Conservation Hero: Rudi Putra, Leuser Ecosystem

Rudi Putra has worked tirelessly to save the Leuser Ecosystem of Sumatra, Indonesia for the past twelve years. In 2014, he received the Goldman Environmental Award, and in 2019, he was featured as a National Geographic Fellow in recognition of his conservation work. As the director of the conservation NGO Forum Konservasi Leuser (Leuser Conservation Forum), Rudi has been a critical partner in fighting illegal logging and land encroachment in the last place on Earth where wild rhinos, elephants, tigers and orangutans still coexist.

“I’m an optimist because I’ve seen positive change happen in the Leuser Ecosystem,” Rudi told the Goldman Environmental Prize. This year's Goldman Prize winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony on June 15, 2021. Register here.

Rudi with Leondardo DiCaprio, who has been heavily involved in the conservation of the Leuser Ecosystem.

The Leuser Ecosystem spans 2.6 million hectares (6 million acres), almost three times the size of Yellowstone National Park. Its diverse landscape includes lowland and montane rainforests, nine rivers, three lakes, and over 185,000 hectares of carbon-rich peatlands. One of the last remaining intact rainforests in all of Indonesia, it is a crucial source of clean drinking water and agricultural livelihoods for over four million people.

The ecosystem services provided by the Leuser Ecosystem, including harboring 1.6 billion tons of carbon and the provision of water to 4 million people, are valued at over $600 million annually.

Rudi and FKL were selected as partners to support the Indonesian government to save the critically endangered Sumatran rhino from extinction. Sumatran rhinos are one of the most endangered animals on Earth due to decades of illegal deforestation and poaching for their horns. Unlike some species, like Asian elephants, which can adapt to live near people, Sumatran rhinos are shy and require dense forest with near-zero disturbance. Of the world’s 80 remaining wild Sumatran rhinos, Leuser contains 50—the last viable population of this species on Earth. Just 50 years ago, this forest was home to more than 1,000 rhinos.  

"One of the causes of the rhinos’ risk of extinction is our overconsumption—for example, of oil palm, rubber, cocoa, coffee, and mining materials," Rudi told National Geographic, "These commodities are planted or extracted at the expense of rhinoceros habitats, and without their habitats they cannot survive."

The Sumatran rhino has been close to Rudi’s heart since his undergraduate biology days. Rudi and his team have been dismantling illegal palm oil plantations and creating new anti-poaching patrols, which helps to both protect the existing rhinos and lay the groundwork for their recovery across the entire Leuser Ecosystem.

“I am very optimistic we can still save Sumatran Rhinos and thousands of other endangered species with the right interventions and with enough unity and energy,” Rudi told National Geographic. “I feel that this hope is not just a fantasy—in 50 years when this question is asked again I believe it is possible that the Sumatran rhino is no longer critically endangered.”

Sumatran rhinos aren't the only threatened species protected by the Leuser Ecosystem. Of just 400 remaining Sumatran tigers, more than 100 live in Leuser, which is one of only two regions with enough breeding females to sustain this subspecies. Finally, 85% of the world’s critically endangered Sumatran orangutans call this forest home. As Sumatra’s forests disappear, it becomes increasingly likely that Sumatran orangutans will become the first great ape to go extinct. All of this has led conservationists to call Leuser one of the “world’s most irreplaceable protected areas” – if this forest disappears, these species will go with it. 

The Leuser Ecosystem continues to be highly endangered by rapid logging and forest encroachment, especially by illegal palm oil plantations. Between 1985 and 2009, half of Sumatra’s forests were destroyed. The decimation continues today; despite its protected status, Leuser has lost one-fifth of its lowland forests to illegal commercial activities in just the past five years. At that rate, the forest would be completely destroyed within two decades.

"Our future is dependent on us," Rudi told the Goldman Prize, "We can save our Earth together, or we will destroy our Earth together.”

Rudi (far right) on patrol with his team in the Leuser Ecosystem. Photo courtesy FKL

“It’s important to have friends and to work together,” Rudi told the Goldman Prize. “You cannot save anything if it is only one party—if it’s only the government or NGOs.”

Since 2016, GC has proudly supported Rudi and FKL in various conservation successes in the Leuser ecosystem:

1. GC Funded over $1.5 million for the Bengkung Trumon Wildlife Sanctuary.
2. Deforestation has decreased 40% and poaching has decreased 67%.
3. Stopped Tripa Swamp destruction.
4. Protected 500,000 additional hectares of the Leuser Ecosystem in the Kluet watershed in collaboration with the Rainforest Trust.
5. 30-mile elephant barrier completed by FKL has reduced the number of wild elephant crossings into community plantations, resulting in the lowest number of elephant deaths recorded in the last 10 years.
6. FKL has grown to over 350 employees, becoming the largest environmental NGO in Indonesia.
7. 600 communities are now working with FKL on reforestation projects.
8. FKL has maintained a zero-poaching record for the Sumatran rhino in the Leuser Ecosystem for more than 20 years, while elephant and tiger deaths have been significantly reduced.