GUNUNG LEUSER NATIONAL PARK

Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km˛ in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces.The national park, named after 3,381 m height of Mount Leuser, protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary of Bukit Lawang is located inside the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a World Heritage Site, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.

Gunung Leuser National Park is one of the two remaining habitat for Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii).In 1971, Herman Rijksen established the Ketambe research station, a specially designated research area for the orangutan.

In November 1995 the Langkat Regency government proposed a road to connect an old enclave, known as Sapo Padang, inside the park. In persute of business opportunities, 34 families who had been living in the enclave formed a cooperative in March 1996 and subsequently submitted a proposal to develop an oil palm plantation in August 1997. The oil palm proposal was accepted by the regency and the head of the park agreed to the road construction.

In accordance to the government's Proverty Alleviation Program, the oil palm project proceed with 42.5 km˛ of clearance area, but the project has made a major forest destruction of the park during its implementation. The local cooperation unit formed a partnership with PT Amal Tani which has strong relationship with the military command in the area.[note 1] In January 1998, the Indonesian Forest Ministry granted a permission of 11 km road to be built. In June 1998, local office of the Forestry Service issued a decree stating that the Sapo Padang enclave was no longer legally a part of the national park; a controversial decision which consequently led to further forest destruction during the road construction and invited newcomers to slash and burn forest area to create local plantations a way deeper to the park.

In 1999, two university-based NGOs filed a legal suit to the Medan State Court, while a group of 61 lawyers brought a parallel case in the National Administrative Court. In July 1999 the National Administrative Court rejected the case, while the local NGOs won with 30 million rupiahs damage, but the legal process continues with appeals. The legal process did not stop the project that extensive logging and clearing, road-building and oil palm plantation continue operating inside the national park.