A fund to preserve Sumatra's forests was established recently by a nongovernmental organization and Japanese firms importing paper from the Indonesian island.
Over the past decade, large tracts of Sumatran forests have been logged to produce pulp and paper, much of which ends up in Japan.
With the financial support of the Japanese firms, the World Wide Fund for Nature, which has studied deforestation issues, plans to work with the Indonesian government and other NGOs to protect the remaining natural forests on the island.