Sumatra, Indonesia
Leuser Ecosystem
One of Southeast Asia's most important remaining rainforest landscapes — and the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinoceros still share the same forest.
Why this landscape matters
The Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra is one of Southeast Asia's great remaining rainforest landscapes. Spanning approximately 2.6 million hectares, it reaches from lowland rainforest and peat swamps to montane forest, creating an extraordinary diversity of habitats within one connected ecosystem.
It is the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinoceroses still share the same landscape. Its forests and river systems are also vital to millions of people, supporting livelihoods, supplying water and providing protection from floods and other natural hazards.
Yet Leuser remains under intense pressure. Forest conversion, illegal encroachment, infrastructure development, poaching and wildlife trafficking continue to erode habitat and threaten wildlife. Protecting a landscape of this scale depends on strong local organisations able to work over decades — combining field protection with restoration, community stewardship, science, advocacy and law enforcement.
- Landscape size
- Approximately 2.6 million hectares
- Key wildlife
- Sumatran orangutan · Sumatran elephant · Sumatran tiger · Sumatran rhinoceros
- Communities
- Millions of people depend on Leuser's forests and watersheds for water, livelihoods and protection from natural hazards.
- Conservation significance
- The last landscape on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinoceroses still coexist.
Wildlife and wild places
From peat swamps and lowland rainforest to mountain forests rising above 3,000 metres, Leuser supports an extraordinary concentration of life. Its forests provide refuge for some of Asia's most threatened wildlife, including Sumatran orangutans, rhinoceroses, tigers and elephants, alongside sun bears, clouded leopards, hornbills and countless other species. The landscape remains critical to the survival of the Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, one of the world's rarest large mammals.
Conservation challenges
01
Forest loss & fragmentation
Agricultural expansion, illegal encroachment, roads and other development continue to fragment Leuser's forests. These pressures threaten wildlife habitat, watersheds and the communities that depend upon them.
02
Wildlife crime
Poaching and illegal wildlife trade remain persistent threats. Rangers patrol thousands of kilometres of forest each year, removing snares and detecting illegal activity, while intelligence and investigations target trafficking networks beyond the forest itself.
03
Living alongside wildlife
Communities across Leuser share their landscape with elephants, tigers and other large wildlife. Reducing conflict requires practical solutions that protect both people and animals while maintaining connected habitat.
Local conservation in action
Wildlife Asia works alongside trusted local organisations with deep knowledge of Leuser, supporting long-term protection, restoration, monitoring and community-led conservation.
Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL)
Protecting wildlife, restoring forests and strengthening communities across Leuser.
FKL is one of Wildlife Asia's long-standing conservation partners in Indonesia. Its locally led teams protect critical wildlife and their habitat through ranger patrols, forest restoration, wildlife monitoring, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, research stations and education, and community-based conservation across the Leuser Ecosystem.
Visit FKL → (opens in a new tab)
Hutan, Alam dan Lingkungan Aceh (HAkA)
Protecting Leuser through environmental governance, forest monitoring and community stewardship.
HAkA works to safeguard Aceh's forests by strengthening environmental governance, monitoring deforestation, supporting community-led forest management and challenging developments that threaten important ecosystems. Wildlife Asia supports HAkA's work to secure stronger, locally grounded protection for Leuser's forests.
Visit HAkA → (opens in a new tab)
What partnership makes possible in Leuser
Selected outcomes from the frontline work of FKL and HAkA.
3,077 ha
Under restoration
9,419 km
Patrolled
818
Farmers restoring forest
>4,500 ha
At-risk land secured
258
Women Paralegals trained
5,500 km
Patrolled by Community Rangers
>50,000 ha
Mapped by UAV/drones
Stories from Leuser
Story · The rangers reclaiming Bengkung
Where the Forest Breathes Again
Along the Bengkung River, a permanent ranger presence is helping transform a landscape once heavily affected by illegal logging, poaching and destructive fishing. Working alongside local communities, FKL rangers are seeing signs of recovery — from tiger tracks and returning hornbills to sun bears and orangutans appearing around the river corridor.
Read the story →
Story · Meet Levi, Bodhan and the local handlers
Paws on the Frontline
In the rainforests of Southeast Aceh, Levi, a Bavarian Mountain Hound, and Bodhan, a Gończy Polski, are the first members of FKL's new K9 Unit — scent-tracking dogs working alongside locally trained handlers to detect poaching, encroachment and other threats to Leuser's most important wildlife habitat.
Read the story →
Story · Responding to disaster in Leuser
After Cyclone Senyar
When Cyclone Senyar struck Aceh in November 2025, catastrophic flooding and landslides affected communities, conservation teams and forests across the Leuser landscape. FKL and HAkA responded immediately with emergency assistance while working to keep critical conservation programmes operating.
Read the story →Stand with the people protecting Leuser
Long-term conservation depends on strong local organisations having the resources and flexibility to respond — whether protecting wildlife, restoring forest, supporting communities or facing an unexpected crisis. Your support helps Wildlife Asia stand alongside our partners for the long term.