An iconic forest, protected and returning

Between 1985 and 2014, a wide swath of Sumatra’s forested land—called Bukit Tigapuluh or Thirty Hills—lost 32% of its forest cover because of deforestation. In 2015, PT Alam Bukit Tigapuluh (ABT)—a company founded by WWF-Indonesia, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, and The Orangutan Project—secured the right to manage nearly 100,000 acres of this land, which is home to the Indigenous Talang Mamak and Orang Rimba peoples and an abundance of wildlife species.

ABT has since managed this “ecosystem restoration concession” to protect and restore the forest while also generating revenue and livelihoods for local people. Almost eight years later, deforestation in the concession has declined considerably. But pressure on the forest and its biodiversity continues, and ABT has to remain vigilant to protect what remains.

Today, ABT collaborates with Indigenous peoples and local communities on sustainable agroforestry businesses and forest protection efforts that improve lives while protecting this stronghold for critically endangered Sumatran elephants, orangutans, and tigers.