Providing Sanctuary for Threatened Fauna

The island of Borneo, known in Indonesia as Kalimantan, is home to countless species of wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. However, decades of forest clearing, mostly for the palm oil industry, threaten the survival of these unique species. Among these is Müller’s gray gibbon (Hylobates muelleri), the distinctive-looking proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), and the Bornean bay cat (Catopuma badia). All are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and all are protected under Indonesian wildlife conservation laws. Another protected species, the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanca), is in even graver danger: it’s among the most widely trafficked species in the world, poached for its meat and its scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

What these four species, and many others, have in common is that they can be found in the wild today in the Tandarayan Arboretum conservation area developed by Kideco. We have shown that this reclaimed post-mining area can be transformed into a pristine wildlife habitat — a sanctuary for at-risk species. Based on results from the evaluation of biodiversity monitoring, we have also observed that the formation of a food chain has occurred in the area, indicating that the ecosystem is functioning.

In other efforts to protect biodiversity in the area, Indika Energy collaborates with various national and international organizations. For example, together with the Ecology Center for Tropical Studies (ECOSITROP), Kideco annually monitors and evaluates the reclamation area, which also serves as a habitat for the animals, buffer forest areas and wildlife corridors.