Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, Protected rainforest system in Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra comprises a large protected forest area with three national parks spread across mountainous terrain. The forest is densely vegetated and crossed by numerous waterways at varying elevations.
The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 at the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou, China, covering 2.5 million hectares across three national parks. It was placed on the Danger List in 2011, and its listing was maintained at the 2012 Saint Petersburg and 2017 Kraków sessions. By December 2019, 34,277 hectares of forest in Gunung Leuser National Park had been lost to illegal logging and encroachment.
The forest is home to peoples such as the Mentawai and the Anak Dalam, and is a source of livelihood for communities living around it. The Mentawai live on islands off the Sumatran west coast, while the Anak Dalam are among the groups tied to the lowland forests. The nomination also notes the world's largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldi, and the tallest, Amorphophallus titanum, both found here.
Access is best arranged through the three national parks, where guided tours are available on marked paths. The best time to visit depends on local rainfall patterns and requires preparation for wet conditions.
The forest area is home to a wide range of animal species, from large primates to rare birds found nowhere else on Earth. Many of these creatures remain poorly studied and some are rarely sighted even by researchers.
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