Road Networks through the Leuser Ecosystem
The Leuser Ecosystem, designated a World Heritage Site in 2001, has recently been recognised as a protected area by the Indonesian national parliament in Jakarta.
The Leuser Ecosystem is considered the last place where potentially viable populations of the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant and Sumatran rhinoceros exist, and the only place in the world where they are all found together. Other resident primate species include lar gibbons and siamangs, long tailed macaques, pig tailed macaques, Thomas leaf monkeys and greater slow lorises. Malayan sunbears can also be found within the Leuser forests, which span the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.
A peace agreement, ending 30 years of civil war, has given the Acehnese provincial government increased autonomy, especially in the management of Aceh's forests (including most of Sumatra's remaining orangutan habitat areas).
Sadly much illegal road construction continues in the Leuser Ecosystem, promoted by the government to help post-tsunami development. The dangers of building roads through tropical forests in developing countries are well known:
- Illegal logging and forest degradation increase greatly;
- Hunting, poaching and trading in wildlife and commercial plants increase;
- Illegal resettlement and forest clearance occur for several kilometres on either side of the new road;
- Soil cover is quickly lost. (This is particularly noticeable in the Leuser Ecosystem where more than 95% of the total area is dominated by steep slopes);
- Downstream areas suffer from flash floods in the wet season and from lack of water during the dry season.
Roads act as impassable barriers to many species of wildlife, including orangutans. The roads will divide the forest into small fragments, resulting in a significant reduction in biodiversity.
Click to download a map of the proposed road network.
Due to the low density and isolation of human settlements in the region, and the fragile nature of the ecosystem, these new roads are not an appropriate development option in the Leuser Ecosystem. They provide no justifiable social benefits and the huge expenditures needed to construct these roads are, without exception, partly financed by illegal logging activities.
Monitoring teams of the Leuser International Foundation have documented that heavy machinery has already moved in and begun construction of some sections of the road network. In addition, illegal logging activities have been detected at several locations along the newly cleared sections.