Singkil peat swamp: The embattled orangutan capital of the world

Deep within Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, one of the most important peat swamp forests left on Earth is being cleared, drained, and burned. The Singkil peat swamp is the largest of three remaining coastal peat swamp forests on Sumatra’s west coast, alongside Kluet and Tripa. Together, these extraordinary peatlands form what’s been called “the orangutan capital of the world,” supporting some of the highest densities of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) ever recorded. But Singkil is being destroyed. A worker inside the Singkil peat swamp, a legally protected wildlife reserve and crucial orangutan habitat, July 2026. Image by Global Conservation. The Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve is nationally protected under Indonesian law. Clearing forest and establishing oil palm plantations inside the reserve is illegal. Yet forest is being cleared and burned, peat is being drained, and canals are being dug into the swamp, lowering water tables and transforming ancient forests into land for agriculture and oil palm. Satellite investigations have documented extensive illegal clearing and plantation expansion inside the reserve. And Indonesia’s fire season has now begun. Fires are lit and illegal clearing is taking place in the Singkil peat swamp, Leuser Ecosystem. Image by Global Conservation. An orangutan seen in the Leuser Ecosystem, the last place on earth where tigers, orangutans, elephants and rhinos still coexist. Image by Global Conservation. For peatlands, fire can be devastating. Once drained, peat dries out and becomes highly flammable. Fires can smolder deep underground for weeks or even months, continuing to burn beneath the surface and…This article was originally published on

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