World Wildlife Fund

The 56 million people of Borneo and Sumatra represent a broad variety of ethnic groups, with indigenous peoples joined over the centuries by immigrants from around Indonesia and Asia. The rapid economic changes underway have brought shifts in population and threaten the way of life of communities who traditionally lived off the forest. WWF's activities in Borneo and Sumatra aim to meet the needs of local people in ways that will conserve the region's natural heritage and allow communities to exercise sound stewardship over their resources.

 

Borneo
The current population of Borneo is estimated at 16 million, up from around 9 million in 1980. Borneo's native population is usually referred to collectively as "Dayak", a term that covers a multitude of ethnic groups, each with a distinct culture, social organization and language. Today there are about 4 million Dayaks in Borneo, most of whom live in the interior. Only a very small percentage retains the nomadic lifestyle of the past.

 

Sumatra
Sumatra is home to 40 million people and is the world's fourth most populous island, though it is far less densely populated than Indonesia's main island of Java. The Batak people are native to the northern highlands, while the Minangkabau ethnic group inhabits the western highlands. The people of Krui inhabit the western part of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, and are known for their traditional forest gardening practices to harvest damar resin, fruit and other non-timber forest products.

Around Tesso Nilo forest in Riau province, the Pelalawan-Petalangan and other Malay ethnic groups have been joined by Javanese migrants and refugees from Aceh. The Acehnese of Sumatra's northern coast have endured a separatist movement for three decades.

Timber for Aceh
The December 2004 tsunami devastated Aceh province, which was closest to the quake's epicenter and accounted for most of the victims among the estimated 170,000 Indonesian fatalities. In its wake a peace agreement has been signed and massive rebuilding efforts are underway. Through its Timber for Aceh initiative, WWF is assisting tsunami survivors in rebuilding their communities without causing further damage to their environment.