Leuser Ecosystem

ExxonMobil committed $700,000 in 2005 and 2006 to support the conservation activities of the Leuser International Foundation.

The Leuser Ecosystem is an outstanding wilderness in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one of the richest expanses of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia. More than 2.5 million hectares in size, it is the last place on earth where elephants, rhinos, tigers, clouded leopards, and orangutans are found within one area.

The first official statement of intent to protect the Leuser Ecosystem was signed in 1934. The Leuser International Foundation (a nonprofit, non-government organization) was established in the late 1990's when the ecosystem was seriously under threat from illegal logging and wildlife poaching. The LIF has a conservation concession over the ecosystem for 30 years giving it managerial responsibility for activities within the Leuser Ecosystem.

Geographically, the Leuser Ecosystem lies between 3 - 4.5° North and 96.5 - 98° East. It covers approximately 2.6 million hectares of tropical rain forest, encompassing 890,000 hectares of designated national park, as well as extensive areas of protection and production forests in northern Sumatra. The Ecosystem contains two major volcanoes, three lakes, and nine major river systems that flow to the east and west coasts of the island.

The Leuser Ecosystem has an enormous level of biodiversity. It contains at least 127 mammal species, including the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, and Sumatran orangutan. About 8,500 different plant species grow in the beach, swamp, lowland, mountain and alpine ecosystems of the Leuser Ecosystem. Of the 10,000 plant species recorded in the West Indo-Malayan Region, 45% are found in the Leuser Ecosystem. Spectacular plants such as Rafflesia (the largest flower in the world) and Amorphophallus (the tallest flower in the world) are among the plants protected there.

ExxonMobil is proud to be a supporter of the future of this extraordinary wilderness.