Forest Report from Sumatra, Indonesia
Written by a teacher at the International School of LhokSeumawe
Class or age : 11-13yrs of age
Name of Forest: Leuser Ecosystem
Click here to read student reports of a trek in this forest in November 1996.
Click here to read student reports of studies in this forest in April 1997.
General information
Here's a brief history on the Gunung Leuser Development Project and our involvement with GLDP for you:
The Leuser Development Project was begun in June, 1995 when the European
Union donated US$ 40,000,000 to Indonesia. The grant was given to help
promote rain forest conservation in the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the
world's largest tropical rain forests. A primary goal of the Leuser
Development Project (LDP) is to promote conservation in an expanded area
of 200,000 hectares within a homogeneous ecosystem, i.e., the Leuser
Ecosystem. This is a significant increase over the original 80,000
hectares of the Gunung Leuser National Park. Another primary goal of LDP
is to develop economic programs for the local people in the area.
The LDP combines the efforts of European and Indonesian scientists
working to protect plant and animals within the core park by creating
surrounding buffer zones. Many endangered species are now threatened by
habitat destruction. For example, many large mammals that inhabit the
rain forest (e.g., elephant, orangutan, tiger, and rhino) are lowland
creatures.
Yet, lowlands that surround the park have been steadily encroached upon
by a growing tide of people over the years. Habitat destruction thus
forces these large mammals into the core highlands of the Leuser
Ecosystem, away from traditional migratory routes and mating grounds.
Illegal logging threatens many of the diptocarps (the towering tree
giants) of the rain forest. Diptocarps do not produce seeds until they
are thirty to forty years old. Yet, these dominant trees of the rain
forest are often cut illegally before reaching maturity. As a result, no
trees are left to produce a new generation of tree giants.
Scientists of the Leuser Development Project feel that the best way to
conserve the natural resources of the Leuser Ecosystem is to create
lowland buffer zones that provide economic alternatives to the people
living around the park. LDP scientists want to promote agricultural and
forestry programs that provide an alternative to illegal logging and
poaching practices. Scientists also want to promote eco-tourism as an
alternative to current practices. By providing economically sustainable
programs to the local people living around the Leuser Ecosystem,
scientists hope to protect many of the endangered plants and animals
within.
The International School of Lhokseumawe (ISOL) is sponsored by Mobil
Oil. ISOL has a school population of 24 students and 7 teachers. Middle
school students from ISOL come from the United States, Canada, and
Switzerland. ISOL middle schoolers are now working with LDP scientists
and Indonesian forestry agents to map and monitor specific sites within
the Leuser Ecosystem. Specifically, ISOL students are comparing a
slash-and-burn area that adjoins Leuser to secondary and primary areas
within the Ecosystem. Currently, ISOL students are gathering information
about plants, reptiles & amphibians, birds, and primates that live
within the Leuser Ecosystem.
We hope that the work of our students can in some small way help
preserve the rain forest, and we are quite certain that we will bring
away lifelong memories from our excursions into the rain forest.
Written by Paul Lane,
Science Teacher
International School of Lhokseumawe
c/o Mobil Oil
Lhokseumawe, Sumatra
Indonesia
Susannah Power and Jonathan Vea, of Sydney Australia travelled on their world trip to take in a visit to the Gunung Leuser Ecosystem and work with the children there on scientific studies of the rainforest.
Both these young Australians have degrees in Environmental Studies.
Go to top of page
The contact person for this report is Paul Lane
This page has been visited 
times
since 25th Nov, 1996.
Computer Co-ordinator : 
Judith
Bennett : This page was last modified 12th May, 1997
