JakartaGlobe-Feb 19
From January to February, the Conservation and Natural Resources Center of East Kalimantan rescued 37 orangutans in East Kutai and Kutai Kartanegara districts. Ari Wibawanto, Head of the Conservation and Natural Resources Center, said the rescue efforts were divided into three categories: the translocation of 28 orangutans, rehabilitation of five orangutans, and the release of four orangutans. In the evacuation process, the Conservation Center was assisted by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP), and the Conservation Action Network Borneo (CAN Borneo). The forests used for translocation and release were Kehje Sewen Forest managed by Restorasi Habitat Orangutan Indonesia (RHOI), Gunung Mesangat by The Centre for Orangutan Protection, and Kutai National Park, managed by the National Park. “We conduct mitigation efforts related to the welfare of the animals, especially the orangutans. Based on reports from the public, there were orangutans involved in conflicts, damaging crops. Some also entered mining areas,” he said on Wednesday. Most of the orangutans that were successfully rescued were in the Perdau area of East Kutai. One of them went viral on social media after allegedly entering the coal mining area of Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC). “Out of the 28 translocations, 70 percent were evacuated from the Perdau area and the East Kutai Poros Road,” he added. The growing number of orangutan conflict reports in East Kutai calls for the formation of a forum for orangutan rescue in high-risk areas by the Conservation Center and orangutan researchers. Ari said this rescue effort is not the last, but rather a long process. Given the large number of conflicts, they are organizing rescue efforts by designing a meta-population of orangutans.
According to him, the rapid pace of development should be balanced with environmental safety, especially in maintaining wildlife habitats.
“We need to consider how the development process must align with environmental preservation. We are striving to involve all stakeholders, particularly those in the Keraitan Landscape, which holds the largest orangutan meta-population in East Kutai,” he said. Read more at:
