Sumatra contains some of the country’s last great forest wilderness. The core of this is contained within the UNESCO world heritage site known as The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. This spans the Barisan Range of mountains that form the spine of Sumatra and includes three major national parks: Bukit Barisan Selatan, Kerinci-Seblat and Gunung Leuser.  WCS Indonesia has worked for many years in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. Our activities there have gone from small-scale research to a broad landscape-scale program addressing conservation needs through collaborative management and improved development planning, supported by research, capacity building, law enforcement, education and awareness.  As the program develops the lessons-learned are being taken to Kerinci-Seblat and Gunung Leuser National Parks with the vision of achieving a common management strategy for the entire heritage site, backed by a network of information and resource sharing. 

The Human Aspect
Sumatra has a large and growing human population. Hundreds of villages and towns surround, and even lie within, the remaining forests and national parks. This presents a challenge to protect natural habitats and wildlife while respecting the rights and livelihoods of local people.  We are trying to ensure this is done by working closely with local and regional governments; now democratically elected throughout Indonesia. Through legal requirements to undertake proper consultations with local people as part of the development and spatial planning, we are resolving land disputes and ensuring that people’s voices around the parks are heard.

Threats
The greatest threat to the wildlife and wildlands of the UNESCO world heritage site is forest clearance, typically through small-scale agricultural encroachments, often for coffee growing. Illegal logging and illegal unsustainable hunting also take their toll. The cumulative effect of many small-scale actions is massive and tackling such diffuse threats presents us with a great challenge.

WCS Activities
WCS Indonesia has a major project centered around the UNESCO Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site, concentrating initially on the southernmost park, Bukit Barisan Selatan.  Here we have a project known locally as ‘CANOPI’ that is:

• Working closely with local district governments surrounding the park. With the devolution of power in Indonesia, district governments hold much of the responsibility for natural resource management. We are working to assist those governments to develop spatial and development plans that incorporate conservation objectives, through a process of information collecting and stakeholder consultation.
• Working with the park management authorities to improve park management and planning. This includes infrastructure development, improving law enforcement and promoting greater collaboration with district governments surrounding the park.
• Training and capacity building. We have a comprehensive training program underway providing the skills needed to make effective land and resource management decisions. Further, projects are implemented wherever possible through local NGO partners. This ensures sustainability through the transfer of knowledge.
• Research. The planning and development process we are supporting is information-hungry. To address this we are guiding a research program that ranges from ecological and socio-economic studies to remote sensing analysis of deforestation.
• Awareness and Education . To promote the message of conservation and wise management we have developed a program of awareness and education, targeted at groups ranging from schools to politicians and implemented with local NGO partners

Important Next Steps
•To take lessons we are learning about collaborative management in Bukit Barisan Selatan and put them to use in Kerinci Seblat and Gunung Lesuer National Parks.
•Through the development of a joint management board for the three parks to try and integrate development and management plans for the whole UNESCO site.
•To develop networks for sharing information and resources between the national parks that form the UNESCO World Heritage site.