Sundaland
May 11, 2007
Assessments Completed in Six Additional Regions
New assessments found that Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) investments have helped build civil society as an effective force for long-term biodiversity conservation in six more of the world’s most threatened regions.
October 2006
An Environmental Hero
TIME Asia recognized Tisna Nando as an environmental hero for her work in the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia.
September 2006
Aceh's Grassroots Resurgence
With the help of a local organization, communities are returning to traditional land management practices to conserve lowland forest in the Sumatran province of Banda Aceh in the Sundaland Hotspot. Even after years of political conflict and the devastation of the 2004 tsunami, villagers are seeing the benefits of living sustainably.
July 2005
World Bank and CEPF Strengthen Ties in Asia
Representatives from the World Bank, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), and governments from several Asian countries met in late June at the third in a series of regional meetings to explore how to improve linkages between the CEPF initiative and Bank operations.
April 2005
Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright
Through a capacity-building project funded by CEPF, WWF-Indonesia has installed infrared camera traps throughout the Tesso Nilo - Bukit Tigapuluh area of southern Sumatra to help monitor tiger populations in the fight against poachers.
February 2005
Aceh: Community Spirit Enables First Steps
The citizens of Sumatra have set about rebuilding their lives and helping their neighbors following the earthquake and tsunami that struck in December.
January 2005
Civil Society Groups Lead Relief Efforts
On tsunami-ravaged Sumatra, the daily business of many local conservationists changed overnight from working to preserve the Indonesian island's unique natural resources to leading relief efforts to help their fellow citizens.
November 2004
Marketing Social Change
Thirteen individuals in nine biodiversity hotspots are being trained in social marketing and the art of convincing local communities and governments that conservation is key. The project brings promising individuals and local groups together with the support of Rare and Conservation International’s global communications team
August 2004
Indonesia Declares Tesso Nilo National Park
Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry recently designated Tesso Nilo as a national park, a move welcomed by an alliance of two dozen local groups that worked to make the declaration possible.
August 2004
Cutting a New Path for Illegal Loggers in Sumatra
The villagers of Tangkahan are now official caretakers of a corner of Gunung Leuser National Park. As part of this new role, they are embarking on a transformation of their own livelihoods and the local economy.
July 2004
UN Foundation and CEPF Join Forces in Sumatra
The United Nations Foundation has agreed to match CEPF support for a conservation action and network program in Sumatra that will build local capacity to manage the island’s third largest national park and benefit two others.
May 2004
Indonesia Declares Batang Gadis National Park
Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry signed a ministerial decree in early May declaring Batang Gadis a national park. The decree is the first since the Indonesian government’s public pledge in February to create 12 new protected areas in 2004, including Batang Gadis.
March 2004
New Protected Area Action for Indonesia and the Philippines
The governments of Indonesia and the Philippines recently announced actions that are key to preserving land for the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant and the Philippine eagle as well as hundreds of indigenous communities.
March 2004
Partnership for Tiger Action
Save The Tiger Fund and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund have joined forces to link tiger conservation programs across Asia. The two major grant makers will work together to combat threats to tigers, including smuggling of tiger parts by highly organized regional networks that are often linked to trafficking in narcotics and weapons.
February 2004
Local Leaders Declare New National Park in Sumatra
The governor of North Sumatra and the district head in the Mandailing District recently declared a new national park in Northern Sumatra, making way for what local officials and communities hope will be a declaration at the national level and funding support from the national government.
November 2003
Blueprint to Halt Asia’s Bird Extinction Crisis
BirdLife launched a groundbreaking guide Nov. 12 to help governments and civil society prevent the extinction of Asia's birds, one in eight of which is under threat.
October 2003
Rhino Protection Units Stop Poachers in Sumatra
Special anti-poaching units in Sumatra's beleaguered Bukit Barisan National Park are making a dramatic difference: zero rhinos killed and poachers, rather than rhinos, snared.
September 2003
Talang Mamak, Groups Win Forest Protection in Sumatra
Local communities and organizations in Sumatra recently won a major victory with the cancellation of logging plans in the northwest of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, home to one of the largest areas of remaining lowland forest on the Indonesian island.
August 2003
Students Get Off to Strong Start for Conservation Education
Amid the diverse student population of Kent University in England, a multinational team is nearing the end of an intensive 10 weeks of specialized training to become community educators with a single mission: to promote local pride in the environment in some of the planet's most threatened ecosystems.
January 2003
Groups Intensify Anti-Poaching Patrols in Sumatra
Anti-poaching patrols in Sumatra's prized Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park will continue and expand as part of long-term efforts by the Indonesia Rhino Conservation Program to reinforce the management and protection of the park.
July 2002
Alliance Makes Strides to Save Sumatra Lowland Forest
Tiger poaching, unsustainable logging and human-elephant conflict are three of the main issues being addressed by CEPF-supported projects to set aside the Tesso Nilo forest of Sumatra as a protected area. In this effort, led by WWF in Indonesia, more than 30 local organizations have formed an alliance to save Tesso Nilo.
April 2002
Inside Sumatra
In February, CEPF staff stood amid what some researchers believe is the biologically richest forest in Sumatra and heard only the sound of nearby chainsaws.
March 2002
CEPF Expands to Nine Hotspots
This year marks a major expansion for CEPF with grants for conservation projects now available in six additional biodiversity hotspots. The total amount available in these hotspots is $41.5 million over five years.
