39gyizy6ox Sumatra S Forests Report 2010

REPORT
2010
Sumatra’s Forests, their Wildlife and the Climate

Windows in Time: 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2009
Sumatra’s Forests, their Wildlife and the Climate
Windows in Time: 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2009
A quantitative assessment of some of Sumatra’s natural resources submitted as

technical report by invitation to the National Forestry Council (DKN) and to
the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS) of Indonesia
WWF-Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia
July 2010
(updated in December 2010)
1 | WWF
Authors
Yumiko Uryu, Consultant to World Wildlife Fund, Washington DC, USA

Elisabet Purastuti, Consultant to WWF-Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Yves Laumonier, CIRAD-CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
Sunarto, WWF-Indonesia PhD Fellow, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, USA
Setiabudi, SEAMEO-BIOTROP, Bogor, Indonesia
Arif Budiman, WWF-Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Kokok Yulianto, WWF-Indonesia, Riau, Indonesia
Anggoro Sudibyo, WWF-Indonesia, Riau, Indonesia
Oki Hadian, WWF-Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Dian Achmad Kosasih, WWF-Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Michael Stüwe, World Wildlife Fund, Washington DC, USA
Reviewers (in alphabetical order):
Ajay Desai (Co-chair IUCN Species Survival Commission Asian Elephant Specialist Group)
Christy Williams (WWF International)
Florian Siegert (University of Munich, GeoBio-Center)
Hariadi Kartodihardjo (Institut Pertanian Bogor)
Hariyo T. Wibisono (Wildlife Conservation Society - Indonesia Program)
Ian Singleton (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, PanEco-YEL)
John Payne (WWF Malaysia)
Kerry Crosbie (Project Director, Asian Rhino Project)
Kristin Nowell (Red List Coordinator, IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group)
Matthew Linkie (Fauna & Flora International)
Peter Pratje (Frankfurt Zoological Society)
Simon Hedges (Co-chair IUCN Species Survival Commission Asian Elephant Specialist Group)
Sri Suci Utami Atmoko (Universitas Nasional)
Susie Elis (Executive Director, International Rhino Foundation)
Photo on front cover: Natural forest of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia © Mast Irham /
WWF-Indonesia.
Contact: yumuryu@yahoo.com, epurastuti@wwf.or.id, yves.laumonier@cirad.fr, sabdo2907@yahoo.com,

setiabudi@biotrop.org, abudiman@wwf.or.id, kyulianto@wwf.or.id, asudibyo@wwf.or.id,
ohadian@wwf.or.id, ikosasih@wwf.or.id, michaelstuewe@yahoo.com
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Preface
This technical report was submitted by WWF upon requests by Dewan Kehutanan Nasional (National
Forestry Council, DKN - letter No. 107/DKN/HK/11/2009) and by Badan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan
Nasional (National Development Planning Agency, BAPPENAS) for information on forests and forestry.
The report presents scientific data and information on:

• Loss of natural forest in Sumatra and its eight mainland provinces 1985-2009.
• Loss of carbon stock in natural forest and peat.
• Deforestation and eco-floristic diversity.
• Deforestation and mega-fauna diversity.
• Suggestions for prioritizing conservation and restoration interventions in Sumatra.
WWF Indonesia is very concerned about the findings of this report: the ongoing severe loss of natural forest
and degradation of peat soil and the resulting emissions from carbon stocks, the significant depletion of
eco-floristic diversity and the large reduction of the island’s populations of the Sumatran Elephant, Orang
Utan, Rhino and Tiger.
WWF Indonesia very much welcomes this request for information by DKN and BAPPENAS since WWF is
ready to actively participate in a policy dialogue on improving the state of natural forests in Sumatra. This
report provides a scientific analysis of the state of some of Sumatra’s natural resources since 1985. As one of
the next steps, WWF will analyze Sumatran provinces’ adherence to land use plans in effect since 1985.
WWF Indonesia believes that the existing rate of natural forest loss is a very important indicator of the non
sustainable development currently occurring in Sumatra. This must be stopped and alternative ways need to
be formulated. For this report, WWF modeled the available data and made some initial suggestions for
prioritizing forest conservation interventions and the areas in need of most urgent action.
WWF Indonesia welcomes comments, inputs and criticisms to this report so it can further improve data
collection and analysis.
July 2010
WWF Indonesia
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Content
1. Executive Summary................................................................................................................................... 5
2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 9
3. Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................11
4. Study Area ............................................................................................................................................... 12
5. Data Collected, Generated, Analyzed and Interpreted............................................................................. 14
6. Loss of Natural Forest 1985 to 2008/9 .................................................................................................... 15
Natural forest loss by elevation and soil type .......................................................................................... 16
Natural forest loss by province ................................................................................................................ 19
7. Loss of Carbon Stocks in Natural Forest and Peat .................................................................................. 22
Carbon stocks of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat soil ......................................................................... 22
Loss of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat carbon stocks ........................................................................ 26
Continuing threats to Sumatra’s carbon and the global climate: The “Mega Pulp Project” disaster .... 27
Survival of Sumatra’s peat lands and protection of its carbon stores...................................................... 30
8. Loss of Eco-Floristic Diversity in Sumatra ............................................................................................. 31
Stratification of Sumatra into thirty-eight Eco-Floristic Sectors ............................................................ 31
Loss of natural forest in Sumatra’s eco-floristic sectors and their extinction risks ................................. 32
Survival requirements .............................................................................................................................. 36
9. Decline of Sumatra’s Four Flagship Species: Elephant, Orangutan, Tiger and Rhino ............................ 38
9.1. Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus spp. sumatranus)................................................................. 38
Populations .............................................................................................................................................. 38
Main threats ............................................................................................................................................. 38
9.2. Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)................................................................................................. 41
Populations .............................................................................................................................................. 41
Main threats ............................................................................................................................................. 42
9.3. Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) ........................................................................... 44
Populations .............................................................................................................................................. 44
Main threats ............................................................................................................................................. 45
9.4. Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) ..................................................................................... 48
Populations .............................................................................................................................................. 48
Main threats ............................................................................................................................................. 48
10. Prioritizing Conservation Intervention Areas in Sumatra .................................................................... 52
11. Prioritizing Potential Development Areas in Sumatra ......................................................................... 59
12. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................... 62
Appendix 1.—Methodology to generate natural forest cover in Sumatra eco-floristic sectors for 1985,
1990, 2000, 2006/7 and 2008/9 ............................................................................................................... 62
13. References ............................................................................................................................................ 64
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1. Executive Summary
Sumatra was once a green, tropical paradise that helped Indonesia earn the nickname “Emerald of the
Equator.” No more.
The forests that harbored some of the world’s highest biodiversity have been largely replaced by two trees:
oil palms and acacia. Palm oil and pulp for paper are flooding global markets from Sumatra, the world’s
sixth largest island. The massive land clearing for development of their plantations and harvesting of natural
forest wood is measurably contributing to climate change. The habitats of Sumatran orangutans, tigers,
rhinos and elephants are heavily disturbed and have been reduced so much that the populations have declined
significantly.
We decided to open windows in time and take four snapshots of Sumatra from space and from the ground
between 1985 and 2009. Given the current shift of global thinking towards climate change mitigation,
especially through protection of forest-carbon and peat-carbon stocks, and the market’s increasing adoption
of the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) principle as a tool to protect biodiversity, environmental services,
and social and cultural values, we decided to report on the past and potential future of some of these values
in Sumatra.
We consider as forest exclusively natural forests as they generated and represent the country’s wealth of
biodiversity, provide many of its environmental services and social values, and host its huge carbon stocks.
We acknowledge that the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry considers tree plantations like the mono cultures
used to produce pulp for paper also as forests.
This study found:
Loss of natural forest 1985 to 2008/9 (Chapter 6)
y The 44 million hectare Sumatran mainland was covered with 25.3 million ha of natural forests in
1985 (58% forest cover) and 12.8 million ha in 2008/9 (29%). Over the past 23 years, Sumatra’s
forests were cleared at an average annual rate of 542,000 hectares (2.1%).
y Eighty-one percent (10.1 million ha) of all forest lost between 1985 and 2008/9 was below 150
meters elevation. In Sumatra, lowlands below 150 meter elevation - generally much easier to clear and
plant than hills and mountains - have remained rather unprotected, been highly threatened and unfairly
represented in conservation areas across Sumatra. Yet, these forests contain high carbon stores,
especially those located on peat soil, represent critically endangered and endangered eco-floristic sectors
and are habitat for highly threatened mega-fauna species.
y As lowland forest on non peat soil below 150 m.s.l. became scarcer, loss of other forests became
faster. Peatland forest loss continued to increase and relatively more forest above 150 m elevation was
lost between 2000 and 2008/9 (23% of total loss) than between 1990 and 2000 period (9% of total loss).
y Average annual natural forest loss in Riau, Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra increased
between 2000 and 2008/9 compared to 1990 to 2000, both in terms of area size and of percentage of
loss.
y Eighty-one percent of all Sumatran forest loss between 2006/7 and 2008/9 occurred in four
provinces in central Sumatra: Riau (380,143 hectares, 35%), Jambi (199,712 hectares, 19%), South
Sumatra (152,657 hectares, 14%) and West Sumatra (143,542 hectares, 13%).
y Riau Province had Sumatra’s highest deforestation rate. In 1985, Riau had by far the most natural
forest in Sumatra (6.9 million ha, 28% of all natural forest on the island). By 2008, Riau had lost 4.4
million ha (63%) at an average annual rate of up to 4.8% to become 2nd most forested province. More
than one third of Sumatra’s forest loss occurred in Riau overall, accelerating from 26% of Sumatra’s
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total loss in 1985-1990 to 48% in 2000-2008/9. Plantations increasingly have been replacing much of
that forest: Riau produces more palm oil and more pulp for paper than any other province in Indonesia.
Loss of carbon stock in natural forest and peat (Chapter 7)
• Sumatra’s 12.8 million ha of 2008/9 natural forests are estimated to contain 2.1 gigatons of carbon
applying IPCC default values. Most of these forests have been logged one or more times and therefore
will sequester large amounts of carbon as they re-grow.
• Sumatra’s 7.2 million ha of peatlands were estimated to store 18.8 gigatons of carbon in 2002.
Sumatra has 40% of Indonesia’s (46.6 gigatons), 37% of Southeast Asia’s (50.4 gigatons), 36% of the
world’s tropical (52.2 gigatons) and 4-9% of all global peatland carbon stores (202-500 gigatons). This
study mapped 1.7 million ha of additional peat areas not included in the above estimates, suggesting that
Sumatra’s peat carbon storage is likely to be even bigger than previously assumed.
• By far the most of Sumatra’s 21 gigatons of forest and peat carbon are concentrated in Riau (72%
total), Jambi (7.9%) and South Sumatra (7.6%).
• The loss of 12.5 million ha Sumatran forest since 1985 may have caused 7.5 gigatons of CO2
emissions, not including closely associated emissions from peat degradation. These emissions were
equivalent to 20% of the IPCC estimate for global annual average CO2 emissions associated with
land-use change (primarily deforestation but without peat emissions) in the 1990s.
y In addition to the emissions from forest loss, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry estimated that
every year 1.1 gigatons of CO2 were emitted because of clearing, draining and burning of
Sumatra’s peatlands between 1990 and 2002. Today, a similar magnitude of CO2 emissions is
expected. Scientists expect an average 4.4 m deep peat to survive no more than 2 oil palm and 5
pulpwood plantation rotations before it collapses and all carbon stocks have been set free. We expect
that a very significant portion of the 2.5 million hectare of Sumatra’s still forested peatlands is also
being drained and emitting CO2 through decomposition, though at slower speed than under plantations.
y The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry estimated that Sumatra’s total annual CO2 emissions from
loss of natural forest and peat decomposition and burning were 1.2 gigatons per year, contributing
significantly to global climate change. Sumatra’s emissions exceed the combined total of all annual
emission reductions pledged under the Kyoto protocol (0.93 gigatons).
y Riau may have contributed to around 60% to Sumatra’s total emissions from natural forest loss
and peat drainage.
y Much of the emissions are due to Sumatra’s “Mega Pulp Project” steadily expanding in the peat
lands of Riau, Jambi, North, West and South Sumatra since the 2000s. Already totaling 2.2 million
ha today, built on much deeper peat, with faster drainage and continuously expanding, Sumatra’s
“Mega Pulp Project” is a climate disaster in its making, far worse than Central Kalimantan’s
infamous ex Mega Rice Project. Riau is absolute leader in Sumatra’s “Mega Pulp Project”, having
allowed the conversion of 71% of the total area, having already developed 37% of all concession areas
in Sumatra and threatening almost all of the natural peat forest still standing in all pulpwood plantation
concessions. REDD could stop this.
y The continuing loss of natural forests and degradation and burning of Sumatra’s peat directly
counter Indonesian and global efforts to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The simplest
and most effective measures to prevent further peat emissions are conservation of remaining peatland
forests and rehabilitation of degraded peatland forests and deforested soils. Considering Sumatra’s huge
historical and expected huge future emissions from loss of natural forest and decomposition and burning
of peat soil, sealing Sumatra’s forest and peat carbon stocks would make the most efficient and
significant contribution to the country’s commitment to reduce its emissions by 26% to 41%. For
example, moving towards a “zero” emissions goal in Sumatra’s 1.7 million hectare deep peat Kampar /
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Kerumutan landscape alone could possibly contribute more than 50% towards Indonesia’s goal of
reducing 26% of its emissions.
Loss of Eco-Floristic Diversity in Sumatra (Chapter 8)
y Natural forest cover change analysis revealed that by 2008/9, 17 out of Sumatra’s 38 distinct
eco-floristic sectors (EFSs) representing unique ecosystems distinguished by tree floral and
environmental parameters had become ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’, or ‘vulnerable’.
Eighty-seven percent of all natural forest loss occurred in these EFSs. Almost 40% of all natural forest
in 2008/9 remained in these EFSs.
y This study identified the EFS that face the highest extinction risks and are in the most desperate
need of protection and forest restoration (Map 12). New conservation and forest restoration areas
should urgently be considered in the ongoing island, provincial and district land-use planning to mitigate
threats to some of these EFSs and prevent their extinction.
Decline of Sumatra’s Mega-Fauna Diversity (Chapter 9)
y Sumatran elephants: By 2007, the island’s 1985 population is believed to have declined up to half its
size, an estimated 2,400 to 2,800 individuals. Forest habitat loss has been the single biggest threat to
Sumatra’s elephants. Most of 23 “extinctions” of local elephant herds occurred in areas where large
areas of forest had been lost or severely fragmented. Subsequent human-elephant conflict rather than
poaching became the top cause of death. Riau’s population, faced by the island’s most severe forest loss,
was decimated from >1300 to <200 individuals.
y Sumatran orangutans: By 2007, the island’s population of the 1990s had been reduced by at least 50%,
an estimated 6000 to 7000 individuals. Development of oil palm plantations and agriculture,
slash-and-burn farming, roads, illegal and legal logging, and transmigration development continue to
destroy, disturb and fragment orangutan habitat, leading to human-orangutan conflicts with retaliatory
killings and captures of young for the illegal pet trade. Even the world’s only successful reintroduced
Sumatran orangutan population, in Jambi Province, is in peril. The pulp & paper companies are clearing
their natural forests to produce paper for the global market.
y Sumatran rhinoceros: Since 1986, the Sumatran population of the critically endangered Sumatran
rhinoceros is estimated to have declined by up to 82% to possibly as few as 145 individuals. After initial
huge losses to poaching, habitat loss from logging, mining, shifting agriculture and other new land uses
now appears to have become the main threat to the survival of Sumatran rhino.
y Sumatran tigers: The breeding population of the critically endangered Sumatran tiger was estimated to
be fewer than 250 mature individuals. The population has been declining due to habitat loss,
human-tiger conflict and retaliatory killings, and poaching. Sumatra has only very few areas left where
the Sumatran tiger coexists with the Sumatran elephant, orangutan and rhino. They need to be given
highest priority for conservation.
Prioritizing conservation interventions in Sumatra (Chapter 10)
y The majority of Sumatra’s remaining natural forest contains more than just forest-carbon as a
conservation value. 93% of Sumatra’s forest areas overlap either with very carbon rich peatlands, with
“critically endangered” or “endangered” EFSs, and/or with distribution ranges of at least one of the four
flagship species studied. Fifteen percent of Sumatra’s remaining natural forest in 2008/9, 1.9 million
hectares, had all these carbon and conservation values present.
y Half of Sumatra’s already-deforested areas contain important conservation values which require
immediate restoration, especially heavily drained peatlands and tiger ranges.
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Prioritizing development areas in Sumatra (Chapter 11)
y Sumatra’s mainland had 4.5 million hectares of potential “wastelands” in 2008/9, 72% of which were
outside peatlands (3.2 million ha). They were concentrated in South Sumatra (35% total), Aceh (19%),
North Sumatra (13%) and Lampung (12%).
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2. Introduction
Sumatra was once a green, tropical paradise that helped Indonesia earn the nickname “Emerald of the
Equator.” No more.
The forests that harbored some of the world’s highest biodiversity have been largely replaced by two trees:
oil palms and acacia. Palm oil and pulp for paper are flooding global markets from Sumatra, the world’s
sixth largest island. The massive land clearing for development of their plantations and harvesting of natural
forest wood is measurably contributing to climate change. The habitats of Sumatran orangutans, tigers,
rhinos and elephants are heavily disturbed and have been reduced so much that the populations have declined
significantly.
We decided to open windows in time and take snapshots of Sumatra from space and from the ground
between 1985 and 2009. Given the current shift of global thinking towards climate change mitigation,
especially through protection of forest-carbon and peat-carbon stocks, and the market’s increasing adoption
of the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) principle1 as a tool to protect biodiversity, environmental services,
and social and cultural values, we decided to report on the past and potential future of some of these values
in Sumatra.
We looked at: which forests were lost when and where (Chapter 6)? How has the deforestation affected our
climate (Chapter 7)? What happened to the island’s globally unique floral (Chapter 8) and faunal (Chapter 9)
diversity that includes some of the world’s most charismatic wildlife species? Which are the forests that
absolutely need to be conserved, which are the areas that need to be restored (Chapter 10)? Where should
development continue without converting natural forest and peat (Chapter 11)?
Sumatra has already lost much of its natural forest, but there are signs that some government
decision-makers are taking note.
In March 2008, Government of Indonesia Regulation No. 26 Year 20082 on national spatial planning was
published with a draft National Land Use Plan. The draft plan proposed that 91 percent of all natural forest
remaining on Sumatra as of 2008/9 to be protected either as Conservation Area or Protection Forest.
In October 2008, all 10 Sumatran governors, supported by the Indonesian Ministries of Interior, Forestry,
Environment and Public Works, announced their joint commitment to “save and conserve the ecosystem of
Sumatra Island in order to balance ecological functions and economic development for the people of Sumatra,
by (1) initiating ecosystem-based land-use planning, (2) restoring critical areas to protect ecosystem services,
and (3) protecting areas with high conservation value to protect ecosystem services, biodiversity, and the
global climate.”3, 4
President of Indonesia commits to reduce the country’s emissions by 26 – 41 % of the business-as-usual

assumption of 2.9Gt CO2 in 2020.
But are these developments serious? Will they achieve what they promise? Will they come in time to save
Sumatra?
At the time of final editing of this report, May 2010, the Government of Indonesia was finalizing the new
island-wide land-use plan for Sumatra to be put into law as a presidential decree. The island’s provinces and
their districts will have to “harmonize” their respective land-use plans with the national plan by 2011, a
process that is already ongoing in many districts and several provinces. World’s governments are discussing
a post-2012 climate change framework including a REDD mechanism, which will generate a powerful global
market for carbon as a new commodity able to compete successfully with the commodities that have been
driving Sumatra’s forest loss: palm oil and pulp for paper.
We prepared this study to provide a quantitative basis for policy dialogue and decision making by Sumatra’s
stakeholders, its people, its corporate producers and their buyers and investors, its academia, and its
9 | WWF
regulators, Government agencies at local, provincial and national levels. We hope that business-as-usual will
be avoided and stakeholders will decide to protect the values of Sumatra’s natural resources and fully
implement the Sumatran governors’ 2008 commitment. Sumatra provides many opportunities to reach
Indonesia’s published target of reducing emissions.
We hope this report can be used to identify sites and actions where significant emission reductions can be
achieved in short time.
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3. Acknowledgements
Over the past several years, WWF-Indonesia has compiled a comprehensive Geographical Information
System on Sumatra. We would like to thank the many friends and colleagues, foundations, companies and
government offices who helped compile these data from many different sources. Land-use plans and
concession maps are from government agencies at national, provincial and local levels and from companies.
Species-related information is from many of the scientists, NGOsa, foundations and government agencies
who track this information in the many regions of Sumatra. Wetlands International produced part of the peat
range map we referred to in some of our analysis. Some of our natural forest coverage analysis referred to
data provided by the Forest Inventory Monitoring Project, KKI Warsi, Martin Hardiono, the South Sumatra
Forest Fire Management Project, and the World Conservation Society.
We are grateful to Ajay Desai (co-chair, IUCN Species Survival Commission Asian Elephant Specialist
Group), Christy Williams (WWF International), Florian Siegert (University of Munich, GeoBio-Center),
Hariadi Kartodihardjo (Institut Pertanian Bogor), Hariyo T. Wibisono (Wildlife Conservation
Society-Indonesia Program), Ian Singleton (Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, PanEco-YEL),
John Payne (WWF-Malaysia), Kerry Crosbie (Project Director, Asian Rhino Project), Kristin Nowell (Red
List coordinator, IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group), Matthew Linkie (Fauna &
Flora International), Peter Pratje (Frankfurt Zoological Society), Simon Hedges (co-chair, IUCN Species
Survival Commission Asian Elephant Specialist Group), Sri Suci Utami Atmoko (Universitas Nasional) and
Susie Elis (executive director, International Rhino Foundation) for reviewing parts of this report that relate to
their respective areas of expertise, and we are especially grateful to our colleagues Chairul Saleh, Adhi
Hariyadi and Jan Vertefeuille for their reviews and edits. Any remaining inaccuracies are not the reviewers’
fault. So many data were processed for this report and so many contradictions exist between different sources
of data that in the end we, the authors, had to make the final decision on which data to use and are the ones
responsible for this product.
We are very appreciative of the Indonesia’s National Forestry Council invitation to WWF and other NGOs to
provide data and information on the condition of Indonesia’s forests and hope this report will support the
council’s work.
Finally, we would like to thank the donors who made this report and much of its data collection possible: the
Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, WWF-US, WWF-Japan, WWF-UK, WWF-Germany, WWF-Austria
and WWF International.
a
Over 20 NGOs working on Sumatran issues began coordinating their efforts through FORTRUST (Forum Tata Ruang Sumatera) in
2008 and have pledged to support Government’s land use planning efforts for the island.
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4. Study Area
Our analysis focused on the approximately 44 million-hectare mainland of Sumatra (yellow area in Map 1).
Sumatra is the world’s sixth-largest island and the second-largest in the Malay Archipelago after Borneo. It is
surrounded by a series of smaller islands which we did not include in this study. Located across the Straits of
Malacca south of Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, it is the western-most extension of the Indonesian
archipelago. Together with Borneo and Java it forms Sundaland.
The 44 million-hectare island is crossed by the equator, is about 1800 kilometers long and 450 kilometers
wide, and has two major geographical regions. The Barisan mountain ridge, with an average altitude between
2,000 and 2,500 meters and with many emerging volcanoes of up to 3,800 meters, runs along the island’s
Indian Ocean coastline in the west, vast flatlands and peat swamps extend from there towards the Malacca
Straits in the east.
Map 1.—Sumatra mainland’s eight provinces (Government of Indonesia, Bakosurtanal, 2008).
Sumatra recently received worldwide attention when it was revealed that its central province of Riau has had
the world’s highest rate of natural forest loss, generating huge CO2 emissions from loss of above-ground
biomass and degradation and burning of deep peat soils (Map 2)5, 6, 7. Sumatra lost larger areas of forest
between 2000 and 2007 than its neighbor Borneo, and a lot of them were on carbon-rich peat lands (Map 3).
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Map 2.—Natural forest loss in Riau on peat (red) and non peat soil (orange) between 2000 and 2007, and
forest remaining on peat (dark green) and non peat (light green) in 2007.
Map 3.—Deforestation in Sumatra and Kalimantan on peat (red) and non peat soil (orange) between 2000
and 2007 and forest remaining on peat (dark green) and non peat (light green). Map was provided by
SarVision, using MODIS/SPOT Vegetation satellite images with a 250-1000 m resolution.
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5. Data Collected, Generated, Analyzed and Interpreted
We used the following baseline data in our Sumatra Geographical Information System for this report:
Data set 1. Natural forest cover of Sumatra’s 38 eco-floristic sectors between 1985 and 2008/9 - Yves
Laumonier and Setiabudi defined and delineated Sumatra’s eco-floristic sectors in the 1980s8 based on 10
years of extensive field surveys throughout the island. For this report, we calculated the natural forest cover
remaining in each sector in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2006/7 and 2008/9 using their original “Sumatra Vegetation
Map 1985,”9, 10, 11 various forest cover data provided by groups working in Sumatra and corrected by us, or
generated by us based on Landsat images (check Appendix 1 for methodology).
Natural forest delineated for this study was defined as original natural (as opposed to anthropogenic)
vegetation dominated by trees with a crown cover of more than 10%. We consider as “forest” exclusively
natural forests as they generated and represent the country’s wealth of biodiversity, provide many of its
environmental services and social values, and host its huge carbon stocks. We acknowledge that the
Indonesian Ministry of Forestry considers tree plantations like the mono cultures used to produce pulp for
paper also as forests.
Data set 2. Distribution of peat soil and four flagship species - We digitized maps provided by the authors
listed below and used them “as is” without modification by us for this analysis.
• Sumatran peat lands mapped by Wetlands International12 and peat related eco-floristic sectors mapped
by Laumonier13.
• Sumatran elephant distribution 1985 and 2008 mapped by Blouch & Symbolon (1985)14, Departemen
Kehutanan (2007)15 and Tim Relokasi Dinas Kehutanan Propinsi Lampung et al. (2008)16.
• Sumatran orangutan distribution 1992, 2001/2002 and 2007 mapped by Rijksen & Meijaard (1999)17,
Singleton et al. (2004)18 and Wich et al. (2008)19.
• Sumatran tiger distribution 1996/2005 modeled by Wikramanayake et al. (1998, labeled Tiger
Conservation Units)20 and revised by Sanderson et al. (2006, labeled Tiger Conservation Landscapes)21.
• Sumatran rhino distribution between 1790 and 1973 mapped by van Strien (1974)22, 1990 mapped by
Santiapillai & MacKinnon (1991)23 and 2007 mapped by Indonesian Ministry of Forestry (2007)24.
Data set 3. Official land use - We digitized maps provided by the authors below and used them “as is”
without modification by us for this analysis.
• Indonesian Consensus Forest Land Use Plan 1985 (Tata Guna Hutan Kesepakatan, TGHK) by
Indonesian Ministry of Forestry (1986)
• Padu Serasi for all provinces except Riau by Badan Koordinasi Tataruang Nasional.
• Tesso Nilo National Park; the above National Land Use Plan did not include the recently declared
Tesso Nilo National Park; therefore we added this to our analysis.
• HTI Concessions by Riau Forestry Service (2006) & Ministry of Forestry (2005).
Data set 4. Basic data -We digitized maps provided by the authors below and used them “as is” without
modification by us for this analysis.
• Sumatra’s provincial boundaries from the Government of Indonesia’s Bakosurtanal (2008).
• Island coastline from Government of Indonesia’s Baplan (2006).
• Elevation data from Jarvis, A., H.I. Reuter, A. Nelson, E. Guevara (2008) Hole-filled SRTM for the
globe Version 4, available from the CGIAR-CSI SRTM 90m Database: http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org
WWF | 14
6. Loss of Natural Forest 1985 to 2008/9
Twenty-five million hectares of natural forest covered Sumatra in 1985, spreading across 58% of the main
island (Map 4a). By 2008/9, 23 years laterb, half of the forest (12.5 million hectares) had been cleared at an
average speed of 542,000 hectares per year, with an annual deforestation rate of 2.1% (Map 4 a to d).
Contrary to the global image of Sumatra as a “green” island covered by tropical rain forest, only 29% (12.8
million hectares) was still covered by natural forest in 2008/9. The average area of forest lost each year in the
periods 1985 – 1990, 1990 – 2000 and 2000 – 2008/9 declined from 810,888 ha to 503,983 ha and 421,290
ha as available forest cover shrank. The rate of deforestation remained steady at 2.4% in 1990 – 2000 and
2.6% in 2000 – 2008/9.
1985 1990
Natural forest cover: Natural forest cover:
25.3 million ha (58% of island) 21.2 million ha (48% of island)
Natural forest lost since 1985:
4.1 million ha (16%)
2008/9 2000
Natural forest cover: Natural forest cover:
12.8 million ha (29% of island) 16.2 million ha (37% of island)
Natural forest lost since 1985: Natural forest lost since 1985:
12.5 million ha (49%) 9.1 million ha (36%)
Map 4 a to d.—Natural forest in Sumatra in 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2008/9 (green) and lost since 1985 (red).
b
Sumatra’s 2008/2009 natural forest cover is based on an interpretation of Landsat images taken in 2008 and 2009, the earliest date
was 8 May 2008, the latest 30 July 2009, average date was 31 October 2008. We decided to calculate average annual deforestation
rates for 23 years between 1985 and 2008 (see Appendix 1).
15 | WWF
Natural forest loss by elevation and soil type
We compared natural forest loss in four soil type and elevation categories: less than 150 meters elevation (1)
on peat and (2) on non peat, (3) 150-300 meters elevation and (4) greater than 300 meters elevation. 150 and
300 meters elevation were considered important altitudinal boundaries between distinct ecological zones by
Laumonier25. Natural forest on peat soil above 150 meters elevation was negligible (3,785 ha in 1985), we
therefore did not further analyze this category. Elevation estimates were based on SRTM 90 meter models
and peat soils were based on Wetlands International data.
In Sumatra, lowlands below 150 meter elevation - generally much easier to clear and plant than hills and
mountains - have remained rather unprotected, been highly threatened and unfairly represented in
conservation areas across Sumatra. In 1985, 57% of Sumatra’s natural peatland and non peatland forest
occurred at <150m but only 9 and 10%, respectively were protected as Conservation or Protection Forest
zones by the Indonesian Consensus Forest Land Use Plan (Tata Guna Hutan Kesepakatan, TGHK) (Table 1
top). By 2008/9, 81% (10.1 million ha) of all natural forest loss in Sumatra had occurred below 150m (Table
1 bottom, red and orange areas in Map 5).
Despite their very high vulnerability to clearance, these very low lying forests remain proportionally under
protected through Conservation or Protection Forest zones by the TGHK in Riau and the RTRWP–Padu
Serasi in Sumatra’s other provinces (Table 1 top, light blue boundary in Map 5). Yet, these forests contain
high carbon stores, especially those located on peat soil (Chapter 7), represent critically endangered and
endangered eco-floristic sectors (Chapter 8) and are habitat for highly threatened mega-fauna species
(Chapter 9).
Table 1.—(top) Natural forest remaining in 1985 and 2008/9 by altitude and soil category, % of forest that is
protected in each category and % of all protected forest protected that lies within each category and
(bottom) natural forest loss by category during 1985 – 1990, 1990 – 2000, 2000 – 2008/9 and 1985 – 2008/9,
and percentage of 1985 forest loss in each category and contribution of each category/’s forest loss to overall
Sumatra forest loss.
Natural forest in 1985 Natural forest in 2008/9
% of % of all % of % of all
Category
Area (ha) category protected Area (ha) category protected
protected forest protected forest
Total 5,825,129 2,172,248
< 150 m, on peat
Protected 520,963 9% 7% 468,335 22% 6%
Total 8,494,550 1,998,869
< 150 m, on non peat
Protected 809,219 10% 10% 577,890 29% 8%
Total 1,907,197 1,214,149
150 - 300 m
Protected 508,835 27% 6% 457,174 38% 6%
Total 9,046,774 7,424,591
> 300 m
Protected 6,103,892 67% 77% 5,934,811 80% 80%
Total 1,936 1,139
NI
Protected 223 12% 0% 441 39% 0%
Total 25,275,586 12,810,997
All Sumatra
Protected 7,943,131 31% 100% 7,438,651 58% 100%
Natural forest loss

1985-1990 1990-2000 2000-2008/9 1985-2008/9
Category % 1985 forest % of overall
Area (ha) Area (ha) Area (ha) Area (ha) lost in Sumatra 1985
category forest loss
<150 m, on peat 679,866 1,695,411 1,277,602 3,652,880 63% 29%
<150 m, on non peat 2,290,384 2,889,057 1,316,240 6,495,681 76% 52%
150-300 m 291,382 175,017 226,649 693,048 36% 6%
> 300 m 792,311 280,240 549,632 1,622,182 18% 13%
Total 4,053,943 5,039,725 3,370,124 12,463,792 49% 100%
WWF | 16
Sumatra’s peatland forest (dark green areas in Map 5) remains mainly along the eastern coast of Sumatra,
mostly in Riau, 78% are not protected by land use plans. Forest on mineral soil below 150m (light green
areas in Map 5) remains in small fragmented blocks throughout the island, 71% are not protected. Tesso Nilo
(dark blue boundary in Map 5) and Bukit Tigapuluh (pink boundary in Map 5) national parks were recently
created to save two of Sumatra’s remaining dry lowland forest blocks. But large areas of low lying forest
were excluded from the original proposals after heavy industry lobbying and today remain highly threatened
with conversion.
Map 5.—Natural forest loss 1985 to 2008 by soil and elevation. Peatland forest (dark green, close to 100%
are below 150 meter above sea level) and non-peatland forest <150 meters, 150–300 meters and >300
meters above sea level remaining in 2008 and lost since 1985.
The majority (78%) of Sumatra’s forests protected by TGHK in Riau and RTRWP-Padu Serasi for all other
provinces are located mainly in hill or montane areas above 300 meter elevation, despite the fact that they are
more difficult to develop and therefore less threatened (Map 5). By 2008, this category lost 18% of its 1985
17 | WWF
forest, as compared to around 70% of loss in the <150m categories (Table 1 bottom).
Average annual loss of forest on non peat soil <150m became less and less through the three periods (orange),
although the rate of loss increased between the 1990-2000 and 2000-2008 periods (Figure 1). As this forest
type became scarcer, the loss of other forest types became faster. The rate of peatland forest loss (red)
continued to increase and the loss of forest >150m elevation (brown and khaki) increased significantly in
2000-2008/9 (23% of the total loss) compared to 1990-2000 period (9% of the total loss).
900,000
Total
810,888 ha (3.2% loss) <150 m, on peat <150 m, on non peat
800,000 150-300 m > 300 m TOTAL
158,462 (1.8% loss)

700,000
Average annual loss (hectare)
58,276 (3.1% loss) Total

600,000
503,983 ha (2.4% loss)
500,000 28,024 (0.3% loss) Total

17,502 (1.1% loss) 421,290 ha (2.6% loss)
400,000
68,704 (0.9% loss)
458,077 (5.4% loss)
28,331 (2.0% loss)
300,000 288,906 (4.7% loss)
164,530 (5.0% loss)

200,000
100,000
169,541 (3.3% loss) 159,700 (4.6% loss)
135,973 (2.3% loss)
0
1985-1990 1990-2000 2000-2008/9
Figure 1.—Average annual natural forest loss in Sumatra 1985-1990, 1990-2000 and 2000-2008/9 at
<150m (on peat or non peat), 150-300 m and >300m elevation in hectares and percentage.
WWF | 18
Natural forest loss by province
Sumatra’s mainland provinces differed in the total area of natural forest they lost and in the speed with which
they lost their forests (Figure 2, Table 2).
In 1985, Riau Province had by far the most natural forest (6.9 million ha): 28% of all natural forest in
Sumatra (Figure 2). The 2nd most forested province was Aceh with 4.2 million ha (17%) and 3rd was South
Sumatra with 3.4 million ha (13.6%). By 2008/9, Riau had lost 63% (4.4 million ha) of its natural forest,
though it is still the 2nd most forested province (20% of all forest in Sumatra with 2.6 million ha). South
Sumatra lost the 2nd largest amount of forest (2.4 million ha) and became 3rd least forested province. Aceh
lost the smallest portion of its 1985 forest (23%, 0.9 million ha) among all provinces and became the most
forested province of Sumatra.
7,000,000
NAD North Sumatra
6,000,000 West Sumatra Riau

Natural forest remaining (hectare)
Jambi Bengkulu
5,000,000 South Sumatra Lampung
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
Figure 2.—Natural forest loss in Sumatra’s mainland provinces from 1985 to 2008/9.
Over our 23 year study period, Riau lost more than one third (35%, 4.4 million ha) of all the natural forest
that was lost in Sumatra (Table 2, Figure 3, Map 6). Riau consistently outpaced all other provinces, losing
more forest in each of the three periods we compared: 1985–1990 (26%, 1.0 million ha), 1990–2000 (34%,
1.7 million ha) and 2000–2008/9 (48%, 1.6 million ha).
Table 2.—Natural forest loss over three study periods. Provinces are ranked by 1985 – 2008/9 loss.
1985-1990 1990-2000 2000-2008/9 1985-2008/9
% % % %
Province % % % %
(ha) Total (ha) Total (ha) Total (ha) Total
1985 1990 2000 1985
Loss Loss Loss Loss
Riau 1,049,112 15.1% 25.9% 1,710,961 29.0% 33.9% 1,618,982 38.7% 48.0% 4,379,055 63.0% 35.1%
South Sumatra 756,630 22.0% 18.7% 1,382,860 51.5% 27.4% 247,421 19.0% 7.3% 2,386,910 69.3% 19.1%
Jambi 382,910 12.2% 9.4% 796,560 28.8% 15.8% 487,954 24.8% 14.5% 1,667,423 53.0% 13.4%
North Sumatra 666,070 21.1% 16.4% 300,333 12.0% 6.0% 407,551 18.5% 12.1% 1,373,954 43.4% 11.0%
NAD 407,641 9.8% 10.1% 277,169 7.4% 5.5% 260,500 7.5% 7.7% 945,311 22.7% 7.6%
West Sumatra 273,778 11.6% 6.8% 190,019 9.1% 3.8% 228,488 12.1% 6.8% 692,286 29.4% 5.6%
Lampung 342,139 40.4% 8.4% 156,177 30.9% 3.1% 32,226 9.2% 1.0% 530,542 62.6% 4.3%
Bengkulu 176,161 14.6% 4.3% 225,749 21.9% 4.5% 87,197 10.8% 2.6% 489,107 40.5% 3.9%
TOTAL 4,054,442 16.0% 100.0% 5,039,828 23.7% 100.0% 3,370,319 20.8% 100.0% 12,464,589 49.3% 100.0%
19 | WWF
Riau’s average annual loss during the three study periods remained higher than other provinces and increased
both in terms of size and rate from the 1990-2000 to the 2000-2008/9 period (Figure 3). Aceh, North Sumatra
and West Sumatra also increased forest loss between these two periods.
1,100,000
810,888 (3.2%)
1985-1990 1990-2000 2000-2008/9
1,000,000
Average annual natural forest loss (hectare)
900,000
800,000
503,983 (2.4%)
700,000
421,290 (2.6%)
600,000
500,000 209,822 (3.0%)
202,373 (4.8%)
171,096 (2.9%)
151,326 (4.4%)
138,286 (5.1%)
400,000
133,214 (4.2%)
81,528 (2.0%)
79,656 (2.9%)
76,582 (2.4%)
68,428 (8.1%)
60,994 (3.1%)
300,000
54,756 (2.3%)
50,944 (2.3%)
35,232 (2.9%)
32,563 (0.9%)
30,928 (2.4%)
30,033 (1.2%)
28,561 (1.5%)
27,717 (0.7%)
22,575 (2.2%)
19,002 (0.9%)
15,618 (3.1%)
10,900 (1.4%)
4,028 (1.2%)
200,000
100,000
0
NAD North West Riau Jambi Bengkulu South Lampung TOTAL
Sumatra Sumatra Sumatra
Figure 3.—Average annual natural forest loss in hectare and percentage over three study periods by
province.
Natural forest clearance between 2000 and 2006/7 clearly concentrated in one single province, Riau (Map 6).
The most recent natural forest clearance between 2006/7 and 2008/9 still focused on Riau but had spread to
its neighboring provinces in central Sumatra (Map 6): Riau (380,143 ha, 35%), Jambi (199,712 ha, 19%),
South Sumatra (152,657 ha, 14%) and West Sumatra (143,542 ha, 13%) together accounted for 81% of all
Sumatran forest loss during those years.
Central Sumatra is home to one of the world’s top pulp production centers with three huge mills who were
expanding dramatically during the study period. Their wood supply was greatly affected by a police
investigation into illegal logging by wood suppliers of the companies during 2007 and 2008, which stopped
all pulp industry’s natural forest wood sourcing during those two years in Riau Province. Neighboring
provinces Jambi and North, West, and South Sumatra are within economic trucking and/or barging distance
of the mills.
WWF | 20
Map 6.—Natural forest remaining in Sumatra in 2008 (green) and lost in 1985-1990 (brown), 1990-2000
(yellow), 2000-2006/7 (orange) and 2006/7-2008/9 (red).
21 | WWF
7. Loss of Carbon Stocks in Natural Forest and Peat
Sumatra’s natural forest and peat soil are globally important carbon stores. However, the loss of Sumatra’s
natural forests and the decomposition and burning of deforested and/or drained peat soil over the past
decades led to huge CO2 emissions and contributed significantly to global climate change26, 27, 28, 29, 30. In
this chapter, we will look at the loss of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat soil carbon and its significance for
global climate change. Scientific knowledge and data on carbon stocks and emissions in general and
specifically for Sumatra is still developing; therefore the estimates we describe below may severely over- or
underestimate the actual emissions. However, we believe our estimates are correct at least within a 50%
certainty range.
Carbon stocks of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat soil
Forests sequester and store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem; tropical forests are considered
to store close to half of the world’s living terrestrial carbon31. Because of the lack of forest-carbon values
specific to Sumatra we used Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)32, 33 default values of an
average 350 tons of above-ground biomass (AGB) per hectare for tropical rain forests in Asia and its
suggested 47 % carbon contained in that AGB for our calculations.
Applying IPCC values, Sumatra’s 12.8 million ha of natural forest in 2008/9 contained 2.1 gigatons of
carbon. Many of Sumatra’s remaining natural forests have been logged, sometimes heavily, and those who
are not burnt or otherwise cleared are regrowing fast. Even if these forests contain less biomass today than
the IPCC assumes, their regrowth is continuously sequestering large amounts of carbon, as even mature,
old-growth forests34, 35, 36, 37, 38 continue to do.
According to Wetlands International, Sumatra’s 7.2 million ha peatlands contained 18.8 gigatons of carbon in
200239. That is 40% of Indonesia’s (46.6 gigatons), 37% of Southeast Asia’s (50.4 gigatons), 36% of the
world’s tropical (52.2 gigatons) and 4-9% of all global peatland carbon stores (202-500 gigatons)40, 41, 42, 43,
44
. Laumonier (1997) identified 1.7 million ha of peat areas beyond those mapped by Wetlands Internationalc,
suggesting that Sumatra’s peat carbon storage likely is even bigger (Map 7, see also Chapter 8). In addition
to its existing carbon stores, all of Indonesia’s peatland is believed to have a carbon sequestration potential of
15.3-17.6 megaton per year45, 20-23% of the storage potential of all of the world’s peatlands46. Specific
storage data for Sumatra are not available but the island’s peatlands would likely be a very significant
contributor to annual global carbon storage, in their undisturbed state.
In total, Sumatra stored up to 21 gigatons of carbon in its natural forests and peat in 2008/9 (Table 3). The
distribution of these carbon stores differ greatly between Sumatra’s provinces. Central Sumatra’s provinces
Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra have the highest carbon stores with 72%, 7.9% and 7.6% (Table 3 and Maps
7, 8).
c
Delineated in three eco-floristic sectors associated with peat: Fresh Water Swamps, Mixed Peat Swamps and Peat Swamps (see
Chapter 8)
WWF | 22
Table 3.—Area (hectare) and carbon stock (megaton) of natural forest and peat soil in Sumatran provinces.
Forest values are for Sumatra’s mainland only (our study area), peat carbon values include the small islands.
Provinces are ranked by total natural carbon value.
Natural Forest in 2008/9 Peat in 2002
T otal Natural Carbon
(this study) (Wetlands International, 2003)
Area (ha) Carbon (Mt) % T otal Area (ha) Carbon (Mt) % T otal (Mt) % T otal
Riau 2,566,630 422 20.0% 4,006,013 14,605 77.9% 15,027 72.0%
Jambi 1,479,838 243 11.6% 718,491 1,413 7.5% 1,656 7.9%
South Sumatra 1,055,447 174 8.2% 1,427,971 1,407 7.5% 1,581 7.6%
NAD 3,223,255 530 25.2% 281,870 459 2.4% 989 4.7%
West Sumatra 1,660,729 273 13.0% 211,469 422 2.3% 695 3.3%
North Sumatra 1,789,587 294 14.0% 349,435 377 2.0% 671 3.2%
Bengkulu 718,396 118 5.6% 52,421 31 0.2% 149 0.7%
Lampung 317,114 52 2.5% 90,293 36 0.2% 88 0.4%
T OT AL 12,810,997 2,107 100.0% 7,137,963 18,750 100.0% 20,857 100.0%
23 | WWF
Map 7.—Peat areas identified by Wetlands International (2003) and in Laumonier (1997)’s peat associated
Eco-Floristic Sectors(EFS) – Fresh Water Swamps, Mixed Peat Swamps and Peat Swamps (see Chapter 8).
WWF | 24
Map 8.—Estimates of natural forest and peat carbon stocks (carbon ton per hectare) in Sumatra based on
2008/9 natural forest cover (this study) and peat areas identified by Wetlands International (2003). We
assumed carbon stocks of natural forests to not exceed 200 tons/ha. We assumed carbon stocks of peat to be
as estimated by Wetlands International (2003). We mapped additional peat areas (light blue and gray)
following Laumonier (1997), but no peat carbon estimates are available for these areas.
25 | WWF
Loss of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat carbon stocks
Between 1985 and 2008, 12.5 million ha of natural forest were cleared in Sumatra (Chapter 6), emitting an
estimated 7.5 gigatons (327 megatons per year) of CO2 based on IPCC default values47. Riau is by far the
highest emitter of CO2 from forest clearance (Table 4), the province caused 35% of Sumatra’s total emissions
between 1985 and 2008/9.
The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry estimated that the country emitted 257 megatons of CO2 per year from
deforestation (data, assumptions and period of time were not provided) and that Sumatra contributed 60%
(154 megatons) of that48. The emissions estimates for Sumatra are globally very significant with either
estimates, accounting for either 10 or 20% of the 1.6 gigatons, the IPCC estimate of global annual average
CO2 emissions associated with land use change (primarily deforestation but without peat emissions) in the
1990s49.
Table 4.—Average annual CO2 emissions (megaton) from natural forest loss in Sumatra’s provinces.
Provinces are ranked by 1985 – 2008/9 average annual CO2 emissions.
1985-1990 1990-2000 2000-2008/9 1985-2008/9
CO2 (Mt) % CO2 (Mt) % CO2 (Mt) % CO2 (Mt) %
Riau 126.6 25.9% 103.2 33.9% 122.1 48.0% 114.8 35.1%
South Sumatra 91.3 18.7% 83.4 27.4% 18.7 7.3% 62.6 19.1%
North Sumatra 80.4 16.4% 18.1 6.0% 30.7 12.1% 36.0 11.0%
NAD 49.2 10.1% 16.7 5.5% 19.6 7.7% 24.8 7.6%
Jambi 46.2 9.4% 48.0 15.8% 36.8 14.5% 43.7 13.4%
Lampung 41.3 8.4% 9.4 3.1% 2.4 1.0% 13.9 4.3%
West Sumatra 33.0 6.8% 11.5 3.8% 17.2 6.8% 18.2 5.6%
Bengkulu 21.3 4.3% 13.6 4.5% 6.6 2.6% 12.8 3.9%
TOTAL 489.1 100.0% 304.0 100.0% 254.1 100.0% 326.9 100.0%
In 1985, 85% of the island’s 8.8 million-hectare peatlands (Wetlands International 2003 & Laumonier 1997)
were covered by natural forest (7.5 million hectares), however, 5.0 million hectares of the natural forest were
cleared by 2008/9. Much of the remaining 2.5 million ha of natural forest on peat has been logged or is being
prepared and drained for clearing. Logging and clearing of peatland forest is always preceded by draining of
the peat and clearing is often followed by burning. Both cause significant CO2 emissions. The Indonesian
Ministry of Forestry estimated that 1,061 megatons of CO2 per year were emitted from Sumatra’s peatlands
through clearing, draining and burning between 1990 and 200250 based on Wetlands International (2003)
data. Riau is by far the highest emitter of CO2 from peat degradation and burning (Table 5), the province
caused 65% of Sumatra’s total peat emissions between 1990 and 2002.
Table 5.—Peat carbon stocks in 1990 and 2002, total carbon loss, total CO2 emissions and average annual
emissions by province (Wetlands International 2003).
T otal Annual average
1990 2002 T otal loss
emissions emissions
Carbon (Mt) Carbon (Mt) Carbon (Mt) CO 2 (Mt) CO 2 (Mt) % T otal
Riau 16,851.2 14,605.0 2,246.2 8,236.0 686.3 64.9%
Jambi 1,851.0 1,413.1 437.9 1,605.5 133.8 12.6%
South Sumatra 1,729.3 1,407.2 322.1 1,180.9 98.4 9.3%
North Sumatra 560.7 377.3 183.4 672.4 56.0 5.3%
NAD 561.5 458.9 102.6 376.2 31.4 3.0%
West Sumatra 507.8 422.2 85.5 313.6 26.1 2.5%
Bengkulu 92.1 30.5 61.6 225.7 18.8 1.8%
Lampung 60.3 35.9 24.4 89.4 7.5 0.7%
TOTAL 22,213.8 18,750.2 3,463.6 12,699.7 1,058.3 100.0%
WWF | 26
In summary, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry estimated that Sumatra’s total annual CO2 emissions from
deforestation and peat were 1.22 gigatons per year51. Sumatra’s emissions thus exceeded the combined total
of all annual emission reductions pledged under the Kyoto protocol (0.93 gigatons)52. Sumatra’s emissions
are also equivalent to about three quarters of the whole world’s non peat land-use change emissions.
Combining both this report’s data and the Ministry of Forestry’s data, we conclude that Riau may have
contributed to around 60% of Sumatra’s total emissions from natural forest loss and peat drainage.
Continuing threats to Sumatra’s carbon and the global climate: The “Mega Pulp Project”
disaster
Palm oil plantations are one of two key drivers of deforestation in Sumatra. They are difficult to map as
government databases are out of date and incomplete. Detection of oil palm through remote sensing provides
information on the status quo of plantings but does not indicate the threat posed by existing yet un-executed
licenses. However, Sumatra’s remaining natural forests should, at least in theory, be relatively safe from
conversion to licensed oil palm plantations as most by law should be inside land use zones which do not
allow natural forest conversion to oil palm. Likely, the most severe oil palm threat to Sumatra’s natural
forests is posed by so-called small-holders who illegally encroach even the highest value natural forests.
Industrial timber plantation concessions (HTI), which in Sumatra are almost exclusively “pulpwood
plantations”, are the other key driver of deforestation on Sumatra (Map 9). Despite the fact that Sumatra’s
flat, dry lowland forest is critically endangered (Chapters 6 and 8), HTI concessions converting these forests
continue to be licensed and operated, further depleting the country’s carbon stocks. HTI today are the top
threat to Sumatra’s natural forests as they traditionally have targeted areas with high standing timber volumes,
good forests with high carbon stocks53.
Our study showed the extreme environmental and climate threat posed by the pulp industry. In the 1990s,
Central Kalimantan’s globally infamous “ex Mega Rice Project” cleared and drained a million hectares of
peat and lowland swamp forest to unsuccessfully begin rice cultivation 54 . For years, the Indonesian
government, NGOs and donor agencies have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars to undo the
climate disaster posed by that project. In the 2000s, unnoticed by most in its enormity, Sumatra quietly began
building its own “Mega-Pulp Project” in the peatlands of Riau, Jambi, North, West and South Sumatra.
Already totaling more than 2.2 million ha today, built on much deeper peat, and continuously expanding,
Sumatra’s “Mega Pulp Project” is a climate disaster far worse than the ex Mega Rice Project55.
The ex Mega Rice Project includes 920,000 hectares of >0.5m deep peat, of which 450,000 hectares are >3m
deep56. In contrast, Sumatra’s “Mega Pulp Project” includes close to two million hectares of >0.5m deep peat,
of which at least 850,000 ha are 4 to 8 m deep and an additional 330,000 ha are 2 to 4 m deep (Table 6, Map
9). 65% (1.5 million ha) of the total area have already been deforested for development of severely draining
pulpwood plantations. The remaining 35% (0.8 million ha) were still covered by natural forest in 2008/9 but
could be converted any time.
Table 6.—Industrial Timber Plantation (HTI or “pulpwood plantation”) concessions in Sumatra’s peatlands
(Wetlands International 2003 & Laumonier 1997), and their natural forest cover in 2008/9.
Natural Forest No Natural Forest T otal
Peat depth (cm)
(ha) (%) (% total) (ha) (%) (% total) (ha) (% total)
<50 1,554 23% 0% 5,339 77% 0% 6,893 0%
50 - 100 12,201 6% 2% 180,959 94% 12% 193,160 12%
100 - 200 111,977 18% 14% 494,649 82% 34% 606,626 34%
200 - 400 136,172 42% 17% 190,571 58% 13% 326,743 13%
400 - 800 486,024 57% 62% 363,517 43% 25% 849,541 25%
No info 40,011 15% 5% 221,185 85% 15% 261,196 15%
Total 787,939 35% 100% 1,456,220 65% 100% 2,244,159 100%
27 | WWF
Worse than the sheer size of the “Mega Pulp Project” itself are the emissions it causes. Scientific life cycle
comparisons of carbon budgets over a 25-year period have shown that pulpwood plantation development on
peat soil causes more emissions per hectare than even the ex Mega Rice Project57. The study compared (1)
pristine, undrained peat swamp forest, (2) oil palm plantations, (3) pulpwood plantations (lifecycles of the
latter two involve removal of the original natural forest, drainage, fire, harvesting and replanting) and (4)
deforested, drained peatland that is affected by recurrent fire and is currently not being managed, the
example of which was the ex Mega Rice Project. Acacia pulpwood tree plantations, degraded peatland, and
oil palm plantations, respectively would cause 262, 214 and 147 tons per hectare per year of CO2 emissions.
As a result, peat of an average 4.4-meter thickness would disappear after 31 (5 acacia rotations), 38 and 55
years (2 oil palm rotations), respectively, after which the area might be inundated constantly and all
plantation operations would cease58. Flooded oil palm plantations on the deep peat along Riau’s Kerumutan
peninsula are undeniable proof of this. Shallower peat would go extinct even sooner.
Riau is absolute leader in the “Sumatra Mega Pulp Project”, having allowed the conversion of 71% of the
total area, having already developed 37% of all concession areas in Sumatra and threatening almost all of the
natural peat forest still standing in all pulpwood plantation concessions (Map 9 and Table 7). In comparison,
North and West Sumatra have very little area zoned as HTI, while Jambi and South Sumatra have only little
natural forest left.
Table 7.—Pulpwood plantation (HTI) concessions on peat soil of more or less than 2 meters depth in
Sumatra (Wetlands International 2003 & Laumonier 1997), with or without Natural forest in 2008/9 in four
Sumatran provinces. Provinces are ranked by total area.
Total Peat Area in HTI Concession Already without Natural Forest in 2008/9
Peat < 2 m Peat > 2 m No info Total Peat < 2 m Peat > 2 m No info Subt total
(ha) 269,099 1,118,803 199,477 1,587,380 158,608 504,001 164,924 827,532
Riau
(% total) 12% 50% 9% 71% 7% 22% 7% 37%
(ha) 497,633 0 22,508 520,141 488,055 0 22,088 510,143
South Sumatra
(% total) 22% 0% 1% 23% 22% 0% 1% 23%
(ha) 35,883 57,481 33,835 127,199 33,054 50,087 29,948 113,090
Jambi
(% total) 2% 3% 2% 6% 1% 2% 1% 5%
(ha) 578 0 5,375 5,954 490 0 4,225 4,715
North Sumatra
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
(ha) 3,485 0% 0% 3,485 740 0 0 740
West Sumatra
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
(ha) 806,679 1,176,284 261,196 2,244,159 680,947 554,088 221,185 1,456,220
TOTAL
(% total) 36% 52% 12% 100% 30% 25% 10% 65%
Still with Natural Forest in 2008/9

Peat < 2 m Peat > 2 m No info Subt total
(ha) 110,492 614,802 34,554 759,848
Riau
(% total) 5% 27% 2% 34%
(ha) 9,578 0 420 9,998
South Sumatra
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 0%
(ha) 2,829 7,394 3,887 14,110
Jambi
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 1%
(ha) 89 0 1,150 1,239
North Sumatra
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 0%
(ha) 2,745 0 0 2,745
West Sumatra
(% total) 0% 0% 0% 0%
(ha) 125,732 622,197 40,011 787,939
TOTAL
(% total) 6% 28% 2% 35%
WWF | 28
Map 9.—Natural forest and peat soil (by depth) and pulpwood plantation concessions in Sumatra.
The 72% of Sumatra’s peatlands no longer covered by natural forest today are all being constantly drained
and are causing significant carbon emissions, quickly through burning or slowly through decomposition of
the peat soil. Burning is the most dramatic visible sign of rapid CO2 emissions from peat carbon stores.
Widespread fire hotspots59 and blankets of haze covering large parts of Sumatra, Malaysia and Singapore in
2009 showed that the island’s impact on the global climate is clear and present. But all development of peat
based on drainage of the soil leads to lowered water tables and thus dry and oxidative conditions that cause
emission of all stored carbon through decomposition, continuously, silently, and without the drama of fire
and haze. Fighting peat fires does not mean that emissions stop. And, once developed, the peat’s ability to
sequester carbon and scrub CO2 out of the world’s atmosphere is severely impaired or even destroyed60.
The rush to promote biofuels from palm oil and possibly soon cellulose poses another threat to Sumatra’s
forest and peat carbon stores and the global climate. Several major Indonesian palm oil producers have
29 | WWF
installed large capacities for biofuel production in Sumatra, especially in Riau, the country’s palm oil
epicenter. Yet it would take between 75 and 93 years for fossil-fuel carbon emissions saved through the use
of palm oil biofuel to compensate for the carbon emissions generated by the natural forest conversion
necessary to develop the oil palm plantations. If the palm oil plantation was created on peat with a soil
carbon stock of 1,550 tons per hectare, palm oil biofuel would take an additional 600 years to compensate
with emission savings for the forest and peat destruction it caused61.
Sumatra’s forest conversion industries publicly mislead about these threats. Recently, one of Sumatra’s pulp
& paper companies, a major driver of deforestation and peat degradation, began to claim that it is “near
carbon neutral.” The company added the carbon sequestration of its acacia pulp wood plantations into its
“carbon foot print” formula while ignoring it’s massive clearing of natural forests to create these plantations
and the unmitigated draining of peat soils to operate them62. Such carbon-neutrality claims are fraudulent and
irresponsible misleading of consumers63, 64 and government decision-makers alike.
Survival of Sumatra’s peat lands and protection of its carbon stores
The continuing loss of natural forests and degradation and burning of Sumatra’s peat directly and
significantly counter global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The world has taken increasing
interest in reducing emissions from peat through rehabilitation, because of the very positive cost-benefit ratio.
However, it should not be forgotten that carbon emissions from clearing of Sumatra’s non peat forest are also
globally significant and should be stopped. The emission reduction and cost of rehabilitation of already
degraded areas are as yet unclear, whereas the value of emission avoided by preventing further development
and degradation is very clear.
The mitigation of the huge future emissions from peat will depend on the health of the natural forests
covering the island’s peat soil today. Only then will the long-term storage of Sumatra’s carbon stocks be
ensured. Any form of land use on peat that involves construction of infrastructure (canals, roads), removal of
peatland forest and preparation of peat soil for pulpwood, oil palm or other crop production through drainage
and fire, followed by permanent lowering of the water table and regular harvesting of the planted crops, leads
to the loss of peat soil through carbon emissions. Only unlogged, undrained peatland forest has a positive
carbon balance65. The simplest and most effective measures to prevent further decomposition and burning of
peat are conservation of remaining peatland forests and rehabilitation of degraded peatland forests and peat
by respecting the hydrological catchment areas of each peat landscape66 67. Full protection of the remaining
peatland forests is the only management practice that would ensure recovery (over 50 years or more) and
eventual increase of biomass and thus carbon stores as peat soil accrues. Focusing on extinguishing peatland
fires while continuing land use as usual will not stop carbon emissions. It merely means that it will take
longer for the landscape’s carbon resources to be released into the atmosphere. Total emissions and impact
on the global climate over time would be the same68.
As we showed, the emissions from deforestation and peat degradation in Sumatra have been dramatic in
recent years and the likely emissions over the next few years from licensed but not yet developed
concessions will be huge. Sealing Sumatra’s peat carbon stocks today would have the most dramatic and
most immediate effect on climate mitigation and, compared to industrial climate mitigation approaches,
would likely come at a fraction of the cost per unit CO2. The simplest and most effective measures to prevent
emissions from peat are conservation of remaining peatland forests, rehabilitation of degraded peatland
forests, restoration of cleared peat forest, and rehabilitation of peat soils respecting the hydrological
catchment areas of each peat landscape. Indonesia estimated its BAU emissions for 2020 as 2.9 Gt CO269.
Thus Indonesia’s commitment to reduce emissions by 26% would mean a reduction of 750 Mt. Achieving
“zero-emissions” in Riau Province’s Kampar / Kerumutan Landscape alone could reduce emissions by up to
407 Mt CO2 per year, equivalent to 54% of the reduction target.
WWF | 30
8. Loss of Eco-Floristic Diversity in Sumatra
Sumatra is Indonesia’s only island whose eco-floristic diversity has been studied in great detail. In this
Chapter, we will look at the degradation of this diversity through deforestation.
Stratification of Sumatra into thirty-eight Eco-Floristic Sectors
Laumonier and collaborators conducted 10 years of intensive vegetation surveys in Sumatra in the 1980s.
They combined biogeographical studies and a hierarchical ecological classification of Sumatra’s forests with
tree species distribution and delineated 38 eco-floristic sectors (EFSs) representing unique ecosystems
distinguished by their tree flora and environmental parameters70, 71 (Table 8). This approach was developed
by biogeography and vegetation schools72, 73, 74, was recommended by UNESCO75 and FAO76, 77, and has
inspired the IUCN-WWF centres of plant diversity78. Sumatra’s eco-floristic sectors were grouped into six
“natural regions” (western regions, mountains, eastern hills and piedmonts, eastern peneplains, swamp and
non-swamp), following Verstappen (1973)79. Within each region elevation was a measure used in the
stratification of the sectors. Distinct boundaries occurred at various elevations listed in Table 9.
Table 8.—Sumatra’s 38 Eco-Floristic Sectors (EFSs) and their general elevation. Zonal EFSs were listed
from west to east, north to south.
No. Eco-Floristic Sector Elevation No. Eco-Floristic Sector Elevation
ZONAL ECO-FLORISTIC SECTORS (No. 1-29) Eastern peneplains (No. 21-29)
Western regions (No. 1-8) 21 Langsa < 300 m < 300
1 Tapaktuan - Meulaboh - Lhokruet < 300 m < 300 22 Asahan < 300 m < 300
2 Tapaktuan - Meulaboh - Lhokruet 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 23 Riau - Kwantan to Barumun < 150 m < 150
3 Airbangis - Sibolga - Bakongan < 300 m < 300 24 Upper Batang Hari - Barumun 150 - 300 m 150 - 300
4 Airbangis - Sibolga - Bakongan 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 25 Upper Rawas - Batang Hari 150 - 300 m 150 - 300
5 Pesisir - Indrapura - Talamau < 300 m < 300 26 Jambi - Musi to Kwantan < 150 m < 150
6 Pesisir - Indrapura - Talamau 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 27 Tigapuluh Mountains 150 - 300 m 150 - 300
7 Krui - Bengkulu < 300 m < 300 28 Palembang - South of Musi < 300 m < 300
8 Krui - Bengkulu 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 29 East Lampung < 300 m < 300
Mountains (No. 9-15) AZONAL ECO-FLORISTIC SECTORS (No. 30-38)
9 Submontane North 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 Swamp (No. 30-34)
10 Submontane Central 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 30 Mangroves Swamps 0
11 Submontane South 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 31 Fresh Water Swamps 1-5
12 Montane & Upper Montane North 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 32 Mixed Peat Swamps 2-5
13 Montane & Upper Montane Central 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 33 Peat Swamps 5 - 10
14 Montane & Upper Montane South 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 34 Montane Swamp Vegetation 1000 - 1200 m 1000 - 1200
15 Tropalpine > 2500 m > 2500 Non-Swamp (No. 35-38)
Eastern hills and piedmonts (No. 16-20) 35 Limestone 300 - 800 m 300 - 800
16 Langsa - Banda Aceh 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 36 Coastal 0-5
17 Asahan - Langsa 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 37 Man-made Takengon Pine Forest 500 - 800 m 500 - 800
18 Tembesi - South Tapanuli 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 38 Riparian Forest 2 - 800
19 Semangka - Tembesi 300 - 800 m 300 - 800
20 Tigapuluh Mountains 300 - 800 m 300 - 800
Laumonier defined the EFSs through a combination of biogeographical analysis and stratification of
ecological factors:
z Bioclimates considered variations in intensity of rainfall, rainfall regimes, temperature of the coldest
month and intensity of the dry season.
31 | WWF
z Geology considered especially substrates developed on recent or old alluvium, peat deposits, recent or
old volcanic rocks, granites and sedimentary, metamorphic or intrusive rocks.
z Physiography and geomorphology considered units such as land systems and land units, where
vegetation could have been influenced by fragmentation and isolation caused by river system
development or tectonic and volcanic activity.
EFSs were named according to dominant volcanoes, larger rivers, and large towns or provinces in the area.
For the purpose of clarity and due to scale of representation, only the general distribution of Sumatra’s EFSs
were shown in Map 10, some EFSs were omitted: (1) five EFSs in the “swamp” natural region, in which
important eco-floristic distinctions were made, (2) Tropalpine > 2500 m in “mountains” natural region and
(3) four EFSs in “non-swamp” natural region, which were ecologically important, but occupied very small
areas.
Map 10.—Generalized zonation of Sumatra based on Eco-Floristic Sectors in seven natural regions.
Loss of natural forest in Sumatra’s eco-floristic sectors and their extinction risks
By 2008, some EFSs had lost more than 90% of their 1985 natural forest cover, while others had not lost any
(Map11 and Table 9). The forests in individual EFSs clearly faced different levels of extinction risk. We
followed the IUCN nomenclature for threatened species categories and defined five “extinction risk
categories” for eco-floristic sectors based on the percentage of 1985 natural forest that had been lost in the
respective EFS by 2008/9 (Map 11 and Table 9)d:
• Critically Endangered: EFS had lost more than 70% of 1985 natural forest by 2008/9
• Endangered: EFS had lost 50 to 70% of 1985 natural forest by 2008/9
• Vulnerable: EFS had lost 40 to 50% of 1985 natural forest by 2008/9
• Near Threatened: EFS had lost 20 to 40% of 1985 natural forest by 2008/9
• Least Concern: EFS had lost less than 20% of 1985 natural forest by 2008/9
d
A few EFS changed their category since Laumonier et al. (2010) paper was published since forest cover 2006/7 were corrected
based on 2008/9.
WWF | 32
Map 11.—Natural forest cover loss in Sumatra’s eco-floristic sectors between 1985 and 2008/9.
33 | WWF
Table 9.—Loss of natural forest cover 1985-2008 in each eco-floristic sector and their conservation status
based on percentage of natural forest loss since 1985 (Critically Endangered: red, Endangered: orange,
Vulnerable: yellow, Near Threatened: light green and Least Concern: dark green).
Natural Forest Natural Forest Extinction
Elevation
No. Eco-Floristic Sector 1985 2008/9 Loss 1985-2008/9 Risk
Class
(ha) (ha) (ha) (%) Category
Western regions (No. 1-8)
1 T apaktuan - Meulaboh - Lhokruet < 300 m < 300 534,073 368,808 165,265 31% NT
2 T apaktuan - Meulaboh - Lhokruet 300 - 800 m 300-800 465,076 424,673 40,402 9% LC
3 Airbangis - Sibolga - Bakongan < 300 m < 300 598,211 351,822 246,389 41% VU
4 Airbangis - Sibolga - Bakongan 300 - 800 m 300-800 468,956 354,830 114,126 24% NT
5 Pesisir - Indrapura - T alamau < 300 m < 300 626,704 315,330 311,374 50% EN
6 Pesisir - Indrapura - T alamau 300 - 800 m 300-800 394,700 361,555 33,145 8% LC
7 Krui - Bengkulu < 300 m < 300 319,525 161,963 157,562 49% VU
8 Krui - Bengkulu 300 - 800 m 300-800 238,658 178,991 59,666 25% NT
Mountains (No. 9-15)
9 Submontane North 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 1,917,250 1,665,792 251,458 13% LC
10 Submontane Central 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 842,913 789,200 53,713 6% LC
11 Submontane South 800 - 1300 m 800 - 1300 602,847 502,652 100,195 17% LC
12 Montane & Upper Montane North 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 199,273 197,657 1,616 1% LC
13 Montane & Upper Montane Central 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 44,885 44,279 607 1% LC
14 Montane & Upper Montane South 1300 - 2500 m 1300 - 2500 38,017 37,991 26 0% LC
15 T ropalpine > 2500 m > 2500 79,968 79,497 471 1% LC
Eastern hills and piedmonts (No. 16-20)
16 Langsa - Banda Aceh 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 m 151,406 123,121 28,285 19% LC
17 Asahan - Langsa 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 m 434,396 350,342 84,054 19% LC
18 T embesi - South Tapanuli 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 m 639,672 544,025 95,647 15% LC
19 Semangka - T embesi 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 m 375,474 255,079 120,395 32% NT
20 T igapuluh Mountains 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 m 5,011 4,995 16 0% LC
Eastern peneplains (No. 21-29)
21 Langsa < 300 m < 300 674,025 403,625 270,400 40% VU
22 Asahan < 300 m < 300 261,673 57,129 204,544 78% CR
23 Riau - Kwantan to Barumun < 150 m < 150 1,612,036 149,720 1,462,316 91% CR
24 Upper Batang Hari - Barumun 150 - 300 m 150 - 300 648,133 447,051 201,082 31% NT
25 Upper Rawas - Batang Hari 150 - 300 m 150 - 300 524,876 280,799 244,077 47% VU
26 Jambi - Musi to Kwantan < 150 m < 150 2,448,801 549,942 1,898,859 78% CR
27 T igapuluh Mountains 150 - 300 m 150 - 300 222,892 207,850 15,042 7% LC
28 Palembang - South of Musi < 300 m < 300 996,837 225,117 771,720 77% CR
29 East Lampung < 300 m < 300 614,033 59,285 554,748 90% CR
Swamp (No. 30-34)
30 Mangroves Swamps 0 595,903 444,055 151,848 25% NT
31 Fresh Water Swamps 1-5 2,450,357 589,661 1,860,696 76% CR
32 Mixed Peat Swamps 2-5 3,943,918 1,511,042 2,432,876 62% EN
33 Peat Swamps 5 - 10 506,848 250,753 256,095 51% EN
34 Montane Swamp Vegetation 1000 - 1200 m 1000 - 1200 2,331 676 1,655 71% CR
Non-Swamp (No. 35-38)
35 Limestone 300 - 800 m 300 - 800 414,037 340,919 73,118 18% LC
36 Coastal 0-5 15,340 4,192 11,148 73% CR
37 Man-made T akengon Pine Forest 500 - 800 m 500 - 800 143,646 26,074 117,572 82% CR
38 Riparian Forest 2 - 800 54,849 11,166 43,684 80% CR
WWF | 34
By 2008/9, 17 out of Sumatra’s 38 eco-floristic sectors (EFSs) had become ‘critically endangered’,
‘endangered’, or ‘vulnerable’. Eighty-seven percent of all Sumatran forest loss occurred in these EFSs.
Almost forty % of all natural forest in 2008/9 remained in these EFSs. 87% of Sumatra’s all natural forest
loss (10.8 million ha) happened in these EFSs. 39% of all natural forest remaining in Sumatra (4.9 million
ha) in 2008/9 were in these EFSs, many of them in Sumatra’s “eastern peneplains”, “swamp” and
“non-swamp” natural regions (Table 4, Table 10 and Map 12). Most of the forest loss occurred in EFSs
with an elevation of less than 150 meters (Chapter 6).
Table 10.—Loss of natural forest in eco-floristic sectors by extinction risk category or by natural region.
Natural Forest
Eco-Floristic Sector by 1985 - 2008/9 loss
1985 2008/9
Extinction Risk Category
(ha) (ha) (% Total) (ha) (% Total)
Critically Endangered 8,599,903 1,672,962 13.2% 6,926,942 55.7%
Endangered 4,450,765 1,761,794 13.9% 2,688,971 21.6%
Vulnerable 2,743,340 1,513,538 11.9% 1,229,802 9.9%
Near T hreatened 2,861,196 2,048,814 16.2% 812,383 6.5%
Least Concern 6,452,342 5,674,547 44.8% 777,795 6.3%
Total 25,107,547 12,671,655 100.0% 12,435,891 100.0%
Natural Forest
Eco-Floristic Sector by 1985 - 2008/9 loss
1985 2008/9
Extinction Risk Category
(ha) (ha) (% Total) (ha) (% Total)
Western region 3,645,902 2,517,972 19.9% 1,127,929 9.1%
Mountains 3,725,153 3,317,068 26.2% 408,085 3.3%
Eastern hills and piedmonts 1,605,959 1,277,562 10.1% 328,397 2.6%
Eastern peneplains 8,003,305 2,380,517 18.8% 5,622,788 45.2%
Swamp 7,499,356 2,796,186 22.1% 4,703,170 37.8%
Non-Swamp 627,872 382,350 3.0% 245,522 2.0%
Total 25,107,547 12,671,655 100.0% 12,435,891 100.0%
The remaining forests in selected “critically endangered” and “endangered” EFSs were highlighted in Map
12. The following four EFSs were also critically endangered or endangered, but because of their very
restricted distribution could not easily be shown on this small map (Table 10):
z Montane Swamp Vegetation 1000 - 1200 m: 71% was lost and only 676 hectares remained in Jambi.
z Riparian Forest: 80% was lost and only 11,166 hectares remained in 2008 in various provinces.
z Man-made Takengon Pine Forest 500 - 800 m: 82% was lost and only 26,074 hectares remained in
Aceh.
z Coastal: 73% was lost and 4,192 hectares remained in various provinces.
“Vulnerable” EFRs included:

z Airbangis-Sibolga-Bakongan < 300 m: 41% was lost and 351,822 hectares remained in Aceh, North
Sumatra and West Sumatra.
z Krui-Bengkulu < 300 m: 49% was lost and 161,963 hectares remained in Bengkulu, South Sumatra
and Lampung.
z Langsa < 300 m: 40% was lost and 403,625 hectares remained in Aceh and North Sumatra.
z Upper Rawas-Batang Hari 150 - 300 m: 47% was lost and 280,799 hectares remained in West
Sumatra, Riau and Jambi.
Natural forest in all EFSs in Sumatra’s “mountains” and “eastern hills and piedmonts” natural regions were
“near threatened” or of “least concern” (Table 9). They were either legally protected or, if not, they seemed
to have been left alone because of high elevation and terrain features that made them difficult to access and
develop by the forest conversion industries or local people. However, once the natural forests of critically
endangered, endangered and vulnerable EFSs are gone, less-accessible forests will become the next targets.
35 | WWF
Asahan < 300 m (CR): 78% loss with only
57,129 ha remaining. Largest contiguous
forest remaining in and around Dolok
Surungan Wildlife Sanctuary in North Fresh Water Swamps
Sumatra. (CR): 76% loss, Mixed
Peat Swamps (EN): 62%
loss and Peat Swamps
(EN): 51% loss. Together
2.4 million ha remained,
mainly in Riau (Senepis,
Riau - Kwantan to Barumun < 150 m Giam Siak Kecil, Kampar
(CR): 91% loss with only 149,720 ha and Kerumutan), in and
remaining. Largest contiguous forest around Berbak National
remaining in and around Tesso Nilo Park between Jambi and
National Park in Riau. South Sumatra and in the
Singkil and Tripa areas in
Jambi - Musi to Kwantan < 150 m (CR): 78% Aceh Province.
loss with only 549,942 ha remaining. Large
contiguous forests remaining in the lowland
surrounding Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in
Jambi and Riau, in and around Bukit Duabelas
National Park in Jambi and in what is known as
Hutan Harapan in Jambi and South Sumatra
Palembang - South of Musi < 300 m (CR): 77% loss with
only 225,117 ha remaining. Largest contiguous forest
remaining in Jambi and South Sumatra Provinces, inside
and outside Kerinci Seblat National Park. Smaller forest
blocks remaining in the south of South Sumatra Province.
East Lampung < 300 m
(CR): 90% loss with only 59,285
ha remaining. Largest
contiguous forest remaining in
Way Kambas National Park in
Lampung Province.
Map 12.—All natural forest remaining in Sumatra in 2008, color-coded to reflect the risk that the forests
in any given eco-floristic sector will go extinct. Largest contiguous natural forest areas in critically
endangered (CR) and endangered (EN) EFSs are highlighted.
Survival requirements
Eco-floristic sectors represent Sumatra’s original floristic diversity within (alpha) and between (beta)
ecosystems. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity within a particular area or ecosystem, usually expressed as
the number of species (i.e., species richness) in that ecosystem80. Beta diversity refers to the change in
species diversity between ecosystems, expressed as the total number of species that are unique to each of the
ecosystems being compared81. Full representation of all EFS is essential to preserve the original diversity of
WWF | 36
Sumatra’s eco-floristic systems. Yet, extinction risks and vulnerability to future threats are high in many
EFSs and some may soon be lost.
Island, provincial and district land-use planning processes should consider EFS delineations presented here
as a premier first-level decision making tool (Chapter 10) for the designation of urgently needed new
conservation and forest restoration areas that would mitigate the imminent threats to the island’s original
biodiversity and prevent EFS extinction82.
37 | WWF
9. Decline of Sumatra’s Four Flagship Species: Elephant, Orangutan,
Tiger and Rhino
As Sumatra’s natural forests have disappeared, so have the animals they harbor. In this chapter, we will
look at the decline of Sumatra’s charismatic mega-fauna, its four endemic flagship species: the Sumatran
elephant, orangutan, tiger and rhino.
9.1. Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus spp. sumatranus)

2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Category: Endangered83
CITES: Appendix I84
The Sumatran elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant found only on the Indonesian island of
Sumatra. Its highest current total population estimate is 2,800, though there have not been any systematic
island-wide surveys. Between 1985 and 2007, the population is believed to have declined up to 50%.
Populations
1985: An island-wide rapid survey suggests that between 2,800 and 4,800 elephants live in the wild in 43
ranges in all eight mainland provinces85 of Sumatra. Riau Province is believed to have the largest elephant
population in Sumatra.
2007: Guesstimates suggest that between 2,400 and 2,800 elephants live in the wild86. Given the very high
number of elephants brought into captivity since 198587 , the high mortality experienced during these
government capture-and-translocation operations88, and the high numbers of elephants lost to retaliatory
killing after human-elephant conflict89 and poaching (based on local newspaper reports), it is highly likely
that Sumatra’s total population size in 1985 might actually have been greater than even that year’s high
estimate of 4,800 elephants suggests. In any case, in only one generation – between 1985 and 2007 –
Sumatra may have lost up to 50% of its elephants.
2008: By 2008, elephants had become locally extinct in 23 of the 43 ranges identified in Sumatra in 1985
(Map 13), indicating a very significant decline of the Sumatran elephant population since then. The elephant
is locally extinct in one of Sumatra’s eight mainland provinces (West Sumatra) and may vanish from North
Sumatra Province soon. Only 210 elephants survive across nine separate ranges in Riau, which in 1985 was
considered to have the largest elephant population in Sumatra with over 1,600 individuals.
Simple extrapolations from past population history suggests that Riau’s last surviving elephants may soon
disappear if the current trend of forest loss continues90. A 2009 survey of nine forest blocks in Riau that had
elephant herds in 2007 revealed that six herds had gone extinct91.
Still, Sumatra is thought to have some of the largest populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri
Lanka. Elaborate dung count surveys in Lampung Province’s two national parks, Bukit Barisan Selatan and
Way Kambas, produced population estimates of 498 (95% CI=[373, 666]) and 180 (95% CI=[144, 225])
elephants, respectively. But province-wide surveys at the same time also showed that by 2002 elephants had
gone locally extinct in nine of 12 elephant ranges recorded in Lampung in the early 1980s92.
Main threats
The decline of elephant numbers has been related to forest loss,93 which remains the single biggest threat to
Sumatra’s elephants. Clear-cutting by the pulp & paper and palm oil industries continues to wipe out
remaining elephant forests or fragments them so much that they can no longer maintain viable populations.
Encroachment into conservation areas for production of palm oil, rubber, and coffee and other agricultural
products is severely threatening even the areas specifically designated for conservation. Most of Sumatra’s
WWF | 38
23 “extinctions” of local elephant herds happened in areas where large areas of forest were lost or severely
fragmented (Map 13). Riau Province lost 63% of its forest between 1985 and 2008/9 (Chapter 6), but its
elephant population declined even faster: up to 84% between 1985 and 200794. Further clearance, logging
and encroachment of forest will cause further loss and fragmentation of elephant habitat and increase the
potential for a significant increase in human-elephant conflict.
Retaliatory killings after human-elephant conflict (HEC) are the other, though closely related, major threat to
Sumatran elephants. HEC is widespread throughout Sumatra. Its main cause is the ever-changing and
increasing interface between elephant and human utilization zones. More and more people and their crops
enter natural elephant habitat and reduce it further and further. But elephants do not simply go away. They
begin feeding in the oil palm plantations and crop fields that have replaced their forest. As that conflict of
interest over access to land escalates, elephants are poisoned by angry plantation managers and small land
holders or removed by local authorities in poorly managed capture or translocation operations that have high
mortality rates95, 96, 97.
Conflict rates are highest at the interface, where shrinking and fragmented natural forests were recently
replaced by oil palm plantations and agricultural fields, often illegally. Deaths on both sides, destruction of
houses, plantations and/or fields are the result. Efforts to solve the issue and chase the elephants back into the
natural forest have become less and less effective as the remaining natural forest blocks get smaller and
smaller and elephants are forced to leave them again in search of food. By 2008/9, 46% of all elephant
population ranges did not have natural forest cover. Areas covered by oil palm or other agriculture are likely
to experience high levels of conflict between elephants and humans.
Instead of mitigating HEC using the many tools readily available at the local level, authorities have been
responding to conflict reports by translocating unwelcome elephants to ranges in other areas that were
already suffering from shrinking habitat and food resources. Many elephants died in the process and some
relocated animals tried to move back to their original habitat, causing more conflict along the way. Other
elephants were captured and moved to so-called elephant training centers. High mortality due to poor
management, capture, training and maintenance standards resulted in the loss of a large number of
elephants. But even those who survived were still lost to the wild gene pool. Some of the elephant herds
that became locally extinct did so because of such translocations and captures. Between 1984 and 2008,
341 and 227 elephants were recorded to have been captured in Lampung and Riau98, 99, 100, respectively.
The actual figures very likely were much higher as elephant deaths during these captures tended to go
undocumented in the official reports101.
Poaching exclusively for the trade of elephant tusks has been observed. But killing of elephants mostly
seems to serve two purposes: conflict resolution and ivory. All male elephants killed in conflict and during
captures by the authorities had their tusks removed. The ivory disappeared without a trace.
An adult elephant eats 100 to 300 kilograms of food and drinks 200 liter of water per day102. Elephants live
in family groups that form larger related groupings known as clans. Clans need large areas of forest with
adequate resources (food and water sources) to survive. Elephants will feed on natural vegetation when their
home ranges are intact and un-fragmented 103 but will also use agricultural crops whenever they are
accessible or when natural food is inadequate due to loss or fragmentation of forests. As forests disappear,
increasing numbers of elephants die in conflict with humans over crop raiding. More than two third of all
elephant ranges are outside Conservation or Protection Forest zones today; 46% of all 2007 elephant habitat
units were no longer covered by natural forest in 2008/9.
Island, provincial and district land-use planning processes should consider the urgent need of Sumatran
elephants for large blocks of connected forest or other natural habitats (Chapter 10) in the designation of
urgently needed new conservation and forest restoration areas that would ensure the survival of the country’s
elephants. Authorities and plantation owners should ensure that plantation and agricultural crops adjoining
39 | WWF
forest blocks with elephants are professionally and effectively protected from elephants in search of food to
eliminate the need to poison or capture and translocate the animals.
Disappearance
of population
ranges
1
Fragmentation and
2
shrinkage of
3 population
4 ranges
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Map 13.—Loss and fragmentation of natural forest cover and the ranges of Sumatran elephant populations
between 1985 and 2007/2008. Natural forest in 1985 (grey) and 2008 (black) are shown with 1985 elephant
ranges which had disappeared by 2008 (red) and original 1985 elephant ranges (yellow) which had shrunk
or become fragmented by 2008 (light blue).
WWF | 40
9.2. Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)
2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Category: Critically Endangered104
CITES: Appendix I105
The Sumatran orangutan, endemic to Sumatra, is one of two orangutan species. Its sister species lives on the
island of Borneo. The lowest published total population estimate is 6,624106, indicating an at least 50%
decline since 1990s107. Over the last 75 years, until 2007, the orangutan population is believed to have
declined by over 80%108.
Populations
Until the 1960s: Until at least the mid-1800s, Sumatran orangutans occurred as far south as Jambi and
Padang109. They were reported in parts of West Sumatra Province as recently as the 1960s110. Red
boundaries in Map 14a show these old habitat units111. There is no reliable total population estimate for this
time period.
1990s: By 1992, orangutans only remained in Aceh and North Sumatra (blue boundary, Map 14a)112. Data
from before the Aceh conflict are scant and not convincing. Experts had assumed that orangutans had
existed in northern Aceh (circled by red hatchet line) simply for lack of a good reason why they wouldn't
be. However, it now seems almost certain that they have not been there for decades, if not much longer113.
In 1997, 12,770 orangutans were estimated to live in Sumatra114.
2001-2002: Surveys by Wich et al. (2003)115 found no evidence of orangutans south of the areas adjacent
to the Batang Toru river (Map 14b). The remaining habitat units had become more fragmented or smaller.
7,501 Sumatran orangutans were estimated in 21 habitat units around 2001 and 2002116, 117.
These units may

have never
existed or
disappeared
decades ago.
Map 14 a & b.—Natural forest in 1990 and Sumatran orangutan habitat units in 1992 (left map) and
natural forest in 2007 and Sumatran orangutan habitat units in 2002 (right map).
2007: The lowest published population estimate for Sumatran orangutans is 6,624 individuals living in 18
habitat units118 (Map 15). The “Leuser Ecosystem” conservation area (purple boundary in the map) is the
remaining stronghold for the Sumatran orangutan with 91.7% of all Sumatran orangutans occurring within its
boundary119. The 2.6 million hectare conservation area120 includes the 1,094,692 hectare Gunung Leuser
National Park (large area with black boundary inside the Leuser Ecosystem) with about 25% of all
orangutans121. The three largest populations (with more than 1,000 individuals each) occur in the lowlands of
41 | WWF
the Leuser Ecosystem122. Another 8.3% of the population is found in the West Batang Toru and East Sarulla
forest blocks, in the Tapanuli region of North Sumatra.
In addition to the original wild populations, a new population is being established with the reintroduction
of confiscated illegal pets in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park landscape, straddling the border between
Jambi and Riau provinces. The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), in collaboration with Bukit Tigapuluh
National Park and BKSDA Jambi, had released 101 orangutans at the border of the park by the end of
2008123.
Gunung Leuser
National Park
Map 15.—Orangutan habitat units, natural forest cover in 2007, Leuser Ecosystem Conservation Area
(purple boundary), and Gunung Leuser National Park (arrow).
Main threats
Development of oil palm plantations and other agricultural encroachment, roads, illegal and legal logging,
transmigration, and slash-and-burn farming continue to lead to orangutan habitat destruction, disturbance and
fragmentation124. These often lead to human-orangutan conflict. Orangutans raiding fruit crops are often
killed. When females carrying infants are targeted, the latter are captured and given into private hands and
the illegal pet trade.125. The majority of illegal pet orangutans confiscated by the authorities are kept by
police and military personnel or local government leaders.
Two major threats to the core range of orangutans are developing today. The Ladia Galaska road network in
Aceh will rapidly fragment most of the remaining populations. The post-conflict resumption of activities by
logging and palm oil concession-holders will severely disturb and clear large tracts of the remaining lowland
forests in Aceh. Clearing of forests results in the local extinction of any resident orangutans. Logging and
other roads facilitate access to the forests for poachers and hunters.126. The December 2004 tsunami escalated
the situation by generating a dramatic increase in the demand for timber and other natural resources127.
The introduced orangutan population in Jambi is also in peril. Rather than moving into the relative safety
of the steep interior of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, the released individuals tend to prefer the more level
terrain and slightly richer forests surrounding the park. There they have recently come under serious threat
from the Asia Pulp & Paper company of the Sinar Mas Group128, 129, 130 which is beginning the conversion
WWF | 42
of these natural forests for pulp and paper production.
Differently from the very rapid dying of Sumatran elephants, most of the extinctions of Sumatran orangutan
habitat units happened over a long period of time prior to 1990. Since then, the landscapes of the remaining
orangutan units have not lost much natural forest. In 2008/9, 94% of all 2007 orangutan habitat units were
covered by natural forest. But they now have come under threat. Habitat units have become fragmented and
shrunk even in Aceh’s relatively large contiguous natural forest areas. In 2008, 76% of all 2007 orangutan
habitat units were inside Conservation or Protection Forest zones. Most of the orangutan forest outside
Conservation Class is inside the Leuser Ecosystem, established by a Presidential Decree, ratified by the
Minister of Forestry, implicitly mentioned as a conservation area in the Aceh Governance Law (UU11 2006),
in which no development is allowed that conflicts with conservation and in which all land use decisions must
be agreed to by the Aceh Government.
Sumatran orangutans depend on high quality primary lowland forests with little disturbance; their densities
may plummet by up to 60% in areas with even selective logging131. Although timber extraction may, in
certain situations, be compatible with orangutan conservation, the total conversion of forest to monoculture
plantations is not, and industrial timber and oil palm plantations do not provide viable orangutan habitat132.
The latter may incite conflict in which orangutans die. Home ranges of female orangutans can be 800 to
1,500 hectares and males may range in excess of 3,000 hectares133.
orangutans for large blocks of high-quality, undisturbed forest not intersected by infrastructure like roads in
the designation of urgently needed new conservation areas that would ensure the survival of the island’s
orangutans. Authorities and plantation owners should ensure that plantation and agricultural crops adjoining
forest blocks with orangutans are professionally and effectively protected from animals in search of food to
eliminate the need to shoot or capture the conflict animals.
43 | WWF
9.3. Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Category: Critically Endangered134
The Sumatran rhinoceros today may be restricted to Sumatra and Borneo. The species also once was widely
present in Peninsula Malaysia, however, extremely low rhino track encounter rates recorded in recent years
indicate that the Sumatran rhinoceros is probably close to extinction in mainland Asia136, 137, 138. It is one of
three extant rhino species in Asia and is the smallest and the most primitive species of all living rhinos139.
Another rhino species in Indonesia, the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), is also critically
endangered, surviving in two tiny surviving populations: around 50 individuals on the very western tip of the
Indonesian island of Java140, 141 and maybe as few as six individuals remaining in Vietnam142.
The Sumatran rhinoceros is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List due to severe global decline
of more than 80% over three generations (generation length is estimated at 20 years) and because its global
population size is estimated to number fewer than 200 mature individuals and without effective intervention,
the species is expected to continue to decline at least by 25% within one generation143. Sumatran rhinoceros
in Sumatra is one of three recognized subspecies (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis)144 with the current
population estimate of between 145 and 200 individuals145. Over the last 21 years (one generation), between
1986 and 2007, the population estimate declined by up to 82% (Table 11).
Populations
Before 1986: Van Strien146 compiled sites of rhino sightings, tracks, killings, captures, wallows in the
field and from local reports between 1790 and 1973 and believed Sumatra rhinos originally existed in all
provinces of mainland Sumatra (Map 16). However, there was no island-wide estimate of Sumatra’s rhino
population until 1986. Contemporary literature suggests that population densities of Sumatran rhinos were
already low throughout their range by the late 19th century, including their supposed “stronghold” of
Sumatra147, suggesting that typical population density of the species is naturally low (lower, for example,
than elephants or wild cattle) and/or that prolonged hunting had already reduced numbers everywhere. The
fact that both Javan rhinos and tapirs became extinct throughout much of their former range in Sumatra
and Borneo before the dramatic expansion of humans suggests that these large browsers do not naturally
live high densities in closed canopy tropical rainforests.
1986: The total number of Sumatran rhinos in Sumatra is estimated between 425 and 800. These estimates
are simply educated guesses and hence must be treated with caution. The three most important rhino areas
were: Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan148 (Table 11).
1991: Until the early 1990's global numbers continued to decline at a rapid rate with estimated losses of
50% or more per decade149. By 1991, between 420-785 Sumatran rhinoceros are estimated to live on
Sumatra150. The global population is estimated at between 536 and 962 animals151.
1993: Between 215 and 319 Sumatran rhinoceros are estimated for Sumatra152.
1995: 156 Sumatran rhinoceros are estimated for Sumatra153.
1997: The global population of Sumatran rhinoceros is estimated at fewer than 400154. Between 100 and 250
rhinos are estimated for Sumatra with the largest populations in Gunung Leuser, Bukit Barisan Selatan and
Kerinci Seblat155.
2007: Over the last decade, eight populations of Sumatran rhinoceros in Sumatra have gone extinct (Table
11). Poaching pressure had reduced their population to an estimated 145 to 200 individuals living in
Gunung Leuser National Park (60–80), elsewhere in Aceh Province (10–15), Bukit Barisan Selatan
National Park (60–80) and Way Kambas National Park (15–25)156 (ranges shown in blue boundary in Map
16). Although the numbers suggested for Gunung Leuser National Park are between 60 and 80 individuals,
WWF | 44
those numbers have not been confirmed by surveys.
Table 11.—Population estimates of wild Sumatran rhinoceros.

Captive Rhino number
Breeding
Forest
Location Province Program
Status 1986158 1991159 1993160 1995161 2007162
1988-1992
157
Way Kambas TN Lampung No data No data No data 3-5 16 15-25

Bukit Barisan
TN Lampung No data 25-60 25-60 25-60 22 60-80
Selatan
South
Gunung Patah HL No data Few Unknown 10-15 12 Extinct
Sumatra
Bukit Tapan/
West
Silaut (Kerinci TN No data No data No data 5 5 Extinct
Sumatra
Seblat NP)
Kerinci Seblat
G. Sumbing
NP (Gn
(40-50),
Sumbing –
Bt.Kayu
Masurai,
TN No data Embun
SungaiIpuh/
(10-15),
Gn Seblat, Bt Jambi
250-500 250-500 Ketenong 28 Extinct
Kayu embun, Bengkulu
(unknown)
Ketenong)
Around Kerinci 7 captured
Seblat in S. S.Ipuh/G.Sebl
HP
NP(Sungai Ipuh/G/ at (6-7)
Ipuh/G. Seblat) Seblat
Perhaps
Berbak TN Jambi No data No data Present 4 Extinct
extinct
Bukit Hitam HL Bengkulu No data No data No data 3-5 5 Extinct
HP & oil
Torgamba/
palm Riau 8 captured 10-15 Very few 3-5 4 Extinct
Tanjung Medan
plantation
Rokan Hilir HP Riau No data No data No data Present Small Extinct
Pangarayan/
HP Riau 3 captured No data No data 2 No data Extinct
Dalu-dalu
Gunung Leuser TN Aceh No data 130-200 130-200 90-120 60 60-80
Lesten/
HL, HP Aceh Few 15-25
Serbojadi
No data 15-25 No data 10-15
Lokop (300 ha) CA and HP Aceh Few 3-5
G Abong-abong HL Aceh 10-25 Present
18
Total in Sumatra 425-800 420-785 215-319 156 145-200
captured
* Abbreviations: TN: National Park, HL: Protection Forest, HP: Production Forest, CA: Natural Reserve.
Main threats
The three principal threats are habitat encroachment, reduced population viability and poaching163. Poaching
is primarily driven by the assumed medicinal properties of rhino horns and other body parts164. Many rhinos
were lost to poaching in the early to mid-1990s165. Though poaching has been brought largely under control
from 1997 onwards166, eight populations went extinct between 1997 and 2007, including a quite large
45 | WWF
population in Kerinci Seblat National Park (Table 11).
Centuries of over-hunting have reduced this species to a tiny percentage of its former population and range
with very small numbers in each locality167. The species is now so reduced that there are very small numbers
in each locality where it still survives, and indications of births are uncommon everywhere168. However,
signs of at least seven calves or juveniles were found during surveys in Way Kambas National Park in 2008
and 2009169. There is also likely to be a so far speculative but severe risk of inbreeding depression170. The
expansion and reinforcement of anti-poaching programmes is the top priority if this species is to survive171.
An extensive international co-operative programme for the conservation of this species is being implemented
with in situ activities being conducted in Indonesia and Malaysia. In Sumatra, “Rhino Protection Units” were
developed in Way Kambas, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat National Parks in 1997 as effective
anti-poaching teams with law enforcement power. After dramatic declines in population numbers in Gunung
Leuser, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas National Parks, these populations appear to be slowly
expanding in number and range again in recent years, mainly due to intensive anti-poaching measures
implemented by Rhino Protection Units 172. Rhino Patrol Units are operating in Bukit Barisan Selatan and
Way Kampas National Park. No poaching incident has been reported from there since 2005 when one rhino
was shot by poachers in BBSNP.
Habitat loss is now probably the major threat to the survival of Sumatran rhinos and is caused by logging,
mining, shifting agriculture and other land uses. Lowland forest habitats and wetlands are particularly
threatened since these are the areas most accessible for agricultural development173. All Sumatran rhinoceros
in Sumatra are now confined within officially protected areas (National Parks or Protection Areas), except a
small population in Aceh (10-15 individuals thought to live outside Gunung Leuser National Park).
Sometimes rhinos wander into agricultural lands adjacent to the protected areas. In Bukit Barisan Selatan
National Park rhinos often go out into the Andatu selective logging concession adjacent to the park, which
still has good forest and is of great importance for rhinos.
Historically, the Sumatran rhino used a variety of habitats ranging from lowland swamp forest to primary
rain forest up to an altitude of 1,900 meters174. Rhinos are typically browsers, feeding on a large number of
different species, mostly shrubs and trees. Male and female rhinos both establish territories. There they use
wallows and visit salt lick regularly. Rhinos live for a week, a month or considerably longer in an area of 8
to 10 kilometers2, then move a considerable distance, but often return to the original locality.175 This strict
regime of visiting fixed sites within their territory makes rhinos very vulnerable to poaching.
Island, provincial and district land-use planning processes cannot directly influence poaching but they can
ensure that roads and other infrastructure are not planned near to or even dissecting contiguous forest
blocks occupied by rhinos. Such infrastructure improves access by poachers which may wipe out a whole
rhino population in a very short time and it effectively reduces the habitat available to rhino as they tend to
roam far away from roads. Authorities need to dramatically increase anti-poaching efforts to secure the
survival of the few rhinos remaining today.
WWF | 46
Map 16.—Loss and fragmentation of natural forest cover between 1990 and 2007, rhino sightings between
1790 and 1973 and the ranges of Sumatran rhino populations between 1990s and 2007. Natural forest in
1990 (grey) and 2007 (black) shown with rhino sightings between 1790 and 1973176 (red dots), 1990s rhino
ranges177 (yellow boundary) and 2007 ranges178 (light blue boundary).
47 | WWF
9.4. Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Category: Critically Endangered179
The Sumatran tiger, found only in Sumatra, is one of five extant tiger subspecies recognized by phylogenetic
analysis181. Mazak & Groves (2006) consider Sumatran tiger as a distinct species182. Three (or four if the
South China tiger, P.t.amoyensis, is included) tiger subspecies are considered extinct in the most recent
IUCN Red List assessment183. Two subspecies in Indonesia went extinct on the islands of Java and Bali in
the 1980’s and 1940’s, respectively. The Sumatran tiger is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species, with an effective (breeding) population of likely fewer than 250 mature
individuals, suffering from habitat loss and illegal hunting184. Data on historical and current population size
and distribution are limited and have relied on models that use tiger habitat availability and potential tiger
carrying capacity within habitat types as indicators.
Populations
1977: 1,000 tigers estimated to be alive in the wild185.
1992: 500 tigers estimated to be alive in the wild186.
2007: Research covering most of the main tiger habitat suggests a population size of 441-679 individuals187.
Rather than indicating a possible population increase between 1992 and 2007, these revised estimates reflect
an improvement in the assessment methods and availability of better spatial habitat data. Furthermore, at
least 250 tigers are estimated from camera trapping studies in eight out of the 18 areas recognized as
potential Sumatran tiger habitat188. However, the method of estimation in these surveys was different from
the one used for the 1992 estimate, making direct comparisons difficult. Reliable information on Sumatra
tiger distribution is limited and confined to regional level mapping of so-called tiger conservation units
(TCUs) that were developed in 1998189 and revised as tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs) in 2006190
(Map 17). Sumatra has twelve TCLs, 16% of all TCLs in all range countries. Here we used TCU and TCL
locations merely as indicators for tiger presence, with the grading of TCLs from long-term to regional to
global indicating increasing likelihood of the presence of a viable population. However, tigers have
frequently been reported from many areas outside of the TCLs shown here. It thus appears prudent to apply
the precautionary principle and assume tigers to be present throughout the TCUs and Sumatra’s forested
landscape and beyond.
The whole of Sumatra is currently being surveyed using a scientifically defensible field and statistical
methodology that should produce a more specific tiger estimate than is currently available.
Main threats
Sumatran tigers are threatened by loss and fragmentation of natural forest from oil palm and pulp wood
plantation development, small-scale agricultural expansion, road development, illegal poaching and trade of
tiger parts for domestic as well as international markets and poaching of tiger prey191, 192, 193, 194. An ongoing
study investigating habitat use by tigers in a variety of land cover types in Riau195 revealed that natural
forests are the most suitable habitat for tigers196. Therefore, the loss of natural forest implies a decline of its
tiger population. The Ministry of Forestry’s “Sumatrnan tiger conservation strategy and action plan197”
endorsed the delineated Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCL). But many of the TCLs, especially those in
central Sumatra, are under severe threat from rapid planned deforestation (natural forest conversion inside
pulp wood concessions) and unplanned deforestation (natural forest encroachment and conversion by people,
mainly to plant oil palm). Eleven, 44 and five percent of natural forest remaining in 20008/9 in Global,
Regional and Long-term Priority TCLs was in existing or proposed HTI concessions and are thus under very
severe threat of conversion. Only 55% of all TCU/TCL areas had natural forest cover and around 60% of the
WWF | 48
TCU/TCL areas still covered by natural forest were outside conservation areas.
Sumatra’s rapid forest conversion has dramatically increased the proximity of humans and tigers, with
conflict as an invariable result. With no formal reporting system in place, records of such conflict have only
opportunistically been collected across Sumatra. However, conservative estimates from known conflict
incidences between 1978 and 1997 arrived at 146 human deaths, 265 tiger deaths and 97 tiger captures198.
Another 40 human deaths were recorded by the Indonesian Department of Forestry between 2000 and
2004199. In Riau province alone, WWF, Yayasan Program Konservasi Harimau Sumatra and HarimauKita
(the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Forum) recorded 235 human-tiger conflict incidences between 1999 and
2007200. Most violent incidents between people and tigers in Riau Province between 1997 and 2009 have
occurred near forested areas being cleared by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and associated companies, according
to an analysis of human-tiger conflict data201.
Tigers are severely threatened by poaching for the illegal supply of their body parts to domestic and
international markets202, 203, 204, 205. Between 1998 and 2002, at least 51 tigers per year were killed on average,
more than 78% for trade and 14% as a result of human-tiger conflict206. Ng and Nemora found the parts of at
least 23 tigers for sale in market surveys around the island207. Additionally, though very difficult to assess,
tigers are threatened by poaching of their prey, which reduces their food base.
Tigers require large areas to roam. In Way Kambas National Park, known in Sumatra for its high prey
densities, one male’s home range was calculated to be 116 square kilometers over a 16-month period208.
Yet tigers in areas with lower prey densities may require ranges of 300 square kilometers209. Sumatra’s
lowland forests support higher tiger densities than its highland forests 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 . Two factors
contributing to the tiger’s vulnerability to extinction is its naturally low population density and its
relatively low recruitment rate (offspring surviving long enough to join the breeding population) driven by
a high rate of first-year infant mortality 214, 215 Thus, relatively large areas need to be protected to conserve
viable tiger populations with enough individual breeding tigers to survive high poaching levels, epidemics
or natural catastrophes216 . At present many existing protected areas are too small to maintain such
populations217.
Much of the natural forest inside TCLs is not protected. It is inside of pulpwood concessions, many of
which already have permits to clear the forest. And it is inside expired/inactive selective logging
concessions (HPH) many of which are targeted by the pulp and paper industry and thus in danger of being
rezoned and converted to pulp wood plantations. These threats exist despite the fact that most remaining
natural forest in Sumatra is legally protected as “conservation class” or “protection forest” by Republic of
Indonesia Government Regulation Number 26 Year 2008 Concerning the National Land Use Plan.
Following Government Regulation Number 26, would offer land use planers the easiest opportunity to
address the Sumatran tiger’s urgent need for large blocks of protected forest or other natural habitats.
National, provincial and district land-use plans could rezone HPHs as Ecosystem Restoration Concessions
and design inter-connected new and expanded tiger and carbon stock conservation areas that would ensure
the survival of the country’s tigers. These new networks could even be based on existing forest conversion
licenses according to the Republic of Indonesia’s Government Regulation Number 26 Year 2007 on Spatial
Plan. Its Article 77 subsection (1) stipulates “as the land use plan is determined, all spatial use that is not
aligned to the land use plan should be adjusted to the land use plan.” And Article 37 subsection (6)
stipulates “Permits for spatial uses that are not appropriate due to an adjustment of the regional land use
plan can be revoked by the Government and local government by providing fair compensation”. Pulpwood,
logging and other concession licenses which allow conversion or timber extraction of natural forest in
Sumatra could thus be requested for voluntarily return to Government zoning authorities or even be
revoked based on existing legislation.
The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry agrees that the 14 recommendations from the Kathmandu Global
49 | WWF
Tiger Workshop 2009 “Saving wild tigers is our test; if we pass, we get to keep the planet” (30 October
2009)218 are relevant to Indonesia. They emphasize the importance of protection of tigers’ core breeding
zones and conservation and management of buffer zones and corridors. Indonesia’s National Workshop on
Tiger Conservation re-confirmed Indonesia’s “National Goals for Reversing the Trajectory to [Tiger]
Extinction” on 20 January 2010. The Ministry of Forestry’s Tiger Conservation Committee agreed on 23
May 2010 that everything possible should be done to double the tiger populations in the Tiger
Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) Gunung Leuser Ulu Masen, Bukit Tiga Puluh, Kerinci Seblat, Bukit
Barisan Selatan-Balai Rejang Landscapes which are considered tiger source populations.
tigers for large blocks of protected forest or other natural habitats (Chapter 10) in the designation of
urgently needed inter-connected new and expanded conservation areas that would ensure the survival of
the country’s tigers. Authorities need to dramatically increase anti-poaching efforts to secure the survival of
the few tigers remaining today. As an apex species, tigers reflect the health of ecosystems in which they
live and on which people depend. There are only very few areas left where the Sumatran tiger coexists with
Sumatran elephant, orangutan and rhino: namely, Ulu Masen, Gunung Leuser, Tapanuli, Libo, Tesso Nilo,
Bukit Tigapuluh, Kerinci Seblat, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and Way Kambas National Park
(Map 17). Such areas are globally unique and therefore should be given high priority for conservation,
even if they were not classified as TCLs (i.e. Libo, Ulu Masen to Gunung Leuser and Harapan).
WWF | 50
Libo: Tiger and
Elephant live in
this rapidly
fragmenting peat
forest. Tesso Nilo (Long-term
TCL): Tiger and
Elephant live in this
rapidly fragmenting
dry lowland forest.
Ulu Masen to
Gunung
Leuser: All Bukit Tigapuluh
four species (Global TCL):
live in this area. Tiger, Elephant
and world’s only
successfully
Tapanuli: Tiger reintroduced
and Orangutan. Sumatran
orangutan
population.
Kerinci
Kerinci
SeblatSeblat
(Global
–
TCL):small
smallareas
areasof
of Harapan:
overlap
overlap
by Tiger
by and
Tiger Tiger and
Elephant.
and Elephant Elephant.
Way Kambas:
Tiger & Elephant.
BBS (Regional &
Long-term TCL): Tiger,
Elephant & Rhino.
Map 17.—Sumatra’s natural forest cover in 2008/9 (green areas) with tiger conservation units (TCU, red
boundary) and tiger conservation landscapes (TCL) of “Global priority” (black boundary), “Regional
priority” (blue boundary), “Long term priority” (light blue boundary) and “Insufficient data” (grey
boundary), and their overlap with the ranges of other flagships species in some areas (also see Maps 13 to
16).
51 | WWF
10. Prioritizing Conservation Intervention Areas in Sumatra
In Chapters 6 to 9, we discussed some of the High Conservation Values and high carbon values present in
Sumatra. For some we presented complex analyses (EFS and flagship species), for others more simple
ones (forest carbon and peat carbon). These values need to be preserved. But identifying and prioritizing
specific areas for immediate conservation interventions is not easy. Not all values have the same priority
for all decision-makers. Presenting potential choices in one or two static maps without being able to give
decision-makers a chance to “play” with the data is difficult. To provide readers with at least some options
but without overloading our maps with hundreds of polygons in all colors of the rainbow, we reduced the
information provided in Chapters 6 to 9 to four simple values:
A. We chose natural forest cover as indicator for an above-ground carbon value and defined it as the
whole area covered by natural forest in 2008/9 based on our classification criteria of only areas with
original natural (as opposed to anthropogenic) vegetation dominated by trees with greater than 10%
canopy cover visually identified on Landsat images as natural forest. Here we did not distinguish the
carbon contents of different forest types or of forests in different stages of degradation or regeneration
but simply assumed that based on today’s discussions on global climate mitigation these forests have
“some” significant existing or future carbon value. Stratifying natural forests by forest types and
stages of degradation or regeneration with their likely differences in carbon content would be the next
logical step in modeling this value for prioritizing conservation interventions.
B. We chose peat as indicator for a below-ground carbon value and defined it as the whole area
delineated as peat swamp by either Wetlands International (2003) or the extent of three eco-floristic
sectors associated with peat: fresh water swamps, mixed peat swamps and peat swamps delineated by
Laumonier (1997). These two are the most reliable maps available and combined are likely to have
captured most peat areas in Sumatra. Here we did not distinguish peat depth or peat soil carbon
content but simply assumed that based on today’s discussions on global climate mitigation these peat
swamps have “some” significant carbon value. Stratifying peat lands by peat depth and peat
composition, likely indicating differences in below ground carbon stocks per hectare, would be the
next logical step in modeling this value for prioritizing conservation interventions.
C. We chose eco-floristic sectors as indicator for a general floral diversity value and defined it as the
whole area of “critically endangered” and “endangered” EFSs originally defined in 1985. EFSs are the
best available representation of Sumatra’s floral – and with it very likely subsets of faunal –
diversity. Their current status is the best available indication of extinction risks of this diversity. We
assigned this value to areas that are forested today and areas that lost their natural forest since 1985.
The latter might provide some indication of how to prioritize reforestation activities if such are
considered important. Distinguishing further between EFS with different extinction risk status by
selecting either only “critically endangered” or also “endangered” EFS, etc., would be the next logical
step in modeling this value for prioritizing conservation interventions.
D. We chose the most recent known ranges of Sumatra’s four charismatic mega-fauna species as
indicator for a mega-fauna diversity value and defined it as the sum of all last known habitat ranges
of Sumatran elephant, orangutan, rhino and all likely tiger ranges identified by scientists in 1998219
and 2006220. At least two of these flagship species range over very large areas: tigers and elephants.
Distinguishing further (1) between the four species, (2) between areas with only one or several of the
species, or (3) between the relative importance of specific ranges used by the same species would be
the next logical step in modeling this value for prioritizing conservation interventions.
We realize that these values are not all independent of each other. The actual weighting of the values in the
end will be up to the individual decision-makers on conservation interventions or climate change
mitigations, i.e. is the extinction of the Sumatran rhino worse than the extinction of one of Sumatra’s
eco-floristic sectors? Is the extinction of a Sumatran orangutan population easier to avoid when its habitat
is natural forest on peat soil and global carbon investors may pay high prices for carbon credits generated
by its continuing existence? What are the co-benefits of avoided emissions credits if they save tigers in the
WWF | 52
forest whose carbon stocks they pay to maintain?
We mapped the four values across all of Sumatra (Map 18 a & b) and calculated how much of Sumatra’s
landmass is covered by all existing combinations of these values (Table 12).
Table 12.—Carbon and biodiversity values in Sumatra’s forested and not forested areas.
Potential priorities for forest protection: areas with natural forest (ha) (%)
Forest Carbon + Peat Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity + Eco-Floristic Diversity 1,929,380 15.1%
Forest Carbon + Peat Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity 19,438 0.2%
Forest Carbon + Peat Carbon + Eco-Floristic Diversity 454,751 3.5%
Forest Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity + Eco-Floristic Diversity 1,217,843 9.5%
Forest Carbon + Peat Carbon 51,180 0.4%
Forest Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity 8,071,425 63.0%
Forest Carbon + Eco-Floristic Diversity 148,112 1.2%
Forest Carbon 918,868 7.2%
Total area with natural forest 12,810,997 100.0%
Potential priorities for forest restoration: areas no longer with natural forest (ha) (%)
Peat Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity + Eco-Floristic Diversity 2,690,250 8.7%
Peat Carbon + M ega-Fauna Diversity 142,272 0.5%
Peat Carbon + Eco-Floristic Diversity 2,271,903 7.3%
M ega-Fauna Diversity + Eco-Floristic Diversity 2,194,425 7.1%
Peat Carbon 1,231,120 4.0%
M ega-Fauna Diversity 4,614,109 14.9%
Eco-Floristic Diversity 2,772,385 8.9%
(no value assigned in this model) 15,113,050 48.7%
Total area no longer with natural forest 31,029,513 100.0%
1.9 million hectares (15.1%) of Sumatra covered by natural forest in 2008/9 also had the other values
present, while only 0.9 million hectares (7.2%) did not have any additional value beyond forest carbon
(Table 12 top). The former were areas with natural forest on peat soil used by at least one flagship species
inside an endangered or critically endangered eco-floristic sector. 63% (8.1 million hectares) of natural
forest areas in Sumatra had at least one flagship species present, many cases the critically endangered
Sumatran tiger.
2.7 million hectares (8.7%) of Sumatra, no longer covered by natural forest in 2008/9, had all the other
three values present, while 15.1 million hectares (48.7%) of the deforested areas had none of the values
analyzed here present any longer (Table 12 bottom). However, data on “ecosystem services” other than
carbon storage/sequestration, comprehensive faunal diversity values other than mega-fauna diversity, or
social or cultural values were not used in this analysis. They would very likely highlight the importance of
some of the areas currently without value, and may result in a slight shift of priorities for individual forest
blocks.
Mapping the four values across all of Sumatra resulted in complex mosaics of polygons shown in two
basic color tones: green for forested areas (Map 18a) and brown for no-longer-forested areas (Map 18b).
The easiest way to work with this map might be to ask specific questions in regard to the four values:
forest carbon, peat carbon, eco-floristic diversity, and mega-fauna diversity. To provide examples, we
formulated four questions decision-makers from different stakeholder groups may ask. Each addresses a
different subset of combinations of the four values:
53 | WWF
1. Question: Where would I invest into natural biomass carbon protection and sequestration in
Sumatra to generate the highest possible return from the global carbon markets?
Answer: A (1) deep peat (here just shown as one simple below ground carbon value) covered by (2)
dense natural forest (here just shown as one simple above ground carbon value) which is (3) habitat of
both charismatic mega-fauna species that use peat lands, tigers and orangutan (here just shown as one
simple mega-fauna value).
Map 18a provides a first set of choices for this decision-maker. Areas with the top two colours in the
legend show areas with maximum carbon stocks including both forest and peat carbon that would
generate so-called co-benefits because they are also mega-fauna habitat. Maps 8, 9, 13 to 17 would
provide additional information. Further analysis with our much more detailed full dataset would allow
the decision-maker to distinguish the deepest peat and the densest forests with the most charismatic
species among the light green areas.
2. Question: Where could I have the biggest impact conserving some of Sumatra’s globally
outstanding floral diversity?
Answer: A (1) critically endangered or endangered eco-floristic sector (here just shown as one simple
eco-floristic diversity value) (2) still covered by natural forest.
Map 18a shows the most appropriate areas for this decision-maker. The first, the third, the fourth and
the seventh colour in the legend show endangered and critically endangered EFSs still covered with
natural forest. Table 9 and Maps 12 would provide additional information. Further analysis with our
full dataset would allow the decision maker to identify the most threatened EFSs with the most intact
forest.
3. Question: Where could I protect habitat of one of Sumatra’s globally unique charismatic
mega-fauna with a conservation concession?
Answer: In (1) the range of at least one of Sumatra’s four charismatic species (here just shown as one
simple mega-fauna diversity value) covered by (2) natural forest.
Map 18a and Maps 13 to 17 show the most appropriate areas for this decision-maker. The first, the
second, the fourth and the sixth colour in the legend show natural forest cover within the range of at
least one of Sumatra’s four flagship species. Further analysis with our database would allow the
decision maker to for example select areas where two or more of the species occur in the best possible
forests, which districts in which provinces he would have to inquire about available concessions, and
where within the identified range, logging concessions (known locally as HPH) are located.
4. Question: Where would I best restore the habitat of one of Sumatra’s globally unique charismatic
mega-fauna?
Answer: Any (1) mega-fauna range (2) without forest cover that (3) borders an area with forest would
be the best possible solution to expand flagship species habitat.
Map 18b shows the most appropriate areas for this decision-maker, for example the first, the second,
the fourth and the sixth colour next to areas in Map 18a that indicates mega-fauna value. Further
analysis with our database would allow the decision maker to select areas where two or more of the
species use non-forested land outside of forested areas and where such areas border a nationally
protected area that increasingly appear as if they will become the last refuges of Sumatra’s flagship
species.
WWF | 54
5. Question: Where would I best locate new conservation areas to fully protect carbon and biodiversity
values?
Answer: In (1) any area that has all four values present and that is (2) under-represented in the current
system of protected areas.
Map 18c shows that most conservation areas are straddling the steep Bukit Barisan mountain ridge
running along the South-west coast of Sumatra (blue hatched) and that the pulp industry instead has
been targeting the easy to develop flat central and lately the peat areas along the North-east coast
which now have all but disappeared (red hatched). Areas all four conservation values allocated to be
cleared for pulp wood plantations are the most threatened and least protected values in Sumatra.
55 | WWF
Map 18a.—Natural forest remaining in 2008/9 with and without the other three biodiversity and carbon
values: mega-fauna diversity, eco-floristic diversity, and below-ground carbon on the island of Sumatra.
WWF | 56
Map 18b.—Natural forest in 2008/9 and the three biodiversity and carbon values: mega-fauna diversity,
eco-floristic diversity and below-ground carbon in Sumatra’s non-forested areas.
57 | WWF
Map 18c.—Sumatra’s four biodiversity and carbon values above-ground (forest) carbon, below-ground
(peat) carbon, mega-fauna diversity and eco-floristic diversity relative to current conservation areas
(protection) and existing and applied for pulp wood concessions (threat).
WWF | 58
11. Prioritizing Potential Development Areas in Sumatra
Clearance of Sumatra’s natural forest has not always been followed by plantation or agricultural
development. In many areas timber extraction was the main objective for the clearing. So-called “waste”,
“abandoned” or “idle” lands remained. These lands may offer opportunities for industrial or community
agricultural development instead of development that clears natural forests and / or drains peat soils.
For this chapter we began identification of such lands in collaboration with SEAMEO Biotrop. We defined
“wastelands” as not covered by natural original forest nor secondary re-growth and with no commercial
use detectable during visual interpretation of Landsat images taken in 2008 and 2009 (Appendix 1). The
identified lands were mostly shrubland (semak/belukar muda), grassland, fernland or overgrowing
clear-cut areas.
Shrubs on swampy soil Shrubs on dry soil (Semak/Belukar Muda)
Grassland/Fernland on swampy soil Grassland/Fernland on dry soil
We found 4.5 million hectares of potential “wastelands” on Sumatra’s mainland in 2008/9 (Map 19), with
provinces differing considerably in the area of potential “wasteland” they have (Table 13). 72% of all
wastelands were outside peatlands (3.2 million ha) (Map 19). Potential wastelands outside peatlands were
concentrated in South Sumatra (35% total), Aceh (19%), North Sumatra (13%) and Lampung (12%).
Table 13.—Potential “wasteland” available in Sumatran Provinces, ranked by area outside peatlands.
Potential Outside
Province % Total % Total
wastelands (ha) peatlands (ha)
South Sumatra 1,774,816 39.8% 1,125,170 35.2%
Aceh 636,479 14.3% 595,422 18.6%
North Sumatra 452,438 10.2% 421,579 13.2%
Lampung 398,365 8.9% 383,090 12.0%
West Sumatra 301,983 6.8% 280,400 8.8%
Bengkulu 163,836 3.7% 162,723 5.1%
Jambi 280,509 6.3% 136,903 4.3%
Riau 448,499 10.1% 93,607 2.9%
TOTAL 4,456,924 100.0% 3,198,892 100.0%
59 | WWF
Recommendations
These maps do not identify biodiversity values that these areas with natural vegetation may have, they do
not show below ground carbon values or attempt to assign an above ground carbon value to the detected
vegetation. These maps also do not indicate any tenure rights or land titles that may exist for these lands.
All of these would need to be evaluated before any development by first comparing these areas with maps
of High Conservation Values and carbon stocks and then conducting detailed site studies to specify
biodiversity and carbon values and especially tenure rights and land titles.
Use of the identified potential “wastelands” for development could be prioritized further based on their
location:
1. If located inside oil palm and pulpwood plantation concessions and APL zones these areas should
be prioritized for development pending on site analysis.
2. If located inside the Production Forests land use zone, areas outside of pulpwood plantation
concessions but inside the Limited Production Forest land use zone, the potential to restore natural
forest should be evaluated before such areas are developed.
3. If located inside the ranges of Sumatran tigers, elephants, orangutans or rhinos, the potential to
restore natural forest should be evaluated before such areas are developed.
4. If located inside Conservation Area or Protection Forest land use zones, the potential to restore
natural forest should be evaluated before any zoning is changed to permit development.
5. If located on peat soil, the potential to stop the drainage of peat soils and restore natural forest
should be evaluated before such areas are developed.
Once the prioritization is complete, a three step on-site process would complete the evaluation:
1. on-site identification of High Conservation Values
2. on-site identification of carbon stocks
3. on-site identification of any existing land titles and any tenurial / traditional rights of local people.
WWF | 60
Map 19.—Potential“wastelands” and peatland in Sumatra.
61 | WWF
12. Appendices
Appendix 1.—Methodology to generate natural forest cover in Sumatra eco-floristic

sectors for 1985, 1990, 2000, 2006/7 and 2008/9
All data were processed with ArcGIS and ERDAS softwares.
In order to generate this data set, the authors used the following supporting data:
1. “Sumatra Vegetation Map 1985” (paper maps and raster data). International Map of the Vegetation
and of Environmental Conditions: Northern Sumatra; Central Sumatra and Southern Sumatra
(Laumonier et al., 1983; 1986 and 1987)221. The map was based on interpretation of Landsat
images and aerial photography and considered to represent Sumatra’s vegetation and natural forest
cover in 1985.
2. Sumatra forest cover digital map 1990-2000 by WCS (2006)222, which distinguishes:
a. Natural forest
b. Non forest
c. Water body
d. Cloud
3. Aceh & North Sumatra forest cover digital map 2006 (Martin Hardiono 2007)
4. Jambi forest cover digital map 2006 (Warsi 2007)
5. South Sumatra forest cover digital map 2005 (South Sumatra Forest Fire Monitoring Project 2006)
6. Bengkulu forest cover digital map 2003 (Forest Inventory Monitoring Project 2003)
3-6 distinguish only:
a. Natural forest
b. Non forest
7. Riau Forest and Land Cover database 1990, 2000 and 2007 (WWF 2007), which distinguish:
a. Natural forest (14 sub-classes)
b. Non forest (34 sub-classes)
c. Water body
d. Cloud or no information
Satellite Images:
1. Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database (MrSID) of Landsat for all Sumatra 1990
2. MrSID of Landsat for all Sumatra 2000
3. Landsat data for all Sumatra 2006 – 2007 (list in Table 14)
4. Landsat data for all Sumatra 2008 – 2009 (list in Table 14).
Other supporting data:
1. Coastline and administrative data from Bakosutranal
2. Coastline, administrative, river and road from Baplan, Departement of Forestry
Step 1. Vector data of the Sumatra Vegetation Map 1985 was created as follows:
z Vector data (1:1,000,000) was digitized from both original three separate paper maps and raster data
(based on ONC US map).
z The three sets of vector data were then matched and re-georeferenced together, based on the
Administration Boundary Map (1:100,000, Bakosurtanal 2006) and Forestry Baseline Map (1:100,000,
Baplan 2006) using coastline, rivers and lakes as references.
z The two overlapping areas of three separate vector data had to be then re-interpreted and re-delineated
as follows:
¾ Original 0-500m elevation class in North and South Sumatra was split into two classes of 0-150m
and 150-500m to match the same two classes which were present in Riau and Jambi provinces in
Central Sumatra.
¾ Mismaches of rivers and eco-floristic zone boundaries were corrected.
z Original data of the Sumatra Vegetation Map had a scale of 1:1,000,000. For processing, overlaying
and analysis with forest cover data of 1990, 2000 and 2007, which are based on Landsat images
WWF | 62
(1:100,000), we needed to re-interpret and re-georeference the vector data to be close to 1:100,000
scale.
Step 2. Sumatra natural forest cover digital map 1990-2000 by WCS (2006) were updated as follows:
z The original WCS data were corrected and reinterpreted by using MrSID Landsat basic data 1990 and
2000.
z It was then re-matched and re-georeferenced using the Administration Boundary Map (1:100,000,
Bakosurtanal 2006) and Forestry Baseline Map (1:100,000, Baplan 2006) using coastline, rivers and
lakes as references.
z All polygons with area below 50 hectares were eliminated. This is because, in theory, the minimum
mapping unit (MPU) for Landsat is 50 ha.
z Based on expert knowledge of the team, some WCS “natural forest” areas that should have been
classified as rubber forest in Jambi and several re-growth areas, were re-classified as “non forest”.
Step 3. New natural forest cover map of Sumatra for 2006/7 was created as follows:
z 40 scenes of Landsat images for 2006 and 2007 to cover the mainland of Sumatra were manually
interpreted. The method used for interpretation follows techniques recommended by King223.
z This was improved using Riau Forest & Land Cover Database (WWF 2007) and enriched by other
data listed above.
z This was also then corrected using 1990-2000 as base data to remove anomalies (i.e. no forest area in
2000 becoming forested in 2007) and keep the consistency between the data for 1990, 2000 and
2006/7.
Step 4. New natural forest cover map of Sumatra for 2008/9 was created as follows:
z 27 scenes of Landsat images for 2008 and 2009 to cover the mainland of Sumatra were manually
interpreted.
z All the Landsat images were geo-referenced using forest cover map 2007 as a basis for rectification
z Natural forest cover 2007 data was overlaid on 2008/2009 Landsat images and delineated manually all
the forest cover change since 2007 to become non forest in 2008-2009.
z This was also then corrected using 1990-2007 as base data to remove anomalies and keep the
consistency.
Step 5. Final step

Natural forest cover 1985, 1990, 2000, 2006/7 and 2008/9 data were corrected to remove anomalis and
keep consistency, to make sure cases such as natural forest in 2008/9 did not exist in 1985.
Table 14.—List of Landsat images used to generate natural forest cover 2006/7 and 2008/9.
2006 - 2007 2008 - 2009 2006 - 2007 2008 - 2009
PATH ROW PATH ROW
DATE DATE DATE DATE
P123 R062 - 14-May-08 P126 R061 13-Oct-06 24-Sep-08
P123 R063 25-Mar-07 15-Apr-09 P126 R062 23-Apr-07 19-May-08
P123 R064 5-Aug-06 1-Jul-08 P127 R058 3-Jul-07 No data
P124 R061 20-Aug-06 6-Apr-09 P127 R059 3-Jul-07 14-Aug-08
P124 R062 29-Sep-06 28-Oct-08 P127 R059 1-Aug-06 -
P124 R063 16-May-06 24-Jul-08 P127 R060 3-Jul-07 18-May-08
P124 R064 29-Sep-06 24-Jul-08 P127 R060 16-Jul-06 -
P125 R060 16-Apr-07 8-Feb-09 P127 R061 26-Sep-06 11-Jun-08
P125 R060 3-Aug-06 - P128 R058 23-May-07 18-Apr-09
P125 R061 27-Jun-07 31-Jul-08 P128 R059 28-Jan-06 18-Apr-09
P125 R061 6-Oct-06 - P128 R060 28-Mar-07 17-May-08
P125 R062 26-Jul-06 17-Sep-08 P129 R057 27-Jan-06 8-May-08
P125 R063 28-Sep-06 28-Mar-09 P129 R058 6-Jul-06 30-Jul-09
P126 R059 7-Apr-07 30-Jan-09 P129 R059 27-Jan-06 8-Mar-09
P126 R059 10-Feb-07 - P130 R056 14-Aug-06 No data
P126 R059 26-Aug-06 - P130 R057 9-Oct-06 7-Nov-08
P126 R060 1-May-07 22-Jul-08 P130 R058 26-Mar-07 31-Mar-09
P126 R060 23-Apr-07 - P131 R056 8-Oct-06 10-Aug-08
P126 R060 14-Nov-06 - P131 R057 4-Jul-06 19-May-09
63 | WWF
13. References
1
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by Indonesian stakeholders as environmental, social or cultural attributes of exceptional importance at the local, regional or global
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Indonesia” defines three biodiversity HCVs, one ecosystem services HCV and two social and cultural HCVs and methods for
identifying them. The process requires full input of local stakeholders and assessments can easily be conducted by professional,
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Nasional Bukit Barisan Selatan (TNBBS) di Teluk Belimbing.
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WWF | 70
Photo Copyright Captions
front cover © WWF-Indonesia/Mast Irham Natural forest of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Riau.
back cover 1st row © WWF-Indonesia/Marino Man and blooming Amorphophallus titanum in Bukit Barisan Selatan Na-
(left to right) tional Park. Lampung.
© WWF-Indonesia/Des Syafrizal Ripe coffee fruit in Lampung.
© WWF-Indonesia/Ahmad Boy of the indigenous Orang Rimba people in Jambi.

Moetaba
© WWF-Indonesia/ Tiger Re- Asian Tapir (Tapirus Indicus) captured by a WWF camera trap in Tesso Nilo
search Team National Park, Riau.
© WWF-Indonesia/Koko Yulianto Peat swamp forest in Kampar Peninsula, Riau.
© Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Male orangutan at the Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Orangutan Reintroduc-
Indonesia tion Center near Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Jambi.
back cover 2nd © Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Rough Sided Frog (Hylarana glandulosa) in Air Hitam River in Tesso Nilo
row (left to right) Indonesia National Park, Riau.
© Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Pitcher plants in Tesso Nilo National Park, Riau.
Indonesia
© WWF-Indonesia/Tiger Re- Young tiger captured by a WWF camera trap in the Rimbang Baling - Bukit
search Team Tigapuluh willdife corridor, Riau.
© WWF-Indonesia/ Supriyanto Blooming Rafflesia arnoldii on Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park forest
floor, Lampung.
© WWF-Indonesia/Gert Polet Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) “Rossa” from Bukit Barisan Sela-
tan National Park, Lampung.
© Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Blooming Dillenia sp. flower along the Nilo River in Tesso Nilo National Park,
Indonesia Riau.
back cover 3rd row © Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Tracks of an Asian Tapir (Tapirus indicus) on an old logging road near Logas,
(left to right) Indonesia Riau.
© Fletcher & Baylis / WWF- Natural forest to the east of Bukit Terang near Bukit Tigapuluh National Park,
Indonesia Jambi.
© WWF-Indonesia/Mast Irham Boy on a pile of logs confiscated during an investigation of illegal logging
activities in Riau.
© Jan Vertefuille An elephant calf “Nela” with its mother in Tesso Nilo National Park, Riau. The
elephants are members of WWF/BBKSDA”Flying Squad” team.
© WWF-Indonesia/Lutfie Clusters of beehives on traditionally protected Sialang tree near Tesso Nilo
National Park, Riau.
© WWF-Indonesia/Lutfie Honey collector on ladder leading up a 30m high Sialang tree near Tesso Nilo
National Park, Riau.
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REPORT

Sumatra’s Forests, their Wildlife and the Climate

A quantitative assessment of some of Sumatra’s natural resources submitted as

(updated in December 2010)

Yumiko Uryu, Consultant to World Wildlife Fund, Washington DC, USA

Reviewers (in alphabetical order):

Contact: yumuryu@yahoo.com, epurastuti@wwf.or.id, yves.laumonier@cirad.fr, sabdo2907@yahoo.com,

The report presents scientific data and information on:

This study found:

Loss of natural forest 1985 to 2008/9 (Chapter 6)

Loss of carbon stock in natural forest and peat (Chapter 7)

Loss of Eco-Floristic Diversity in Sumatra (Chapter 8)

Decline of Sumatra’s Mega-Fauna Diversity (Chapter 9)

Prioritizing conservation interventions in Sumatra (Chapter 10)

President of Indonesia commits to reduce the country’s emissions by 26 – 41 % of the business-as-usual

Map 1.—Sumatra mainland’s eight provinces (Government of Indonesia, Bakosurtanal, 2008).

Natural forest loss

158,462 (1.8% loss)

58,276 (3.1% loss) Total

500,000 28,024 (0.3% loss) Total

164,530 (5.0% loss)

6,000,000 West Sumatra Riau

5,000,000 South Sumatra Lampung

500,000 209,822 (3.0%)

Carbon stocks of Sumatra’s natural forest and peat soil

Still with Natural Forest in 2008/9

Survival of Sumatra’s peat lands and protection of its carbon stores

Stratification of Sumatra into thirty-eight Eco-Floristic Sectors

“Vulnerable” EFRs included:

9.1. Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus spp. sumatranus)

These units may

1995: 156 Sumatran rhinoceros are estimated for Sumatra153.

Table 11.—Population estimates of wild Sumatran rhinoceros.

Way Kambas TN Lampung No data No data No data 3-5 16 15-25

1977: 1,000 tigers estimated to be alive in the wild185.

1992: 500 tigers estimated to be alive in the wild186.

Shrubs on swampy soil Shrubs on dry soil (Semak/Belukar Muda)

Grassland/Fernland on swampy soil Grassland/Fernland on dry soil

Appendix 1.—Methodology to generate natural forest cover in Sumatra eco-floristic

All data were processed with ArcGIS and ERDAS softwares.

Step 5. Final step

© WWF-Indonesia/Des Syafrizal Ripe coffee fruit in Lampung.

© WWF-Indonesia/Ahmad Boy of the indigenous Orang Rimba people in Jambi.

© WWF-Indonesia/Koko Yulianto Peat swamp forest in Kampar Peninsula, Riau.

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