Environmentalists have largely focused on the plight of orangutans as fires burn in Aceh, Sumatra to clear rainforest for a hugely controversial palm oil plantation, however as the video above highlights, local people will also feel the impacts of the destruction of forest for palm oil.
Last year, Aceh’s governer Irwandi Yusuf issued a permit for palm oil company PT Kallista Alam to clear 1,600 hectares of Tripa’s deep peat forest for the monoculture. The company has begun clearing, and satellite imagery this week showed a dozen fires burning in the region.
A recent online campaign has targeted the forest destruction, including gathering over 9,000 signatures for a petition on Change.org.
A description with the video notes that the Leuser ecosystem, of which Tripa is a part, is the only place in the world that contains tigers, rhinos, orangutans, elephants, and bears (the sun bear).