Gunung Leuser National Park
Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km² in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces, a fourth portion and three fourths portion, respectively. The national park, settled in the Barisan mountain range, is named after Mount Leuser(3,119 m), and protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary at Bukit Lawang (the village from where our trekkings starts) is located within the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks, it forms a World Heritage Site, the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. Sumatra is the only place in the world where tigers, leopards, rhinos and elephants live together.
Threats
Agriculture is a major source of income for the local communities around Leuser. Large rubber and oil palm plantations in northern Sumatra play a major role in the national economy. Almost all remaining lowland forest has been given out officially for oil palm plantations, representing a real threat for the tropical rainforest and all the living species that reside there.
Tourism
Low-impact eco-tourism can be one of the most important sustainable, non-consumptive uses of Leuser, thereby giving local communities powerful incentives for conservation. Given the opportunities to view wildlife such as orangutans, some experts view eco-tourism as a major potential source of revenue for communities living around Leuser. In a way, eco-tourism can prevent our forests to be deforested and could stop the creation of palm tree plantations.
Threats
Agriculture is a major source of income for the local communities around Leuser. Large rubber and oil palm plantations in northern Sumatra play a major role in the national economy. Almost all remaining lowland forest has been given out officially for oil palm plantations, representing a real threat for the tropical rainforest and all the living species that reside there.
Tourism
Low-impact eco-tourism can be one of the most important sustainable, non-consumptive uses of Leuser, thereby giving local communities powerful incentives for conservation. Given the opportunities to view wildlife such as orangutans, some experts view eco-tourism as a major potential source of revenue for communities living around Leuser. In a way, eco-tourism can prevent our forests to be deforested and could stop the creation of palm tree plantations.