10 Oct 2008

Indonesia pledge to save Sumatra forests

10:34 am on 10 October 2008

Indonesia has pledged to stop the loss of forests and species in Sumatra.

Representatives of the island's 10 provinces, the national government and the World Worldlife Fund made the announcement at the World Conservation Congress.

Sumatra has lost about half of its forest cover in the last 20 years.

It is home to a number of species including tigers, orangutans, rhinoceros and elephants.

Floods and forest fires in recent years have been widely attributed to illegal forest clearance.