14 Oct Empowering Indigenous Communities to Protect Threatened Trees
Empowering Indigenous Communities to Protect Threatened Trees through Ancestral Forest Management
Partner: Sangga Bumi Lestari
Years: 2024-2027
The Betung Kerihun-Danau Sentarum landscape encompasses lush forests, meandering rivers, and rich biodiversity. The area between the national parks has long been recognised as a significant corridor connecting Danau Sentarum to Betung Kerihun. Sangga Bumi Lestari’s project focuses on eight villages that are key for enhancing ecological connectivity throughout the landscape and are populated predominantly by Indigenous people that are seeking customary recognition for their forests.
Gonystylus bancanus
The Betung Kerihun-Danau Sentarum landscape in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, faces imminent threats driven by agricultural expansion, fires, and logging, endangering at least 32 threatened tree species.
Among them are 10 species prized for their timber under the trade names meranti (Shorea spp.) and ramin (Gonystylus spp.). The latter, listed on CITES under Appendix II, has heavy trade restrictions due to a history of overexploitation. Historically, ramin trees have been a primary target due to their high commercial value, followed by exploitation of meranti when ramin supply dwindles.
Home to Indigenous Dayak Iban and Tamambaloh communities, the region grapples with economic challenges, and small-scale agriculture and logging activities persist, as well as an ever-increasing risk of fire.
To address this and safeguard threatened trees and habitat, this project focuses on four main areas: (1) research and monitoring to enhance understanding of threatened trees, (2) regular forest monitoring and patrols to respond to threats in real-time, (3) regeneration of degraded land through the planting of forest gardens, and (4) sustainable business development. This approach mitigates species-specific and canopy-level threats and reduces economic pressures that lead communities to clear forest areas and exploit threatened timber species.
