Pontianak, Indonesia
Drastic habitat reduction, poaching and the illegal pet trade have left the world’s largest population of Western Bornean orangutans facing local extinction unless immediate protection measures are taken, a WWF survey finds.
The most comprehensive survey of the distribution of Western Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) in Betung Kerihun National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and adjacent areas revealed the dire circumstances of the subspecies.
The report, launched today in Pontianak, concludes that approximately 1,030 Western Bornean orangutans are found within and around Betung Kerihun National Park, out of an estimated 4,800 total population for the subspecies throughout Borneo. Of the three currently recognized Bornean orangutan subspecies, the Western Bornean orangutan is by far the most endangered. It is found only in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan.
“This orangutan population needs protection now to make sure it doesn't go extinct,” said Albertus Tjiu, Species Officer of WWF-Indonesia’s Putussibau Office, West Kalimantan.
The population offers the best chance of long-term survival for this taxon throughout Borneo and has been recognized internationally as a “high priority population” in the Great Ape Survival Programme, led by UNESCO and UNEP. Specific actions to boost protection of this population among others include the enforcement of a zero-hunting policy inside the park, increasing the size of protected forests in the Embaloh River watershed area and the creation of a transborder protected area.
In addition, the survey reveals that a significant number of orangutans are found outside the park, particularly in forests used by the local population for various purposes, making those individuals especially vulnerable to exploitation and habitat loss.
“The priority for protecting this subspecies outside the park is to undertake an exhaustive assessment to identify high-value forests with significant numbers of orangutans,” said Dr. Marc Ancrenaz, author of the report. “Until the assessment is completed, no forest with the potential to harbour orangutans should be converted.”
The report is based on a survey by WWF and its partners of orangutans within Betung Kerihun National Park and adjacent areas, including the Danau Sentarum National Park. The surveys were conducted by WWF-Indonesia, Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry (PHKA), local NGOs and local villagers, with the technical assistance of the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project. The work included interviews with local villagers, map analysis, habitat assessment and a census along transects in the forest.
WWF and partners call for the establishment of a forest corridor linking the two protected populations within Betung Kerihun and the neighboring park, Danau Sentarum, as a crucial action to secure the long-term survival of this subspecies in Borneo. These parks are located in the “Heart of Borneo,” a transboundary conservation initiative involving the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia that that aims to conserve and sustainably manage one of the most important centers of biological diversity in the world
“The Indonesian government is committed to the protection of the orangutan population and its habitat and will work with all stakeholders to create synergy for the effectiveness of orangutan conservation,” said Adi Susmianto, Director of Biodiversity Conservation in Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry. “This commitment has been reflected in the Bornean Orangutan Action Plan, which resulted from a stakeholders’ workshop in Pontianak last year.”
For further information:
Dr. Marc Ancrenaz, Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project/HUTAN,
email: hutan1@tm.net.my,
007-60-88-250540/+60138756009
Albertus Tjiu, Species Officer, WWF-Indonesia Putussibau Office,
email: albertus_1972@yahoo.com
phone/mobile: +62 567 22258/+628125624019
Herry Djoko Susilo, Head of Genetic and Species Conservation,
Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation,
Ministry of Forestry,
phone +62 08161395934
Notes to Editor:
- The complete report in English, “Consultancy on Survey Design and Data Analysis at Betung Kerihun Nastional Park, Kalimantan, Indonesia,” can be downloaded at www.wwf.or.id
- There are three separate subspecies of Bornean orangutan: Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii, and Pongo pygmaeus morio. The first two are found in West Kalimantan and Sarawak, Malaysia, and the last one is found in East Kalimantan and Sabah. Today, Bornean orangutans number only about 50,000 individuals.
- The Western Bornean orangutan, P.p.pygmaeus, is by far the most endangered of the three subspecies. Two major populations occur in protected forests: Batang Ai National Park and Lanjak Entimau Nature Reserve in Sarawak and Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum National Park in West Kalimantan.
- Located in West Kalimantan’s Kapuas Hulu district, Betung Kerihun National Park was declared a national park in 1996 and covers an area of approximately 800,000 km. More information on the park can be found at www.wwf.or.id
- The Danau Sentarum National Park, a huge wetland and swamp forest area 60 kilometers south of Betung Kerihun, is home to a significant number of orangutans, but the general population appears to be highly fragmented and the forest are in very bad condition due to fires, agricultural development and illegal logging.
- More information on the Heart of Borneo Initiative can be found at : http://www.panda.org/heart_of_borneo
Link/Download The Report:
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY p. 5
INTRODUCTION p. 7
PREVIOUS REPORTS ON ORANG-UTAN PRESENCE IN BKNP p. 10
1. First population size estimates
2-3. ITTO Expedition and associated field -work
4. Survey of DAS Mendalan
5-6. Surveys by Takahashi et al.
7. Surveys by WWF-Indonesia BKNP team
8. Pre-PHVA Surveys
RESULTS OF INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED DURING THE 2005 SURVEYS p. 14
MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY p. 20
1. Field methodology
1.1. Choice of methods to survey orang -utans at BKNP p. 20
1.2. Line-transects p. 21
1.3. Recce-walks p. 21
1.4. Forest structure and composition p. 22
1.5. Opportunistic wildlife data p. 22
2. Data analysis
2.1. Correction for slopes p. 22
2.2. Line transect analysis for nest density estimates p. 23
2.3. RWs and kilometric indexes p. 24
2.4. Transformation of a nest density into an orang-utan p. 25
density: nest parameters
2.5. Estimate precision p. 26
2.6. Orang-utan population size estimates p. 27
2.6.1. Sampling effort
2.6.2. Maps
2.6.3. Stratification and final extrapolation
RESULTS p. 29
1. Survey location p. 29
2. Structure/composition of the forest and nest distribution p. 29
2.1. Tree density and tree diameter p. 29
2.2. Forest composition p. 30
3. Nest characteristics p. 33
3.1. Age classes of nests at BKNP p. 34
3.2. Height of nests at BKNP p. 34
3.3. Tree genera and nesting site selection p. 35
3.4. Nest distribution in the forest: impact of human disturbance p. 35
4. Orang-utan nest and orang-utan densities p. 36
4.1. Data Exploration p. 36
4.2. Site-specific nest decay rates p. 39
4.3. Estimating orang -utan nest and orang-utan densities p. 40
using line-transect data
4.3.1. Creating a new distance project
4.3.2. Results for the four survey areas
4.4. Correlation between results obtained along line-transects p. 42
and recce-walks: design of a predictive model
4.5. Influence of forest composition on orang-utan densities p. 45
4.5.1. Influence of dipterocarp abundance on orang-utan presence.
4.5.2. Influence of other tree species on orang-utan abundance
4.6. Final orang -utan population size estimates p. 47
4.6.1. Orang-utans within BKNP
4.6.2. Orang-utans outside of BKNP
RESULTS OF BRIEF SURVEYS CONDUCTED AT AND AROUND p. 49
DANAU SENTARUM NATIONAL PARK
GENERAL DISCUSSION p. 51
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER ACTIONS FOR ORANG-UTANS p. 54
LIVING WITHIN AND AROUND BKNP
Urgent Actions at the landscape level p. 54
Monitoring activities p. 55
Identifying and networking with partners involved in orang-utan conservation p. 56
Divulgate information about the situation of orang-utans in Upper Kapuas region p. 58
Activities of law enforcement p. 60
LITERATURE p. 61
ANNEXES
Annex 1: General results of the surveys
Annex 2: Schedule of activities during the expertise
Annex 3: Samples of data sheet samples used during fieldwork
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