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Indonesia’s ‘orangutan capital of the world’ is being destroyed
The Singkil peat swamp is one of three extraordinary peatlands being cleared for agriculture and palm oil.
Deep within Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most important peat swamp forests left on Earth is being cleared, drained, and burned.
The Singkil peat swamp is the largest of three remaining coastal peat swamp forests on Sumatra’s west coast, alongside Kluet and Tripa. Together, these extraordinary peatlands form what’s been called “the orangutan capital of the world,” supporting some of the highest densities of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) ever recorded.
But Singkil is being destroyed.