Starling | Promoting green development in the Leuser Ecosystem in Indonesia

The Leuser Ecosystem is one of the more biodiverse places in the world, spanning more than 2.6 million hectares across the Indonesia provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. It is the only place on Earth where the Sumatran elephant, orang-utan, rhino and tiger are still found together. Peatlands in Leuser act as one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth, thus making it vital to climate change efforts.

Adjacent to Leuser are oil palm plantations, mills and farming communities, who inadvertently put pressure on the surrounding forests. Farmers in neighbouring Aceh Tamiang district are among the poorest in the nation. They face issues with high living costs, low palm oil prices and low yield from their oil palm trees, thereby impacting their income and food security.

Earthworm Foundation is a non-profit organisation driven by the desire to positively impact the relationship between people and nature. With most of our staff operating directly on the ground where the issues are, we work with our member companies and partners to make value chains an engine to drive positive economic, environmental and social impact.