Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Project in West Kalimantan

Despite its relatively small size, Gunung Palung and the surrounding areas harbor what is thought to be one of the most dense and viable remaining orangutan populations in Kalimantan, and therefore, the world. A new census conducted in 2001, and funded in part by The Orangutan Conservancy, gives an estimate of 2500 individual orangutans - about 17% of the estimated population in Borneo and close to 10% of the world’s population.

The Orangutan Conservancy is very optimistic about the work of Cheryl Knott and Tim Laman at the Gunung Palung National Park, located on the western side of Borneo. They are directing the efforts to protect the forest as well as the wild orangutan population. The Orangutan Conservancy considers it a very important effort to support.
Cheryl Knott initiated a field study of wild orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, in 1994. Since then there has been an exponential increase in the amount of illegal logging within this National Park. This, in conjunction with the recent fires raging across the Indonesian rain forests, made immediate conservation action in this area of paramount importance. Thus the Gunung Palung Orangutan Protection Plan was initiated to address the threat to orangutans and their rain forest habitat
The project combats this critical situation with a three-pronged approach: 

  1. Conducting scientific investigation of the factors governing orangutan reproduction and population viability. (The presence of research teams on an ongoing basis seems to be somewhat beneficial in the protection of an area in itself.)
  2. Increasing awareness on the local level to encourage support for conservation of the park and community education around the park.
  3. Capacity building for National Park Office staff

Funding has already been obtained from the National Geographic Society and other sources to cover the scientific investigation of the factors governing orangutan reproduction and population viability. Funding from The Orangutan Conservancy has been sent specifically to cover the other two elements of this project: promoting local awareness about Gunung Palung in West Kalimantan, and helping to support the National Park office in its efforts at park protection and community education around the park.

More about Gunung Palung National Park:

This 100,000 ha (241,700 acres) park is located on the southwestern coast of Borneo. It is rich in rain forest habitats and plant and animal biodiversity. It has coastal mangrove forest and fresh and brackish water swamp forest, lowland peat swamp forest, various types of lowland forest, submontane and montane forest. Until recently its wildlife populations were undisturbed.

The orangutan is considered the umbrella species for conservation in the area, and is also an important ecological agent for seed dispersal and seed predation. It is believed that orangutans at Gunung Palung constitute one of the most dense and largest populations on Borneo. 

Currently, however, their rain forest home is severely threatened, as illegal logging continues at at an alarming speed.
Read more in our Links section about what is being done to help. 

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