Rudi Putra

As a high school student who grew up in the region of Aceh, Putra showed a keen interest in the natural world. He studied the biology and conservation of the Sumatran rhino: the smallest member of the most endangered rhinoceros in the family. Putra become an expert researcher and also a tracker, who led an expedition aiming to protects rhinoceros in the field by pursuing and catching poachers in the Leuser Ecosystem. The area, which has an area of 6.4 million hectares of forest stretching from Aceh to North Sumatra, is federally protected and is one of the largest remaining habitats supporting the Sumatran rhino. Putra realised that in addition to attempting to stop illegal hunting, his efforts would not be complete without discussing and confronting the threat posed by habitat destruction from illegal logging and palm oil plantations. Further studies show the importance of forests for the 4 million people living close to the Leuser Ecosystem. Forests also provide protection from flooding; in the Leuser ecosystem the frequency and severity has been increasing. Putra sees it as his job not only to protect the rhinos and their habitat, but also the people of the region. ==Illegal palm oil plantations==

In the course of rescuing the land from the 'oilers' and enabling the natural ecosystems to regain their hold, Putra's approach was soundly based on grassroots innovations rather than direct lobbying of local government. This approach involved supporting a programme of local community education about the problem and how the scale of illegal logging threatens the lives not only of animals but also the people of Aceh. Putra created a chain of support from members of the community which started and gradually increased to include members of the government and police service. Currently, Putra oversees the recovery team that cut down the forest of palm trees in the Leuser Ecosystem. To this day, Putra has managed to reduce 26 illegal oil palm plantations. Twenty-four of these were closed willingly by the owners, whilst the other two were forcibly closed after a police operation following legal action. == FKL ==

Rudi and his colleagues founded Forum Konservasi Leuser (FKL) in 2013, which operates 28 teams to protect the leuser ecosystem by dismantling snares and restoring damaged forest. Most of the forest is restored naturally rather than through tree planting. Some 5,000 ha have been restored in this way as of 2021. ==Awards==

Environmental activists from six regions of the world received an award as part of the Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco on 28 April 2014. Each year the award is worth a $175,000 award for the individuals who have shown huge courage and initiative against the odds to take action to protect their environment. ==See also==