Page 23 - The World About Us

Orang Utan
2.1.5
1.1.1

Where is the Gunung Leuser National Park?

The Gunung Leuser Na onal Park largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii. The Gunung
is a protected area covering almost flower of these parasi c plants can Leuser NP Malaysia
8,000km² of rainforest on the weigh up to 11kg. Also present in the
Indonesian island of Sumatra. The park is the world’s tallest flower, Medan
park contains both lowland and Amorphophallus tanum, which can
upland rainforest. At the centre of the grow to over 3 metres.
park is the 3,119m high peak of
The climate of the park is hot, wet
Gunung Leuser. Eleven mountain
and humid. Temperatures range
peaks rise above 2,700m, including
between 20⁰C and 28⁰C, depending
Mt Tampa Nana at 3,466m. Equator
on al tude and the me of year.
Along with two other parks in the Rainfall ranges from 3,000mm to Sumatra
same region, the area was designated 4,600mm. Rainfall is heaviest during
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the annual monsoon which runs from INDIAN OCEAN
2004. It is considered to be the November to May.
largest remaining true wilderness The climate and range of al tudes
area in South East Asia.
has led to a great level of biodiversity. 400 km
The Na onal Park is the last The park is designated as a ‘core
remaining habitat where Sumatran ecoregion’ by the World Wide Fund fig.61 Loca on of the Gunung Leuser NP.
gers, rhino, elephants and orang- for Nature (WWF). This means it is fig.62 Orang utan in Gunung Leuser NP.
utans can be found living in the same cri cal for the preserva on of global
forest. These animals are severely biodiversity.
endangered with perhaps less than
174 species of mammals and 380
thirty Sumatran rhinos le in the
species of bird (26 endemic to
park. The global popula on of these
Sumatra) make their home in the
animals is less than 200, half the park. Some 194 species of rep le and
es mated number in the year 2000.
amphibian are also found in the park.
An es mated 400-500 Sumatran There is a complex inter-
gers remain in the wild, with the dependence between the living
Gunung Leuser Na onal Park one of (bio c) and the non-living (abio c)
the gers’ remaining strongholds.
elements of the ecosystem. It is the
The three parks which make up complex rela onships between all
the World Heritage Tropical elements of the biome that makes
Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra the rainforest a ‘fragile’ environment,
contain examples of 50% of all the easily disrupted by human ac vity.
plants found in Sumatra. The parks Many of the species found in the park
contain examples of the world’s are listed as threatened or
endangered.
fig.60 Rafflesia arnoldii.
The rainforests are not just vital
for local plants and animals but also
provide valuable environmental
resources for local people. As
rainforest trees remove carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere, the
healthy survival of the Gunung Leuser
Na onal Park has global implica ons
with regard to climate change. fig.63 Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.
“Both humans and wildlife depend on the conserva on of the environment for
their survival. The forests of the Gunung Leuser Na onal Park and the Leuser
Ecosystem provide livelihoods and resources for roughly four million people living
within and around it.”
Leuser Interna onal Founda on, www.leuserfounda on.org

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Biodiverse ecosystems are under threat from human activity.