Protection of priority habitats in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra

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The Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (the third largest protected area in Sumatra with 356,800 hectares) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 as an important example of tropical rainforest on Sumatra. It is home to the last remaining specimens of the Sumatran rhinoceros, one of the most endangered species in the world. The protected area is under strong settlement pressure, which has already led to the deforestation of parts of the protected area. As part of its commitment to implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Indonesian government is supporting the establishment of a 100,000 hectare intensive protection zone within the national park. This approach is intended to pilot a new management model that can also be groundbreaking for other threatened national parks in Sumatra. Based on the needs of a flagship species (here, the rhinoceros), a special protection concept is being developed and implemented. In addition to improved law enforcement, the protected zone will be integrated into local land use in a sustainable and climate-sensitive manner in cooperation with the local population and thus protected. The project is being implemented by the nature conservation organizations WWF and WCS, which have been active locally for a long time.