A New Chapter for Orangutan Conservation in East Kalimantan's Keraitan Landscape
In the midst of sprawling forests and the rapid pulse of industrial activity in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, lies a struggle unseen by many. Here, in the 560,000-hectare Keraitan Landscape, lives a population of Morio orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio), one of the most resilient yet most threatened orangutan subspecies. For decades, their living space has continued to shrink and fragment, forcing orangutans to cross highways, mining areas, and plantations to forage and meet one another. Now, a crucial step is being pioneered through the establishment of a preservation area, hoped to become a new lifeline for their survival.
On 12 June 2026 in Samarinda, the Ministry of Forestry, together with the East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), conservation organisations, academics, and several concession-holding companies in East Kutai, held a Public Consultation on the Proposed Indicative Map for the Orangutan Habitat Preservation Area in the Keraitan Landscape. This initiative is not merely a discussion forum but a marker of the beginning of a new chapter in landscape-based conservation in Indonesia, an answer to the complex challenges faced in orangutan protection.
Previously, handling orangutans outside conservation areas tended to be reactive. Responses usually only came after public reports or when photos and videos of human-orangutan encounters went viral on social media. Such a pattern is not only slow but also often causes misunderstandings within the community and adds to the burden on rescue teams in the field. Data shows an increasingly urgent situation. According to records from the Nature Writers Network (JPA), throughout 2024, the East Kalimantan BKSDA and partners evacuated 31 individual orangutans. In the first two months of 2025 alone, 37 individuals had to be rescued, surpassing the total evacuations for the entire previous year. These figures prove that waiting for conflict to occur is not a sustainable solution.
Consequently, the partial approach is being abandoned. A new commitment is realised through the formation of the Keraitan Landscape Integrated Orangutan Conservation Forum. This forum serves as a collaborative platform for various parties, from government agencies and conservation organisations such as the Conservation Action Network (CAN) and Ecositrop, to companies operating in the area. The companies involved come from various sectors, ranging from coal mining such as PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Ganda Alam Makmur, natural forest and industrial plantation managers like PT Kiani Lestari and PT Sumalindo Alam Lestari II, to palm oil plantation companies such as PT Sawit Prima Nusantara and PT Multi Pacific International. They have agreed to build a balance between the continuity of development and the protection of orangutan habitat. As the forum’s chairperson elected by acclamation, Dr. Yaya Rayadin from Mulawarman University is entrusted to lead the coordination. His extensive experience in researching and mapping orangutan habitats in East Kalimantan provides a crucial foundation to ensure every step taken is based on data and field conditions.