Page 12 - Leuser Ecosystem News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Sumatran rhinos show low inbreeding — but when it happens, collapse is quick by Carolyn Cowan on 29 April 2021 Fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos are believed to remain on Earth, and the species faces dire threats due to a low birth rate, habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching. A new study finds that, despite its small size, the population retains significant genetic diversity, and likely has the genomic “toolkit” necessary to survive threats like climate change or disease. The findings are good news for conservationists, but also come with a warning: an analysis of a recently extinc...

Environmental art initiative aims to help paint a better future for Southeast Asia by Carolyn Cowan on 21 April 2021 Supported by Wildlife Asia, the PARDICOLOR Creative Arts Fund subsidizes artists producing works that highlight environmental issues in Southeast Asia. The arts initiative is intended to complement conservation work in locations like Salween Peace Park in Myanmar and Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem. “If we can only create what we can imagine, then art and ideas are an integral part of creating an Earth that is sustainable and thriving with biodiversity,” says Pardicolor fou...

ETHAN’S RAINFOREST RUN Help Ethan save rainforest in Indonesia! Your gift to Rainforest Trust today makes a tangible difference in the fight to save species, care for communities and protect our planet. Thank You! The Leuser Ecosystem is the last place on Earth where orangutans, elephants and tigers coexist in the wild. This landscape spans over 6 million acres and houses the largest intact forest remaining on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It also contains a range of diverse habitats, from coastal peat swamps to high mountain tops, allowing for many unique and diverse species to thrive...

Smallholder agriculture cuts into key Sumatran tiger habitat by Rachel Fritts on 26 January 2021 Satellite data show several surges in deforestation in Kerinci Seblat National Park in 2020. Kerinci Seblat provides vital habitat for critically endangered Sumatran tigers, as well as many other species. The primary driver of this deforestation appears to be the expansion of small farms. Initiatives in the area are attempting to reduce smallholder expansion by encouraging the adoption of more sustainable farming practices. Indonesia’s Kerinci Seblat National Park is the largest national park o...

Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven A road in Sumatra that cuts through the only habitat on Earth that houses rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans has recently been upgraded, stoking fears of greater human incursion into the rainforest. Already the upgrades have seen a proliferation of human settlements along a section of the road in a forest adjacent to Gunung Leuser National Park, resulting in the loss of 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of forest. Environmentalists say it’s only a matter of time before the encroachment spreads into the national p...