Promoting Natural Ecosystem Recovery in Tarakan, Telkom Partners with AYS Indonesia

Jakarta, VIVA – PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) continues to enhance collaboration and community engagement, including among the younger generation, in various environmental conservation initiatives. One such effort is realised through the Bumi Berseru Fest programme, which presents community-based solutions to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability, including proboscis monkey conservation initiatives and mangrove planting in Tarakan City, North Kalimantan. Telkom’s SGM Social Responsibility, Hery Susanto, stated that collaboration with communities is a crucial element in delivering solution-oriented and sustainable environmental preservation efforts. “Preserving the environment requires involvement from various parties, including the younger generation with their high level of concern and innovative ideas. Through the Bumi Berseru Fest programme, Telkom aims to open spaces for collaboration for communities to deliver real solutions in safeguarding ecosystems, while also cultivating public awareness of the importance of environmental preservation,” said Hery. One initiative emerging from the Bumi Berseru Fest 2025 programme is being run by the Association of Youth for Sustainability (AYS) Indonesia in Tarakan City, North Kalimantan. Stemming from concerns over the increasingly threatened mangrove ecosystem due to land conversion, habitat damage, and low public awareness, this community has initiated a conservation programme aimed at protecting the proboscis monkey as an endemic Kalimantan species while maintaining coastal ecosystem balance. Through an integrated approach, the programme delivers several strategic steps. From 19–21 December 2025, the AYS team along with TelkomGroup volunteers will build a Feeding Spot Center, a dedicated area for providing supplementary vitamins in the form of bananas to proboscis monkeys, as well as an educational facility for tourists to learn about the animals without disturbing their natural habitat. Subsequently, on 24 January 2026, AYS together with volunteers will plant 1,000 mangrove seedlings in Edu Park Kampung Empat as an effort to strengthen the coastal green belt and mitigate habitat damage. In addition to conservation actions, the programme is complemented by a scientific approach through ecosystem monitoring activities. In observations conducted on 7 January 2026, the team successfully identified 40 proboscis monkeys and mapped 27 mangrove species in the area. Findings from the feeding spot also reveal unique proboscis monkey behaviour, tending to be individualistic but forming groups when facing threats.