several new regulations that are aimed at improving the spatial planning process and protecting the environment (appendix 2).
In addition to the above, the Government of Indonesia has ratified and integrated into national law many international en- vironmental treaties and conventions (e.g. the Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on International Trade in En- dangered Species, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention). Most of these support orangutan conservation at the national and international level. In 2007, the Indonesian government also released its own Indonesian National Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2007-2017, Ministry of Forestry 2009) to protect orangutans and their habitat, which was subse- quently signed into law and officially launched by the president.
Despite these policies and laws, forest loss on Sumatra con- tinues at a very high rate, as shown by this report and others (WWF 2010). It is thus clear that additional efforts to reduce forest loss are needed. Setting up systems under which ecosys- tem services (such as climate regulation) are valued and paid are a promising effort that could lead to a reduction in forest loss. Based on an analysis by the Government of Indonesia that assessed which aspects of forest protection and land use plan- ning would need to be improved to enable a solid framework for the implementation of REDD, the recommendation was that these efforts should focus on improving poor spatial planning processes and regulations, ineffective forest management units, weak management of forest land, land tenure inconsistencies, weak legal frameworks and the lack of firm law enforcement (BAPPENAS/UN-REDD 2010).