Context: An investigation by global watchdog Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has shown that food and cosmetic companies have links with companies implicated in the destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem, a forest area on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.
About Leuser Ecosystem

• The Leuser Ecosystem is an area of forest located within the province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.
• The ecosystem (2.6 million h) stretches from the coast of the Indian Ocean to the Malacca Straits.
• It is Sumatra’s largest rainforest and a UNESCO world heritage site.
• Threats: Clearing rainforest in the Leuser ecosystem to plant oil palm and building of road networks through the forest.
• Community: 70% of Aceh’s people live on the coastal plains of Sumatra, where many communities have established wet rice cultivation.

Significance of this type of Biodiversity

• It is one of the richest expanses of tropical rain forest in Southeast Asia.
• It is the last place on earth where the Sumatran elephant, rhino, tiger and orangutan are found within one area.
• The last major stands of habitat for the Sumatran orangutan are found in the Leuser Ecosystem, which supports about 75 % of the world’s remaining population.
• It has one of the world’s richest yet least-known forest systems, and its vegetation is an important source of Earth’s oxygen.
• Its diverse landscape includes lowland and montane rainforests, rivers, lakes, and over 185,000 hectares of carbon-rich peatlands.

Associated Threats

• Industrial development for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations and mining continues to threaten the entire ecosystem.
• The fires from this widespread destruction have caused major haze pollution from Singapore to Jakarta, resulting in huge economic losses and public health issues.
• Sumatra’s unique species are dying out with their negligible populations left and few on the verge of extinction.

Additional Information
About Sumatran Orangutan

• The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three species of orangutans. Found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
• For their Conservation, under IUCN Red List, they are put under Critically Endangered category.
• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) works with TRAFFIC, the global wildlife trade monitoring network, to help governments enforce restrictions on the trade in live animals and orangutan products.