Community living in the area of Rawa Tripa in Sub district Darul Makmur, Nagan Raya district, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, required the government to save these peatlands. A total of 21 village chiefs had made a petition of saving Rawa Tripa and sent it to governments and nongovernmental organizations that support environmental conservation.

In a Press Release on Tuesday (07/13/2010) in Jakarta, Project Leader Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL), Aji Abimayu Darsoyo, stated Tripa peat swamp biodiversity within the Leuser Ecosystem Area (KEL) is threatened by the expansion of plantation companies. Rawa Tripa area of 31.410 hectares consists of three peat domes with at least five meters deep of peat, store carbon reserves to 100 million tons.

A total of 21 head of villages in the subdistrict Darul Makmur, Nagan Raya, had made a petition of saving Rawa Tripa to Bupati Nagan Raya and Aceh governor, and also had asked them to save the national strategic area for the environment. Community representatives who live around Rawa Tripa had submitted the petition to Bupati of Nagan Raya through the sub-district Darul Makmur Hamidi at Darul Makmur, Saturday (06/05/2010). Community representatives had also submitted the petitions to the Governor of Aceh through Aceh vice Governor Muhammad Nazar in Banda Aceh on Wednesday (06/23/2010).

Communities around Rawa Tripa also had sent a copy of the petition to 40 institutions, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Minister of Agriculture Suswono, Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Environment Gusti Mohammad Hatta, and Greenpeace Indonesia on Wednesday (02/06/2010). However, until now there were no significant responses to the people of Rawa Tripa.

According to Abimayu, Rawa Tripa stores the largest of carbon stock in Aceh which have not been protected. Rawa Tripa has an area of 31.410 hectares with 24.088 hectares of primary forest and 7231 hectares of secondary forest. On the surface of the land area, this region has carbon reserves of 4 million tonnes and at least 50 million tonnes in the peat layer. "We request the government to review the presence of HGU in Rawa Tripa. The government must also respond to the petitions of 21 head of villages where people's lives depend on Rawa Tripa," said Abimayu. (Kompas)