Help us save the remaining wild Sumatran rhinos, tigers, elephants, and other wildlife in Sumatra!

The significance of the Leuser Ecosystem

The Leuser Ecosystem is located in the Indonesian province of Aceh in the north of Sumatra, which covers more than 2 million hectares of rainforest.

It’s one of the last big and intact forest landscapes in Southeast Asia, and one of the most species-rich places on earth. Nearly all Sumatran orangutans, probably most Sumatran elephants, and most Sumatran tigers live there. Even a few of the last Sumatran rhinos still roam the more remote areas of Leuser. Countless other threatened species, and millions of people depend on this last paradise. Leuser provides habitat and ecosystem benefits such as water supply, and aiding in climate stability.

Leuser is under attack!

Despite outstanding efforts by the government and local NGOs to protect the Leuser Ecosystem, a deadly danger for wildlife threatens to wipe out entire species: many areas in Leuser have a serious poaching problem. People set up traps to catch the last tigers, rhinos, and other wildlife in the area. Countless animals get caught in snares and suffer a painful death! In the case of extremely rare species, such as the Sumatran rhino, every surviving animal can make the difference, in terms of species survival or not, because the gene-pool is already too small to recover from the loss of any more individuals!

But there is still hope!

Scores of dedicated ranger teams patrol key areas of Leuser, risking their lives to collect snares, detect signs of illegal activities, monitor wildlife populations, and arrest poachers and illegal loggers. Their very hard, and dangerous work is the reason why Leuser is still a paradise teeming with life. Without these wildlife protection teams, Leuser would inevitably lose its richness, and turn into a “silent forest” with few surviving species. Unfortunately, this has already happened to so many forests all over the world. For some species, such as the Sumaran rhino, the effective protection of Leuser could prove to be the very last chance to prevent extinction!

The Leuser Conservation Forum (FKL) is a dedicated local NGO working very effectively together with government agencies, local communities and other stakeholders to fight poaching and other illegal activities in Leuser. The FKL wildlife protection teams patrol together with government rangers and save the lives of innumerable animals every day! However, it’s an uphill battle, and the number of the ranger teams is far from enough to protect all sensitive areas. Many more teams need to be set up! And even more: the future funding for a number of existing teams is currently running out, and follow-up financing is uncertain!

Call for donations to fund a new ranger team!

The Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF) has decided to support FKL’s struggle to protect Leuser’s wildlife and aims to collect sufficient donations to finance at least one wildlife protection team for one year. The total cost for one ranger team, including overhead costs and fees, is 34,000 Euros. 100% of the donations received by RFF will be directly transferred to the FKL.

Financing ranger teams for Leuser is one of the most effective measures we can take to prevent species extinctions! If Leuser loses species, the whole planet loses! It’s the global community’s responsibility to support the right people fighting on the ground to preserve the amazing diversity of life on earth. Once a species is gone, there’s no going back. That’s where you come in!

Help us raise hope and funds to put a new ranger team into action with your donation!

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