Conservation and sustainable utilization of tropical trees from North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract Tree species have received more attention recently due to its contribution and prospective utilization. Although provided many function for human and ecosystem, the existence of trees also threatened due to illegal harvesting and forest conversion. Sustainable utlization approaches were needed for increasing the value and willingness of the community to engage in conservation activities. Although many tropical tree species, especially in North Sumatra, have been exploited, there are still few reports of sustainable approaches to those species. In this study, the assessment of several local tree species in North Sumatra was approached with five conditions adopted from previous research, those were :1) sustainable harvesting, (2) no threat interaction, (3) effective commercialization, (4) economic benefits to farmers, and 5) utilization of financial proceeds to promote conservation initiatives. The results of the study illustrate that although these four criteria are fulfilled, the forest product trade often does not provide sufficient financial benefits to protect forests from other threats. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the interaction between threats for sustainable use and conservation, by using a precise conceptual model. The financial benefits of sustainable use must be adequate to support conservation efforts that can overcome various threats to tree species conservation.