Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio recently lent his star power to the Indonesian jungles to highlight issues of deforestation. The actor jetted in to spend time at the Leuser ecosystem located in Sumatra. He traveled with Adrian Brody and Fisher Stevens.
According to the Daily Mail, DiCaprio and his traveling companions participated in a tour of Mount Leuser National Park. During the tour, the star-studded group stopped at a research facility in the park. In addition, they spent time with three Sumatran orangutans.
The "Revenant " star took to Instagram to share a photo with those who worked with endangered elephants in the park. In the caption, he warned that the increase in palm oil plantations could have detrimental effects on the island's elephants.
The "Wolf Of Wall Street" star's foundation called the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is promoting the establishment of a mega -fauna sanctuary in the ecosystem. The actor's foundation is looking to support local partners towards this means.
An avid environmentalist and campaigner, DiCaprio's set up his foundation in 1998. DiCaprio addressed the Climate Summit in 2014 at the UN head office in New York. He also attended the Paris climate change talks in 2015.
According to EcoWatch, the Leuser ecosystem comprises of more than 6 million acres of tropical rainforest and peatlands. The region is reported to be the last location where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos coexist in the wild.
Furthermore, it is anticipated that these species will eventually be driven to extinction if the current palm oil industry expands.The citizens of Aceh filed a lawsuit against the Aceh provincial government's Spatial Land Use Plan, the publication reported.
The plan would involve the Leuser forest being made available to clearing for mining and palm oil production.DiCaprio's interest in the rain forest was vocalized in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. At the summit, he pledged to dedicate $15 million of the foundation's funds towards projects in the Leuser Ecosystem.
Watch DiCaprio as he address the Climate Summit in 2014: