Aceh Timur is home to parts of the world renowned Gunung Leuser National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The district boasts significant natural lowland and tropical peatland forests. It is also a critical habitat for highly charismatic species, such as Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran elephants, and rhinos. It is part of Aceh Province, which has around 3 million hectares of forest, equating to 55% forest cover.   

Aceh Timur makes a significant contribution to Indonesia's agricultural production, primarily through palm oil and rice cultivation.  Palm oil is a critical commodity for regional revenue and livelihood, and rice supports food security. Natural rubber and cocoa are also important products.  Whilst palm oil expansion poses a significant deforestation risk to Aceh Timur, huge achievements have been made to tackle this threat. 

Deforestation in Aceh Timur increased significantly in 2024, with a total of 1.1kha hectares of forest loss, releasing significant amounts of CO2. A deforestation monitoring and verification team has now been established in the landscape.  Much of the deforestation is potentially linked to palm oil expansion driven by land clearing activities in twelve existing oil palm concessions near the Leuser Ecosystem.

The Aceh Green Growth Plan is developing a policy framework to protect High Conservation Value (HCV) areas. IDH is working with oil palm plants to help increase their productivity and implement No Deforestation No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) principles in the supply chain. A buffer zone management model is being developed to increase forest protection and regeneration, promote sustainable palm oil sourcing, and improve livelihoods.  The Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Roadmap - a provincial policy - aims to achieve a deforestation-free supply chain.   

Creating better incomes and inclusive markets 

NISCOPS aims to integrate smallholders into a deforestation-free sustainable palm oil supply chain, whilst bridging the gap towards a living income. Smallholder farmers benefit from training in Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and access to finance, certification and markets, particularly in remote areas. Public-private partnerships,support local farmers to achieve Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification. Palm oil productivity is also boosted through intensification of fresh fruit cluster production.