Despite perceptions to the contrary, man cannot live in isolation from the rest of the biosphere.  All of the oxygen that we breathe is produced by natural organisms. An equitable climate and a regular supply of high quality water are the foundations of agriculture on which civilization depends. The Leuser Ecosystem provides these services and for this reason is considered to be a life support system.

All organisms play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems and these ecosystems are a source of support for development. Take a few keystone species away and the ecosystem will not be able to provide those services at an optimal rate and development will suffer.

For example, in areas where there is insufficient habitat to support large predators such as tigers, these animals may turn to preying on livestock and even people. If tigers are eliminated, pig populations can build up and become major agricultural pests.

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are particularly intense where human settlements have been developed on elephant migration routes within the Leuser Ecosystem. The elephants follow for these routes for a reason and if people move into these areas conflict will certainly occur.  Initially, such conflicts are in the form of crop damage and property destruction but with increasing settlement pressure the elephants are eventually killed.

Problems like these are daily occurrences in the Leuser Ecosystem and can largely be resolved through proper conservation area design that incorporates the minimum requirements for viable wildlife populations.

In addition to the ecological services that sustain life and the regional economy, there are other reasons for conserving Leuser. One of the most important is the role the Leuser Ecosystem plays in contributing to the conservation of global biodiversity.

The future lies in moving to a non-consumptive exploitation of the Leuser Ecosystem’s services – water, carbon sequestration, tourism and knowledge. In this way the functions of the Leuser Ecosystem are retained while much greater revenues over the long term (compared with logging for instance) can be generated without doing any harm to the ecosystem itself.