Mawas - BOSF: A New Habitat Protection Project

BOSF (the BOS Foundation headquartered in Indonesia) and the Indonesian government are establishing the framework for BOSF to serve as the new executing agency for the protection of Mawas, a new habitat protection area in Central Kalimantan. This area of approximately 364,000 hectares was saved from conversion to oil palms in 1997 and has not yet been reallocated to other uses. More than 80 percent of the land is very good quality swamp forest and it is estimated to have a wild orangutan population of some 3,000 individuals. This area is one of the few contiguous blocks of lowland forest left where still significant numbers of wild orangutans survive and that has not yet been reallocated to a commercial enterprise. While the status of the area is currently production forest, a proposal calls for its conversion into a conservation area in a debt-for-nature swap and carbon offset deal. It is unclear how much of this area will move into this protected status.

Mawas would be managed under a public/private partnership between the government of Indonesia, the BOSF, and possibly several other conservation groups. BOSF would be the principal managing agency for the Mawas. Preparatory work to set up the new protected area to the East of Palangkaraya, Mawas, has been initiated by Dr. Willie Smits of the BOS Foundation. Protection activities will include monitoring of illegal loggings, as well as with law enforcement activities. Significant steps must be taken to enforce existing Indonesian laws by assisting locally in the prosecution of criminals. Education and capacity building programs are another critical element of the protection project.

The protection of Mawas will depend on leveraging resources and support from private industry, international organizations and the Indonesian government to:

  • Obtain a debt-for-nature swap between the Indonesian Government and the World Bank. BOS Foundation has received authorization from the Indonesian government to negotiate with the World Bank for the swap and has held several meetings with World Bank representatives in the US and in Indonesia.
  • Establish marketable carbon sinks with “Certified Tradable Offsets” (CTO’s) based on a forest carbon sequestration program with performance guarantees, carbon reserve pools, and third party certification. Although the Kyoto agreement is not yet ratified and therefore a legal instrument, a number of international companies have voluntarily agreed to comply with its terms. BOS Foundation met with Shell International in the Netherlands in December of 2001 to discuss their interest in buying CTO’s.
  • Establish support from other non-Kyoto type alliances similar in structure to the AIJ (Activities Implemented Jointly) initiated in Costa Rica during the mid 1990’s.
  • Obtain funding from GEF, USAID, GACA and other funding agencies for various protection, education/capacity building and law enforcement programs.
  • Continue monitoring and law enforcement activities in Mawas. (These programs are proceeding and cannot be delayed if the areas and their valued residents are to be protected.).
  • Develop and disseminate public awareness and educational programs worldwide. Within the United States it would include web-based information dissemination, distribution of videos and a curriculum through the national school system (e.g., making available “What the Orangutan Told Alice” along with a teaching syllabus and the film “The Disenchanted Forest”).) It will also include providing lecture tours for adult outreach in North America, Australia and Western Europe. In Indonesia, several children’s books are being prepared for distribution including “What the Orangutan Told Alice”. Orangutan conservation ads have been aired nationally in Indonesia, and the Disenchanted Forest is being translated for Indonesian distribution.
  • Establish & develop conservation-related jobs and other types of sustainable income sources for Indonesians living in or adjacent to the protected areas.

BOSF has completed the initial satellite monitoring of the proposed new reserve. Surveys were conducted to determine the number of wild orangutans in the reserve, to assess the habitat quality and carrying capacity for wildlife, and to identify areas of core importance within the overall area. In addition, social economic surveys are being conducted in all the surrounding villages to establish traditional utilization of the area, expected participation of the local people, needs of the local people and possible alternatives that might be offered to the local people.

Mr. Djamaludin (former Indonesian Minister of Forestry) and Dr. Smits met with and obtained support from Minister of Forestry Asmawi of the Indonesian government. They also met with the governor of Central Kalimantan and with the Minister of National Planning, Kwik Kian Gie. All signs indicate that these officials support the concept.

Prince Bernhardt of the Netherlands (Honorary Patron of BOSF) arranged meetings between Dr. Smits and Shell International regarding carbon offset programs, and Dr. Smits is currently quantifying the potential marketable carbon sinks in the Mawas area. Should the area not qualify under the Kyoto Protocol or should US companies be interested, other options might include partnership similar to the AIJ projects implemented in Costa Rica during the 1990’s.

Partners and Recent Contributors: BOSF, The Orangutan Conservancy, the Delano Foundation and the Unocal Corporation. Other desired partners include:

Indonesian government; Indonesian NGOs; World Bank; GEF program; US AID; The Gibbon Foundation; Conservation International; and, institutions capable of establishing a market for the sale of the CTO’s.

Project Leader: Dr. Willie Smits

Prospectus & Update for Mawas Conservation Project is now available in PDF form

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Today it is estimated that in the world’s rainforests alone, 27,000 species are extinguished every year-74 species a day. Orangutans are found only in the rainforests of Borneo & Sumatra. The population of wild orangutans has declined by more than half in the last 20 years, and approximately 80% of its natural habitat has been lost in the last half century.

The Orangutan Conservancy is dedicated to the conservation of orangutans and their habitat through preserving the remaining orangutan populations and by promoting the changes that are needed to preserve their natural habitat. By protecting orangutans in their natural environment, most other native species, including plants and insects will also survive.

Specifically The Orangutan Conservancy carries out this mission as follows:

  • By providing funding to a variety of orangutan protection programs;
  • By providing funding to various Wildlife Rescue Programs in Indonesia. These programs are established to support and coordinate animal conservation efforts in Indonesia;
  • By providing emergency funding to help protect critical habitats of the orangutan. This includes assisting efforts to control forest fires where important populations of such animals exist or supporting other emergency activities to protect and preserve the target species of the organization; and,
  • By improving public awareness of the plight of the orangutan and their habitats on Borneo and Sumatra and in the United States.

The Orangutan Conservancy is an independent US nonprofit (501c3) organization. We are operated entirely by dedicated volunteers, and we strive to keep administrative costs to a bare minimum to ensure that your donations reach the projects in the field where they belong. Our formation was inspired by the Balikpapan Orangutan Society in Balikpapan, Indonesia, which was established in 1991 by Dr. Willie Smits in the town of Balikpapan to support the Wanariset Orangutan Reintroduction Program. We continue a close and supportive relationship with the BOS in Indonesia, now known as BOS Foundation.

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