KEY POINTS:
The forest is home to at-risk species such as the rhinoceros hornbill.
An Indonesian rainforest with 267 types of birds is the centrepiece of an ambitious project to save one of the world's greatest wildlife hotspots.
Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds with its sister organisation
in Indonesia and BirdLife International has secured a long-lasting management concession on a substantial chunk of lowland rainforest in Sumatra.
The Harapan rainforest, home to the rhinoceros hornbill and the rufous-collared kingfisher, may hold more than 300 types of birds.
It also is home to Asian elephants, Sumatran tigers and the newly discovered clouded leopard, as well as five primate species, sun bears, Sumatran otters, Malayan porcupines - and the world's richest and most diverse flora.
The forest has come under dire threat from the pressures of illegal logging and conversion to timber and oil palm plantations, which have reduced the Sumatran rainforest to less than 5 per cent of its former 16 million-hectare extent.
For the last five years the royal society and BirdLife have joined with Burung Indonesia, the local bird protection organisation, in lobbying the Indonesian government to allow the Harapan forest to be protected.
Two years ago the Government agreed in principle the area could be saved; then the partnership won the management concession by outbidding logging companies; and now the concession has been extended from 20 to 100 years, meaning the forest, which has been partly logged, has a real chance to recover and regenerate fully.
"It is difficult to express just how significant this breakthrough is," said Graham Wynne, the Royal Society's chief executive.
"Almost all of Harapan Rainforest has been logged to some extent in the last 60 years and some of its species have been staring extinction in the face.
"But all of the forest can still recover and, thanks to the work of Burung Indonesia and the Indonesian government, every single species it hosts now has a toehold on survival.
"Harapan Rainforest is to become a beacon of hope for forests across Indonesia and beyond."
Until now, sites earmarked for timber production or plantation crops in Indonesia could be used for nothing else. But the ecosystem restoration decree, which was introduced by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, permits the management of forests to obtain benefits labelled "ecosystem services". These include storing carbon, controls on pollution and protection for wildlife, all of which, says the partnership, will help nearby human communities.
Directly benefiting will be the 150-strong Batin Sembilan tribe, a nomadic people that will continue to harvest rubber, honey, fruits and rattan for its own use.
There will be other jobs available to people in Harapan including work as forest guides, in nursery management and the preparation of land. Field staff are being recruited now and the site will eventually be managed by a team of about 80 people. The development of a research station and eco-tourism are long-term possibilities.
Once they start looking properly, conservationists expect to find thousands of plant and animal species in Harapan.
The Sumatran lowland rainforest is already known to boast more diverse flora than any other place in the world, with at least 37 species of mammals and at least 33 amphibian and reptile species, including the endangered spiny turtle and Asiatic softshell turtle.
The Storm's stork is the most threatened bird species found so far - there may be only 250 left in the wild. Of other birds found in Harapan Rainforest, 66 are at risk including the rhinoceros hornbill, rufous-collared kingfisher and great argus pheasant.
Up to 30 more bird species could be identified in new surveys this year.
There are only between 100 and 300 Sumatran tigers still in the wild, of which about 20 are in Harapan. The Sumatran tiger is a subspecies of the Asian tiger. The Caspian, Javan and Bali tigers became extinct in the 1900s.
Five sites were shortlisted before the Harapan area was chosen for its wildlife diversity, the quality of its flora and its accessibility. The royal society is to launch a UK fundraising campaign for Harapan with a target of £2 million ($5.5 million) over the next 12 months. The initiative has received significant financial support from the European Commission and Conservation International's Global Conservation Fund.
In the long term, the royal society and others plan to establish a £9 million trust fund and finance the management of the forest through interest earned from that.
The total area of all the society's 200 bird reserves in the UK is 131,000 hectares; Harapan alone is 101,000 hectares.
Hope for the birds
* Harapan is the Indonesian word for hope.
* The forest represents about 6 per cent of remaining lowland rainforest in Sumatra.
* It is two degrees south of the equator and conservationists hope that its humid conditions will hasten regeneration.
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