World Wildlife Fund

Rebuilding Right

Endangered Sumatran elephants are among the threatened species in the island's rain forests.
© WWF-Volker Kess

As the tsunami-devastated countries of Southeast Asia make the transition from emergency relief to permanent reconstruction, they face a critical challenge: How to rebuild shattered local economies without causing more long-term damage to their environments than the tsunami itself caused.

The Challenge: Unprecedented Pressure
Hardest hit of all was Aceh Province on the island of Sumatra. The Indonesian research institute Greenomics estimates that 1.1 million meters of sawn timber will be required for reconstruction over the next five years. Domestic timber, harvested from legal Indonesian sources, can only meet a small fraction of this demand. Unless the gap can be filled with imported timber, pressure to close it will fall squarely on the biologically outstanding tropical rain forests of Sumatra.

These tropical rain forests are home to highly endangered species like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. These forests also contain the highest diversity of plant species on Earth. The loss of these biological treasures and the species they harbor would not only be a tragedy for conservation, but in the long run would impose high human costs, with loss of life from the mudslides and flooding that deforestation invariably causes. Pressure to log them was strong before the tsunami struck and has intensified greatly since. 

The Solution: Unprecedented Partnerships
With the strong support of the Indonesian government, World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International have joined with the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) to provide support in the United States for Indonesia's Timber for Aceh appeal. This extraordinary partnership between the U.S. forest products industry and two of the largest conservation organizations in the world will help the people of Aceh rebuild the right way - with responsibly and legally harvested wood that spares the rain forests of Sumatra from otherwise all but certain destruction.

Helping the people of Aceh to rebuild their homes, hospitals, businesses and schools with timber responsibly harvested from outside the affected region will not only relieve pressure on local forests, but will offer Sumatrans the promise of a brighter, more prosperous and sustainable future.

READ MORE...

• Environmental Education Training - August 2006 [PDF, KB]
• Timber for Aceh update - August 2006
• WWF co-hosts Timber Marketplace - July 2006
• PR - U.S. Forest Products Industry, Environmental Organizations Create Unique Partnership for Tsunami Reconstruction
• PR - Indonesia Adopts WWF Reconstruction Guidelines for Aceh
• PR - One Year After the Tsunami: Building Back the Right Way