JAKARTA, INDONESIA - The Indonesian government has officially granted an Ecosystem Restoration Timber Forest Product Utilization Business License in natural forest (IUPHHK-RE) to PT Alam Bukit Tigapuluh (PT AB30). This IUPHHK-RE was issued for an area that is part of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape and borders Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. This is an opportunity to save Sumatra's remaining forests, which are home to two indigenous communities and provide habitat for endangered animal species, such as tigers, elephants and orangutans.

Sumatra has experienced massive deforestation since 1985, primarily for the benefit of oil palm plantations, and the pulp and paper industry. By 2014, Sumatra had lost 13.9 million hectares of forest, leaving only 25 percent of the area already severely fragmented. This joint project to save Bukit Tigapuluh is a solution to that crisis situation.

Through PT Alam Bukit Tigapuluh (PT AB 30), WWF, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and The Orangutan Project (TOP) will manage and protect nearly 40,000 hectares of forest in Central Sumatra, a key area of deforestation, over the next 60 years. PT AB 30's operations will focus on restoring deforested concession areas. While most of the concession areas will be protected, some areas will be co-managed with indigenous communities to improve their livelihoods.

The issuance of this ecosystem restoration license is one of the major achievements in efforts to protect flora and fauna in their natural habitat. Conservationists have been working since 1995 to expand the protection of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park to include surrounding concession areas. In recent years, support has come from various parties in Indonesia including former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, politicians, governors, and indigenous people. The effort is also supported by the global conservation community such as the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The involvement of these actors and environmental activists is drawing the attention of the global community for the protection of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape.

"I am honored that the Foundation I founded is part of the effort to protect the Bukit Tigapuluh for the future. Bukit Tigapuluh is an extraordinary place, where elephants, orangutans and tigers live together in habitat, and it is also one of the most threatened areas. Our efforts to protect this region are an example of how concerned organizations, governments, and individuals are working together for a future where nature and people can coexist," said Leonardo DiCaprio who is also a member of the WWF US board. "To safeguard the Bukit landscape

Thirties, WWF and its partners must use big, different thinking. We are working together to ensure the protection of this incredible region to create a better future for local communities in the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape area. This project is an innovative model for conservation efforts around the world."

Bukit Tigapuluh was declared by the Government of Indonesia as one of six priority areas to save the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger population, at the 2010 Tiger Summit in St.Petersburg, Russia, of which an estimated 30 individuals live in the Bukit Tigapuluh region, along with 120 Sumatran Elephants and 160 Sumatran Orangutans.

Most of the orangutans in this area were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and are part of the successful Sumatran Orangutan reintroduction program conducted by FZS, TOP and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

In collaboration with Michelin, a leading French tire company, WWF will work together to identify forest areas in the company's rubber plantation areas for the protection of elephant corridors and other wildlife. Michelin is also committed to working with WWF to create activities that provide better livelihoods for the communities living around their plantations.

The coalition is also helping communities develop strategies to increase their incomes, protect carbon-rich forests and save wildlife around the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape which is partly funded through a USD 4 million grant from KfW, the German Government Development Bank.

Contact:

WWF-Indonesia

Nyoman Iswarayoga

Director of Communication & Advocacy

+62-8111-284868

niswarayoga@wwf.or.id