This village is part of the Leuser Ecosystem–six and a half million acres of spectacular rainforest on the island of Sumatra. It’s the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, rhinos, Asian elephants, and tigers still live together in the wild. The forest near Panton Raya Village boasts an incredible list of endangered species, including Sumatran tigers, orangutans, langurs, siamangs (an endangered species of gibbon) cicem pala birds (this is Aceh’s mascot, and increasingly rare). There are also wild quail, and in the river, freshwater kerling fish, eels, and shrimp.
The village sits on a mountain slope. On one side, the Krueng Dekilla River flows towards an estuary that is about five to seven kilometers away. The river provides water for irrigation and drinking.
Panton Raya community members are mostly farmers and fishers, who are closely tied to the rainforest and have strong cultural and economic reasons to keep it healthy. The area they manage contains forest—full of the famous wildlife of the Leuser Ecosystem—and some small rice fields. Agroforestry plays an important role in community life. People harvest many non-timber forest products, including durian, areca nut, and bamboo.
The community is committing to protect the forest from illegal encroachers, who cut trees and poach wild animals. They will pay particular attention to ensuring that forest cover along the slopes is not disturbed, to prevent erosion. (Dredging the river for sand and gravel sends sediment into the estuary and increases the risk of flooding, so preventing erosion upstream is important.) They will also look out for fires, and prohibit after-harvest burning of rice fields. They have agreed on customary sanctions to enforce these rules.
The village is eager to have a place to gather and foster awareness of conservation, and will use a Seacology grant to build a community center. It will be used for alternative livelihood trainings: goat, sheep, and buffalo farming, honey production, and growing native sweet potato, for example. Our project partner, a village organization, will also present workshops on health and sanitation, illegal hunting, and environmental education.
