World Wildlife Fund

A groundbreaking report by WWF and partners analyzes the local-to-global connections between deforestation, climate change and the rapid decline of tigers and elephants in the Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

READ the FULL REPORT or an EXTRACT.

Peat forests and climate change

Natural forest wood piled along a peat swamp drainage canal in Riau Province, Sumatra. The canal is now used for floating the timber out of the forest.
© WWF Indonesia

The Riau Province was chosen for the study because its vast peatlands are estimated to hold Southeast Asia's largest store of carbon. Forest loss and degradation, along with peat decomposition and fires from this single province are responsible for average annual carbon emissions equivalent to 122 percent of the Netherlands' total annual emissions.

Carbon emissions are a major driver of climate change, and these peat forests sit on such deep carbon reserves that saving them from deforestation would measurably reduce global carbon emissions.

Critical elephant and tiger habitat

Without their forest habitat, the future of Sumatran tigers is in jeopardy.
© WWF-Canon / Alain Compost

Riau also contains some of the most critical habitat for Sumatran elephants and tigers. Over the last 25 years, the province has lost 65 percent of its forests - an area almost twice the size of New Jersey - resulting in an 84 percent decline in Sumatran elephant populations. In 2007, there were thought to be as few as 210 individuals, which means the Sumatran elephant may become locally extinct in just a few years.

During the same 25-year period, Sumatran tiger populations declined by 70 percent, to less than 200 individuals. This latest WWF study predicts that Riau will no longer have a viable tiger population unless the last remaining habitats are conserved and connected by wildlife corridors.

What is WWF doing?
WWF has been active in the Borneo and Sumatra region since the 1960s, and is committed to conserving its rich ecological heritage. To protect the Sumatran forests that are home to elephants, tigers, orangutans and rhinos, we are working with the Indonesian government and the pulp and palm oil industries - the biggest contributors to forest loss in central Sumatra.

APP pulp waiting to be shipped out oftheits harbor in Riau Province, Sumatra
© WWF Japan

WWF has already shared this report with the Indonesian government, and is hopeful that a broad-based partnership will prevent further deforestation and forest degradation of peatlands.

WWF and local partners are monitoring the environmental performance of global paper giants such as APP. We are also advocating that all APP customers and businesses cut ties with APP because of their continued irresponsible logging practices. Read more about recent disengagement from APP.

Through the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), WWF is reminding GFTN members that participant companies must phase out "unwanted sources," such as purchasing from companies that extract wood unsustainably. WWF is also asking financial institutions not to do business with companies that produce unsustainable wood products.

Related Links:
Destruction of Sumatra forests driving global climate change and species extinction: WWF
Tigers
Elephants
Rhinos
Orangutans