Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) is prioritizing protection of critically endangered orangutans and their habitats as forest fires threaten the region during the dry season.
“To protect wildlife during the peak dry season and potential habitat disruption, field officers continue extinguishing fires in affected areas,” BKSDA official Imam Setyo Hartanto said here Tuesday.
The agency has prepared rescue and relocation measures for orangutans affected by fires, which destroy forests while restricting the primates’ movement and access to natural food sources.
Habitat fragmentation often drives orangutans toward human settlements, increasing the risk of conflict. The agency recently rescued several orangutans from fire-affected areas in Ketapang District.
Hartanto said the government cannot address the threats alone.
“Orangutan conservation amid habitat degradation and forest fires requires broad support. Empowering Indigenous and local communities is essential to successful conservation and sustainable land management,” he said.
West Kalimantan is a key stronghold for Bornean orangutans, providing habitat for two subspecies, Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii and Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus.
The latter is particularly vulnerable, with a 2016 viability assessment estimating its population at 4,520. Many live in protected landscapes linking Indonesia’s Betung Kerihun and Lake Sentarum national parks with Sarawak, Malaysia.
Riyandi, a Tanjungpura University biologist, said orangutans are an umbrella species that require large, connected habitats to thrive and maintain ecosystem balance.
BKSDA, local governments and conservation groups are working to strengthen protection of critical ecological corridors and prevent further population declines, he said.
Pewarta: Rendra Oxtora, Uyu Liman
Editor : Vicki Febrianto
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