RSPO helps preserve Sumatran orangutan habitat
Following an initiative from the Sumatran Orangutan Society, the RSPO's General Assembly voted to
declare the broader Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem on the Indonesian island of Sumatra a 'high
conservation value area'. Under RSPO rules, no high conservation value areas can be cleared for palm
oil production.
According to the Sumatran Orangutan Society, the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem, which extends beyond
Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, contains hundreds of animal species (including the Sumatran elephant
and the Sumatran tiger). In recent years, over a hundred Sumatran orangutans have been
reintroduced into the forests; in all, the region could sustain an estimated five hundred orangutans.
The Bukit Tigapuluh forests are also home to thee indigenous tribes: the Talang Mamak, the Melayu
