ALERT's first issue: The last lowland forest in Sumatra

The Leuser region is the last surviving lowland rainforest on the island of Sumatra, where forests have been devastated by rampant clearing for oil palm and wood-pulp plantations and slash-and-burn farming.  It is also the last place on Earth where elephants, tigers, rhinoceros and orangutans still coexist.   

The Leuser region is also ALERT's first major policy issue.  We have joined with a coalition of NGOs to urge the Indonesian government to declare the imperiled Leuser region a World Heritage site. 

This effort involved our faxing a well-prepared letter to 30 Indonesian and international officials.  Here's a press release on our inaugural effort!

“The Leuser region is the last place on Earth where elephants, tigers, rhinoceros and orangutans still coexist”

Forest clearing for an acacia plantation in Sumatra