Preserving the Orangutan's Home in Tabalong's Peat Forests

A stretch of peat forest in Habau Village, Banua Lawas District, Tabalong Regency, South Kalimantan, still provides a living space for the Bornean orangutan. Beneath the dense forest canopy, this endemic species survives in a landscape that lies outside formal conservation areas, a habitat that continues to sustain various forms of wildlife. The presence of orangutans in this area is not merely a monitoring record. Nests found in the treetops signal that the forest ecosystem is still functioning well. For conservationists, these findings bring hope that orangutans still have a viable home worth defending in South Kalimantan. This hope has driven the South Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), together with the local government and various stakeholders, to take further steps. Beyond just monitoring the protected species, they are working towards protecting the landscape that serves as its habitat through a proposal for a Preservation Area to the Ministry of Forestry. BKSDA South Kalimantan’s Forest Ecosystem Controller, Heri Sofian, stated that the proposal process is still in the preparation stage. Several steps are underway, including forming a working group involving various parties, collecting data, and updating information as the basis for drafting the proposal. The area to be proposed is classified as an Area for Other Uses (APL). Although the exact size to be designated is still under discussion, various studies by BKSDA South Kalimantan, the South Kalimantan Forestry Service, and research institutions indicate that the potential habitat landscape for orangutans in the area reaches approximately 3,000 hectares. This landscape also serves a crucial ecological function. The area is a peat protection zone with high potential as an orangutan habitat. To date, the habitat condition is still considered good, making it necessary to preserve it before environmental pressures intensify. For BKSDA South Kalimantan, the orangutan is no longer just a national issue but has become an international one. The habitat in this area remains quite good and needs to be maintained. For South Kalimantan, proposing a Preservation Area is not merely about fulfilling an administrative procedure. This step represents an effort to safeguard the orangutan’s living space for its sustainability, while simultaneously maintaining the ecosystem functions of the peat forest that acts as a life support system. Efforts to protect the orangutan habitat in South Kalimantan have been carried out continuously over the past decade. Since 2015, BKSDA South Kalimantan, together with the South Kalimantan Forestry Service, local governments, and the community, has routinely conducted monitoring in the border areas of Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, Tabalong Regency, and East Barito Regency in Central Kalimantan. During the latest monitoring in Habau Village, officers again found several orangutan nest sites. The team also conducted observations using drones, although the dense forest canopy posed a challenge in identifying the animals. Results from joint monitoring since 2020 show that the orangutan nest density in Tabalong Regency reached 84.88 nests per square kilometre, with an estimated population of around 7.73 individuals. Meanwhile, in Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, a density of 121.36 nests per square kilometre was recorded, with an estimated population of about 12.45 individuals.