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The clear-cutting of at least 100.000 ha of natural rainforests destroys numerous valuable habitats of endangered plant and animal species. Tropical rainforests host most of the species on earth. As rainforests are destroyed at an alarming rate, they have also become the fragile hosts of most of earth's endangered species. Indonesia is one of the most important tropical countries - the most important in Asia - still having large tracts of original rainforest left. However, Indonesia is losing its forest cover at an unprecedented rate. The deforestation is most rapid on the island of Sumatra, main causes being the expansion of agriculture and industrial exploitation aggressively promoted by the Indonesian government. Lowland rainforests in Sumatra are seen as one of the most endangered habitats in South-East Asia. APRIL's concessions are mostly lowland and swamp rainforests, the most species-rich ecosystems on earth. The majority of APRIL's forests have been previously selectively logged, i.e. largest trees have been cut for timber. Although some of the species are lost already then, these logged-over forests are nevertheless an important habitat for many endangered species. Because of APRIL's clear-cutting thousands of plants and animals - including endangered timber trees, Sumatran tiger and elephant - loose an important part of their habitat and are driven closer to extinction. They can not survive in the remaining fragments. Part of APRIL's concessions were listed by the World Resources Institute as one of Sumatra's three remaining frontier forest areas, a large, unfragmented forest area capable of preserving ecological functions of forest if left standing intact. |