Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,557,847 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Declining orangutan populations in and around the Danau Sentarum National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.


This paper presents the combined results of two separate orangutan orangutan (ōrăng`tăn), an ape, Pongo pygmaeus, found in swampy coastal forests of Borneo and Sumatra.  survey efforts and an assessment of land cover change analysis in the Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP DSNP Digital Signal Noise Processing
DSNP Danau Sentarum National Park (Borneo)
DSNP Digital Synchronization Network Plan
), West Kalimantan West Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Barat often abbreviated to Kalbar) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator line. , Indonesia. These studies show that the DSNP and surrounding areas contain high numbers of orangutans, making these populations of global significance to the species' survival in the wild. However, in the Park and its surrounding areas, 40,339 ha habitat disappeared between 1973 and 1990, and 32,586 ha between 1990 and 1997. This equals a total decrease of 29% in the total orangutan habitat over the last 27 years. In that same period contiguous habitat patches judged to be large enough to support a substantial orangutan population also decreased in number and in size. Therefore, orangutan populations in DSNP are likely in decline. In addition to this, the most recent land cover changes and land-use plans indicate that much primary orangutan habitat is still targeted for logging or conversion into plantations. The main reas on for the decreasing trend in orangutan populations is that the present Park boundary does not include the most important contiguous orangutan habitats in the north and east of the Park. We therefore recommend extending the boundary of the present park to include prime unprotected orangutan habitat. Also, connecting the Park to the nearby Bentuang Karimun National Park would join two important, now segregated orangutan

Introduction

The orangutan is now found exclusively on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo and over 90% of its habitat lies within the Republic of Indonesia. Rijksen and Meijaard (1999) estimated the 1997 orangutan population of Borneo to be 15,000 and that of Sumatra to be 12,000. Van Schaik et al. (in press) found that the orangutan's situation in Sumatra's lowland forests had drastically deteriorated since 1997 and updated Rijksen and Meijaard's estimate for the total Sumatran population to about 7,500. Van Schaik et al. predict that over the next ten years the Sumatran population will further decline to 4,500 in the most optimistic op·ti·mist  
n.
1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome.

2. A believer in philosophical optimism.



op
 scenario, and to 1,500 in the more realistic one. The situation in Borneo is probably even worse. Experts now predict that the orangutan will go extinct in the wild Extinct in the Wild (EW) is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.  within the next 20 years unless significant changes in forest conservation are achieved (Rijksen and Meijaard 1999; van Schaik et al. in press). A major reason for the continuous decline in orangutan numbers is that humans and ora ngutans favor the same habitats, namely, alluvial al·lu·vi·al  
adj.
Of, relating to, or found in alluvium: alluvial soil; alluvial gold.


alluvial
Adjective

of or relating to alluvium

Noun
 flood plains and valleys. The outcome of the conflict is invariably in·var·i·a·ble  
adj.
Not changing or subject to change; constant.



in·vari·a·bil
 losses for orangutans (Rijksen and Meijaard 1999).

Swamp swamp, shallow body of water in a low-lying, poorly drained depression, usually containing abundant plant growth dominated by trees, such as cypress, and high shrubs.  forests are important for the conservation of orangutans because they represent prime orangutan habitat and are often less affected by logging and agricultural development than dry-land forests (Meijaard, 1997). These forest habitats offer high yields of soft-pulp fruit, orangutans' dietary mainstay, and can support orangutans at more than twice the density of other habitat types (Payne and Andau 1994; van Schaik et al. 1995b; Sugardjito and van Schaik 1992). The Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP) region, with its core of seasonal lakes and freshwater fresh·wa·ter  
adj.
1. Of, relating to, living in, or consisting of water that is not salty: freshwater fish; freshwater lakes.

2. Situated away from the sea; inland.

3.
 swamps surrounded by peat swamp forest Peat swamp forests are tropical moist forests where waterlogged soils prevent dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing, which over time creates thick layer of acidic peat. Large areas of these forests are being logged at high rates.  and hills, provides ideal habitat for orangutans (see Figure 1).

Despite the attractive habitat and suspected orangutan presence, incidental interviews and sightings
For the New York City-based band, see Sightings (band)


Sightings was a paranormal-themed television program that was first broadcast as an hour special entitled "UFO Report: Sightings" in October 1991.
 suggested very few orangutans in the DSNP region by the mid-1980s (Giesen 1987). The probable reasons are, first, that orangutan presence is very hard to detect without specific search techniques and second, that human disturbance in the form of hunting and logging had driven orangutans away. Hunting in the region most likely concerns illegal trade in wildlife, not food. Orangutans live in close proximity to humans throughout the DSNP region (Meijaard et a!. 1996); the human population in the greater DSNP area (DSNP-G in Figure 1) had reached 6,900 to 9,000 by the mid 1990s (Aglionby 1995). Inhabitants
:This article is about the video game. For Inhabitants of housing, see Residency
Inhabitants is an independently developed commercial puzzle game created by S+F Software. Details
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame.
 are mostly Muslim Malay fisherfolk and Iban Dayaks, who are unlikely to hunt orangutans for food for reasons of religion and cultural taboo taboo or tabu (both: tăb`, tə–), prohibition of an act or the use of an object or word under pain of punishment. . There are, however, some Iban that hunt and eat orangutan, and certainly the Maloh Dayaks that also occur in the area reported to be very keen on orangutan meat (Rijksen an d Meijaard, 1999; pers. obs.). Logging has been a major source of human disturbance in the region and it commonly degrades areas of prime orangutan habitat (Payne and Andau 1994; Sugardjito and van Schaik 1992). Commercial logging from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s seriously degraded de·grad·ed  
adj.
1. Reduced in rank, dignity, or esteem.

2. Having been corrupted or depraved.

3. Having been reduced in quality or value.
 the swamp forest directly adjacent to DSNP. Much of that forest to the north, east, and west of DSNP was designated as Production Forest (Ministry of Forestry-National Forest Inventory 1993: see Giesen 1987; Meijaard et al. 1996).

Giesen (1987) had concluded that few orangutans remained around DSNP and those few ranged more or less permanently on relatively undisturbed un·dis·turbed  
adj.
Not disturbed; calm.


undisturbed
Adjective

1. quiet and peaceful: an undisturbed village

2.
 high ground beyond the reserve's boundary. Two major issues provided the impetus to reassess reassess
Verb

to reconsider the value or importance of

reassessment n

Verb 1. reassess - revise or renew one's assessment
reevaluate
 the situation. As recently as 1995, almost no detailed information was available on Bornean orangutan The Bornean Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the slightly smaller Sumatran Orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes found in Asia.  distribution to guide habitat protection proposals (Rijksen et al. 1995; Soemarna et al. 1995). Meijaard et a!. (1996) undertook a survey to establish orangutan presence in the DSNP region as part of a major effort to locate all remaining orangutan populations in Borneo (Rijksen and Meijaard 1999). Second, redefining the boundary and status of DSNP was under discussion. The original Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve (DSWR DSWR Downward Shortwave Radiation ), designed to protect the region's unique wetland habitat, was gazetted in 1982 as an area of about 80,000 ha with a core of open lakes. Two extensions to the reserve were subsequently proposed (Figure 1), one of which has been implemented as a National Park (DSNP ). The present DSNP boundary, a moderate extension of the Wildlife Reserve, appended about 50,000 ha of the hill areas to the southeast of DSWR plus the immediate catchment catch·ment  
n.
1. A catching or collecting of water, especially rainwater.

2.
a. A structure, such as a basin or reservoir, used for collecting or draining water.

b.
 of peat swamp and low hills (Giesen, Deschamps, Dennis 1994). A second, greater extension (DSNP-G) proposed to append To add to the end of an existing structure.  an additional 60,000 ha covering mucfl of the unprotected swamp forest beyond DSNP (Jeanes 1996). Neither proposal was designed for the specific protection of orangutans, so current quantitative estimates of orangutan distribution could help determine which proposal offers better protection of orangutan habitat. Russon et al. (1996) carried out a nest count survey to generate quantitative estimates of orangutan distribution in these three protected/potentially protected areas
This article refers to protected regions of environmental or cultural value. For the protected area of a cricket pitch, see cricket pitch.


Protected areas
. In addition to the surveys, an assessment was made of the change in orangutan habitat between 1973 and 1997 in each of these three Danau Sentarum areas, based on remotely sensed data and field checks.

This paper summarizes present knowledge of the status of orangutans in the wider Danau Sentarum area. We analyze the most recent developments in the area and assess their potential impact on the remaining orangutans. Based on this we provide management recommendations for the Park.

Interview Survey

Meijaard et al.'s (1996) Danau Sentarum orangutan surveys were part of a Borneo-wide orangutan survey effort conducted between 1994 and 1997 (see Rijksen and Meijaard 1999). During that period, Meijaard made 4 visits to the greater Danau Sentarum area, followed by another recent one in October 2000. EM gathered information on orangutan presence mainly by interviewing local villagers and employees of timber and oil palm companies, and by collecting information from researchers and government staff in the DSNP area. Whenever possible, statements about orangutan presence were verified with concrete evidence (e.g., orangutan nests, locally captured orangutans, or hunting trophies like skulls). The data collected on orangutan presence were plotted on maps and compared with the distribution of potential orangutan habitat. Potential habitat was defined as all forest below 500 meter a.s.l., based on the 1995 forest cover data set made by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre The United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre or UNEP-WCMC is an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme, based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom.  (WCMC WCMC World Conservation Monitoring Centre
WCMC Weill Cornell Medical College
WCMC Westchester Medical Center (Valhalla, NY)
WCMC Weill Cornell Medical Center
WCMC Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee
). An overlay (1) A preprinted, precut form placed over a screen, key or tablet for identification purposes. See keyboard template.

(2) A program segment called into memory when required.
 of orangutan presenc e records and potential habitat generated an estimated distribution range.

These survey data indicated greater current presence of orangutans than expected and concentration of orangutans in swamp areas to the east and north of the lakes. Reports of orangutan presence in and south of Bentuang Karimun National Park, which lies 40 km to the northeast of DSNP, indicated that the DSNP orangutans were at the western-most limit of a much bigger population. Rijksen and Meijaard (1999) estimated the total remaining habitat available to the DSNP area orangutan population at some 600,000 ha, most of which is outside either of the two protected Park areas and rather fragmented. Present-day pressures on non-protected forest are such that the long-term survival of the orangutan outside the two Parks is considerably threatened. Considering the remaining amount of habitat and its suspected quality, these surveys suggested that the larger Danau Sentarum area could be of global importance for the survival of orangutans (Meijaard et al. 1996). The surveys also turned up evidence that trading in orang utans over the border into Sarawak, in Sawit (Kecamatan Badau), most likely involves orangutans from the DSNP region. Meijaard noted limited control of goods over the Indonesia-Sarawak border, near Badau, which would facilitate the smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain  of protected species like orangutans. However, because of the exploratory nature of the surveys, additional quantitative surveys were required to estimate population size and the conservation status of the area's orangutan population.

Orangutan nest survey

Subsequently, Russon, Erman and Dennis (in press) conducted a nest survey to generate quantitative estimates of orangutan distribution and the total orangutan population. Following van Schaik et al. (1995b), if nests are censused along line transects, the number of nests identified provides an estimate of nest density per [km.sup.2]. This can be translated into estimates of orangutan density and of the total orangutan population.

Nests were censused along line transects in seven areas where Meijaard et al. (1996) obtained reports of recent orangutan presence. For each area, [+ or -] 3 km of line transect tran·sect  
tr.v. tran·sect·ed, tran·sect·ing, tran·sects
To divide by cutting transversely.



[trans- + -sect.
 were sampled (per van Schaik and Azwar 1991). To minimize habitat variability within transects, area samples took the form of three 1-km or two 1.5-km transects (van Schaik et al. 1995b). Within the original Wildlife Reserve (DSWR), three areas were sampled (see Figure 1 for locations), (1) Hutan Nung, the protected forest A protected forest is a specific term to denote forests with some amount of legal, and / or constitutional protection in certain countries, besides being a generic term to denote forests where the habitat and resident species are legally accorded protection.  southwest of Sekulat, (2) northwest of Bukit Pegah, and (3) a logged forest northeast of Leboyan. In the extension that generated DSNP, three areas were sampled, (4) Semujan and (5) Piat/Menyukung, two hill regions in the southeast, and (6) lowlands near Meliau. In the DSNP-G extension, one area was sampled, (7) lowlands in the largest block of the extension, to the north of DSNP. For more detailed description of methods, see Russon et al. (in press).

To factor differences in habitat quality into estimates, the habitat along each transect was classified in terms of two factors known to affect orangutan distribution, vegetation type and disturbance/degradation level (e.g., Rijksen et al. 1995; van Schaik et al. 1995b; Sugardjito and van Schaik 1992). Vegetation was classified into four types according to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3.
 their capacity to support orangutans, based on vegetation features observed along each transect: 1. swamp/peat forest, 2. lowland hill forest, 3. open and fragmented forest (farmland, clearing, secondary forest), and 4. unusable (agriculture, regeneration after fire, recently burnt, settlement, water). Disturbance level was classified as low, medium, or high based on the overall degree of habitat damage observed along each transect (e.g., logged, burnt, farmed). Both classifications were verified against a 1990 Landsat Land Cover Map of the Kapuas Lakes region. Coverage of each habitat type was obtained from a Geographic Information System geographic information system (GIS)

Computerized system that relates and displays data collected from a geographic entity in the form of a map. The ability of GIS to overlay existing data with new information and display it in colour on a computer screen is used primarily to
 developed for the Kapuas Lakes region (Dennis, 1997) and recently updated on the basis of field surveys (Dennis and Kurniawan, 2000).

The nest census found few orangutan nests within DSWR. In the moderate extension, the present DSNP, moderate to high numbers of nests were found even though the areas sampled were designated Production Forest. Transects up hills and along the foot of a highly disturbed hill tended to reveal fewer nests than transects in adjacent lowlands. Nest counts along two transects near the Iban Dayak town of Meliau beg explanation. One transect passed through farming areas and a corridor of forest that ran between fruit gardens. In total 40 nests were located along this corridor although it was narrow, under 100 m long, and the only forest along this transect. The second transect, along the shoreline of a lake, generated a relatively high number of nests even though only one side was forested and that forest represented poor orangutan habitat (stunted inundated in·un·date  
tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates
1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters.

2.
 forest, repeatedly burned) (Giesen 1995). The likely explanation for these unexpected results is that both transects sampled an area just west of a large expanse of tall swamp forest, and transient or overflow orangutans from the swamp forest were traveling to feed on fruit trees in this area. The swamp forest is classified as unprotected Production Forest and it lies just beyond the eastern DSNP boundary.

Transects in the greater extension, DSNP-G, generated the highest nest counts per km. These transects passed mostly through prime orangutan habitat, tall swamp forest with some peat near waterways The list of waterways is a link page for any river, canal, estuary or firth.
International waterways
  • Danish straits
  • Great Belt
  • Oresund
  • Bosporus
  • Dardanelles
. They tapped the edge of a large contiguous expanse of swamp forest that extends to the north and west of DSNP, up to the hills to the northeast and northwest and almost to the Sarawak border to the north. Numerous reports of orangutans from this forest and the forest's relatively low levels of disturbance suggest that orangutan densities may be similar across much to it. This swamp forest is contiguous with the swamp forest to the east of DSNP. It is currently unprotected Production Forest or Non-Forest (i.e. outside the area managed by the Ministry of Forestry).

Habitat-specific density estimates were used to estimate the orangutan population in each proposed protected area (see Table 1). Calculated population estimates are DSWR-147, DSNP-868, DSNP-G-2255.

These estimates are potentially upwardly biased. This nest survey, like others was biased to higher density areas because of the statistical and practical difficulties of studying a sparsely distributed species (Rijksen et al. 1995; van Schaik et al. 1995a). Compensation was made for this bias By estimating relative to habitat type but travel difficulties also biased sampling to areas near waterways, which support disproportionately high orangutan densities (Payne and Andau 1994; van Schaik and Azwar 1991). Upwardly biased estimates are problematic because they fail to detect the critical pattern for orangutans, dangerously small populations. Experts recommend correcting calculated estimates for systematic upward bias by a factor of 0.75, although the basis for this value is tenuous tenuous Intensive care adjective Referring to a 'touch-and-go,' uncertain, or otherwise 'iffy' clinical situation  (Rijksen et al. 1995; van Schaik et al. 1995a; Tilson et al. 1993). Correcting the calculated estimates by 0.75 gives DSWR-l10, DSNP-651, DSNP-G-1691. Corrected values may be interpreted as lower bound estimates (Rijksen et al. 19 95), for 1996.

Forest cover and land use assessment

To relate the observed orangutan distribution to changes in forest cover and land-use patterns, RD conducted a land cover change analysis. Imagery used for the study of the Danau Sentarum area covered the period August 1990 through to May-July 1997 (Dennis and Kurniawan 2000) and included both Landsat TM and SPOT XS imagery. In a further project, the change analysis was extended back to July 1973 with Landsat MSS MSS - maximum segment size  imagery. A site for vegetation change analysis was selected based on areas completely covered by the imagery from 1990 to 1997 (see trapezium trapezium /tra·pe·zi·um/ (-um) [L.]
1. an irregular, four-sided figure.

2. the most lateral bone of the distal row of carpal bones.


tra·pe·zi·um
n. pl.
 shape in Figure 1). The resulting test site area is 425,650 ha and therefore includes a significant part of the vegetation beyond the National Park. In the test site, in total 21 different land cover classes were identified from the imagery and verified during fieldwork field·work  
n.
1. A temporary military fortification erected in the field.

2. Work done or firsthand observations made in the field as opposed to that done or observed in a controlled environment.

3.
. For descriptions of the technical process, see Dennis and Kurniawan (2000).

The resulting vegetation maps for 1973, 1990, and 1997 were overlaid o·ver·laid  
v.
Past tense and past participle of overlay1.
 with the orangutan distribution. As no orangutan distribution maps exist for 1973 or 1990 it was assumed that orangutans occurred wherever there was suitable habitat, i.e., closed canopy forest. Although orangutans may temporarily occur in open or fragmented forest, it is assumed that these vegetation classes do not provide suitable long-term habitat. Results by Russon et al. (in press) support these assumptions. On this basis, the orangutan distribution for 1973 and 1990 was estimated by extrapolation (mathematics, algorithm) extrapolation - A mathematical procedure which estimates values of a function for certain desired inputs given values for known inputs.

If the desired input is outside the range of the known values this is called extrapolation, if it is inside then
. For each of the 3 years the total amount of orangutan habitat was calculated as the amount of closed forest. Furthermore, the mean size of each closed forest polygon polygon, closed plane figure bounded by straight line segments as sides. A polygon is convex if any two points inside the polygon can be connected by a line segment that does not intersect any side. If a side is intersected, the polygon is called concave.  was calculated to provide an estimate for average habitat patch size. Finally, the different habitat classes were evaluated for the proposed DSNP boundary.

Between 1973 and 1990, in the vegetation change test site, there was a 16% decrease in closed canopy forest and a 31% and 117% increase respectively in open and fragmented forest. The most obvious changes in orangutan habitat occurred in the swamps to the north and east of DSNP, where large gaps, especially around rivers, started to appear in what were previously closed and homogenous homogenous - homogeneous  forest polygons. During these 17 years, some 40,000 ha of orangutan habitat disappeared.

Between 1990 and 1997, in the vegetation change test site, there was an 11% decrease in closed canopy forest, a 66% increase in open forest, and a 24% decrease in fragmented forest. Some of the most important changes from closed into open and from closed into fragmented forest occurred in freshwater and peat swamp forest to the west and east of the present reserve, in areas that our surveys showed to contain orangutan populations. More specifically, the total area of closed canopy forest decreased by some 24,000 ha, as shown in Table 2.

An analysis of the fragmentation effects of logging indicated that in 1973 there were 79 contiguous closed forest areas in the vegetation change test site with a mean size of 3,230 ha. This figure is strongly skewed skewed

curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean.

skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data
 by one very large contiguous forest area of 121,082 ha combined with a large number of smaller patches. In 1990, the number of contiguous forest areas decreased to 67 and their average size remained similar to that of 1973 (i.e. 3,205 ha). The size of the largest forest patch decreased by 20,000 ha to 100,964 ha. As of 1990, only one contiguous forest area appeared large enough to support a viable orangutan population, assuming an average density of 2 orangutans/[km.sup.2] and a minimum viable population Minimum viable population (MVP) is a lower bound on the population of a species, such that it can survive in the wild. This term is used in the fields of biology, ecology and conservation biology.  of 2,000 (Sugardjito and van Schaik 1992; but other experts suggest that long-term survival may require a population of at least 5,000, e.g., Rijksen and Meijaard 1999). To identify areas in DSNP that could support substantial sub-populations, a minimum threshold of 10,000 ha was used (i.e., 200 o rangutans). With this threshold, the number of contiguous orangutan habitat patches decreased from 6 to 5 between 1973 and 1997. This indicates that there remain 5 areas that may support substantial sub-populations; with active management (i.e. provision of extra feeding in times of food scarcity Scarcity

The basic economic problem which arises from people having unlimited wants while there are and always will be limited resources. Because of scarcity, various economic decisions must be made to allocate resources efficiently.
, enforcement of full protection from poaching poaching: see cooking. , and possibly human-assisted gene flow between habitat patches), there may be a possibility that these sub-populations could survive in the long term. Figure 2 shows the change in closed forest areas between 1973 and 1997.

Discussion

The three surveys generated four main findings. First, a population of around 2,000 orangutans survives in the Kapuas Lakes region. The region supports an important orangutan population that may represent as much as 15-20% of the remaining Bornean population. Second, most of this population ranges in unprotected areas beyond DSNP. Findings concur CONCUR - ["CONCUR, A Language for Continuous Concurrent Processes", R.M. Salter et al, Comp Langs 5(3):163-189 (1981)].  with Giesen's (1987) impression, that the eastern hills beyond DSNP but within DSNP-G are important to the area's orangutans. Third, the highest orangutan densities are in swamp forests within DSNP-G, beyond DSNP. This is consistent with previous findings that the richest habitats for orangutans are good quality swamp/peat forest and lowland alluvial forest; they have potential to support orangutans at almost twice the densities of other habitats, like adjacent uplands (e.g., Payne and Andau 1994; van Schaik and Azwar 1991). Orangutans found in poorer habitat may migrate between habitat types according to food availability (te Boekhorst et al. 1990; Leighton and Leig hton 1983). Fourth, both the total orangutan habitat and the mean size of contiguous habitat patches in the greater DSNP area decreased significantly between 1973 and 1997. Assuming that the overall habitat quality within the habitat patches remained constant, it can be concluded that the total number of orangutans in the DSNP area has declined between 1973 and 1997.

Finding unexpectedly high orangutan densities in some areas is more disturbing than encouraging. Some estimates were much higher than any found elsewhere Borneo. The likely explanation for exceptionally high nest densities in logged areas is that habitat disturbances elsewhere were displacing orangutans into these areas. The highest nest counts were from areas in the proposed extension just beyond the DSNP boundary. Orangutans could have been migrating into these areas from outer regions because of disturbances there (Meijaard et al. 1996) or from inside DSNP because of continuing disturbance due to increasing human pressure. Other areas of Borneo show similar patterns (Rijksen and Meijaard 1999) so the high counts may reflect population stress.

The assessment of the size of contiguous habitat patches in the wider Danau Sentarum area indicates that only one forest area may be large enough to contain a viable population of orangutans, assuming a minimum population size of 2,000. If the higher threshold of 5,000 is used, a contiguous forest area of at least 250,000 ha would be required. The present DSNP does not contain such areas, but an extension of the Park to the east and a link to the 800,000 ha Bentuang Karimun National Park to the northeast would encompass sufficient orangutan habitat to secure long-term survival (also see Meijaard et al. 1996). Orangutan populations in other forest blocks in DSNP probably require management interventions. The degree to which this is necessary probably depends on the degree to which individual forest blocks are isolated from one another, Orangutans have been reported to travel distances of several km across degraded areas to reach better habitat (e.g in the Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River (Sungai Kinabatangan) is located in Sabah, eastern Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of 560 kilometers from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of  area, Sabah; near Samarinda, East Ka limantan). In DSNP, forest blocks are normally separated by waterways but waterways may dry up during seasonal droughts every 3-4 years. These dry periods would allow orangutans to migrate, so an important management issue would be ensuring that forest near waterways remains as undisturbed as possible to minimize crossing distances.

Findings show that the DSNP-G extension would offer important benefits to orangutans. Because of the distribution of habitat types, the 1.5-fold increase in reserve size offered by DSNP-G versus DSNP could support a 3-fold increase in orangutan numbers. The signs of population stress, however, indicate that protecting the area's orangutans requires extension beyond DSNP-G. GIS (1) (Geographic Information System) An information system that deals with spatial information. Often called "mapping software," it links attributes and characteristics of an area to its geographic location.  data show that DSNP-G stops short of unprotected swamp forests to the east, north, and west of DSNP. Orangutans ranging in the DSNP area likely depend on these swamp forests, perhaps migrating back and forth because of the area's pronounced seasonality. These data bolster recent recommendations to extend the park to cover all surrounding orangutan habitat and to create a forest corridor linking the extended reserve with the nearby Lanjak Entimau and Bentuang-Karimun National Parks This is a list of national parks ordered by nation. Africa
See also:
  • Algeria
  • Botswana
  • Chad
  • Ethiopia
  • Gabon
  • Kenya
  • Madagascar
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
 and their important orangutan populations (Blouch 1997; Rijksen and Meijaard 1999).
Table 1

Orangutan population estimates for the original DSWR, the present DSNP,
and the greater proposed extension.

                         DSWR                          DSNP
Habitat      total      habitat area (a)  added          added
Type          pop.      in [km.sup.2]     area (a)        pop.
                        (% of total       ([km.sup.2])  (total
                              area)                      pop.)



swamp          123 (b)               287           189     573
and peat                           (36%)                 (696) (c)
forest

Lowland          2                     1            63     113
hill forest                       (0.1%)                 (115)

open and        22 (b)                52            31  35(57) (b)
fragmente                           (6%)
d forest

Unusable         0                   465           225       0
                                   (58%)

TOTALS         147                   805           508     721
                                                         (868)

                 DSNP                         DSNP-G
Habitat          habitat         added       added          habitat
Type         area (a) in      area (a)        pop.      area (a) in
              [km.sup.2]  ([km.sup.2])      (total       [km.sup.2]
                   (% of                     pop.)            (% of
                   total                                      total
                   area)                                      area)

swamp                476           403        1326              879
and peat           (36%)                    (2022) (d)        (44%)
forest

Lowland               64             0           0               64
hill forest         (5%)                     (115)             (3%)

open and              83           143          61              226
fragmente          (27%)                     (118) (b)        (12%)
d forest

Unusable             690           104           0              794
                   (53%)                                      (40%)

TOTALS              1313           650        1387             1963
                                            (2255)

(a) all estimates of habitat areas are based on 1997 data.

(b) density estimate for highly disturbed swamp/peat forest
(0.43/[km.sup.2])

(c) density estimate for swamp/peat forest within DSNP (based on
transects representing low to moderate disturbance, 3.03/[km.sup.2]).

(d) density estimate for moderately disturbed swamp/peat forest
(3.29/[km.sup.2]). This area was represented by three transects yielding
exceptionally high density estimates, so we used a more conservative
estimate for the whole area.
Table 2

Overall change matrix 1973-1997.

Class name     Date: 1973  Date: 1990     Annual  Date: 1997     Annual
                units: ha   units: ha     rate %   units: ha     rate %
                                       1973-1990              1990-1997

Closed Forest     255,116     214,777         -1     182,191       -2.2
Open Forest        19,891      26,173       +1.9      44,501        +10
Fragmented         11,949      25,938       +7.3      21,866       -2.2
Forest
Forest Re-           8002        8724         +9      12,367         +6

growth
Shifting           61,507      41,650         -2      48,924      + 2,5
Cultivation
Mosaic

Wood and           29,897      27,119         -9      27,027      - 1.8
Shrub,
Grassland and
Non-forest
Regrowth

Semi-                   0      33,251                 34,370      + 0.5
permanent
Agriculture

Burnt Areas         4,976      13,635      +10.8      20,224        + 7
(incl new
ladangs)
Water              33,901      33,903          0      33,903          0

Total                         425,650                425,650


Acknowledgements

The interview survey was sponsored by the Institute for Forestry and Nature Research (IBN-DLO), the Tropenbos Foundation, the Netherlands Foundation for International Nature Protection, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Netherlands, the Lucie Burgers Foundation, the municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests.  of Zoetermeer, and the Golden Ark Foundation. The nest count survey was sponsored by the Wetlands International-Indonesia Programme in conjunction with Indonesia's Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources conservation of natural resources, the wise use of the earth's resources by humanity. The term conservation came into use in the late 19th cent. and referred to the management, mainly for economic reasons, of such valuable natural resources as timber, fish,  (KSDA-Pontianak), with funding support from the Wetlands International-Indonesia Project, Glendon College Glendon College is a campus, faculty, and college of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with 84 faculty members and a student population of about 3000. Although attached to York University, it offers its own stand-alone degrees, rather than offering a bilingual or other  of York University York University, at North York, Ont., Canada; nondenominational; coeducational; founded 1959 as an affiliate of the Univ. of Toronto, became independent 1965. , Toronto, Canada, and NSERC NSERC Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada)
NSERC Naval Systems Engineering Resource Center
, Canada. The vegetation change analysis was undertaken within the framework of the Overseas Development Agency (now DFID DFID Department For International Development (UK) )--Wetlands International programme. More recently, the work has been supported by the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research (Indonesia) ) in Bogor, Indonesia, as part of the world-wide tropical forest monitoring programme (TREES) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC JRC
abbr.
Junior Red Cross
) o f the European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community .

References

Aglionby, J.A.C.

1995 Economic Issues in Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, Indonesia. Report of Assoc. Prof. Officer (Environmental Economist), Vol. 1. UK-Indonesia Tropical Forest Management Programme, Conservation Project, ODA-Wetlands International-PHPA.

Baillie, J., Groombridge, B. (Eds).

1996 1996 IUCN Red List The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.  of Threatened Animals. IUCN IUCN

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
: Gland gland, organ that manufactures chemical substances. A gland may vary from a single cell to a complex system of tubes that unite and open onto a surface through a duct. The endocrine glands, e.g.  Switzerland, Cambridge UK.

Blouch, R.A.

1997 Distribution and abundance of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus Pongo pygmaeus

see orang-utan.
) and other primates Primates

The mammalian order to which humans belong. Primates are generally arboreal mammals with a geographic distribution largely restricted to the Tropics.
 in the Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak, Malaysia. Tropical Biodiversity biodiversity: see biological diversity.
biodiversity

Quantity of plant and animal species found in a given environment. Sometimes habitat diversity (the variety of places where organisms live) and genetic diversity (the variety of traits expressed
, 4(3), 259-274.

Boekhorst, I.J.A. te, Schurmann, C.L., Sugardjito, 3.

1990 Residential status and seasonal movements of wild orang-utans in the Gunung Leuser Reserve (Sumatera, Indonesia). Animal Behaviour, 39: 1098-1109.

Dennis, R.A.

1997 Land Cover Mapping at DSWR: Methodology and Results. Project 5: Conservation Project, Indonesia-UK Tropical Forest Management Programme. Supported by UK Overseas Development Administration (from 05/97, Dept. for International Development) and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry (MoF).

Dennis, R.A., Kurniawan, I.

2000 Tropical Forest Cover Monitoring in Indonesia. TREES II Project and CIFOR. Contract No. 14119-98-06 FIED ISP (1) See in-system programmable.

(2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines.
 US. Draft final report. June 2000.

Giesen, W.

1987 The Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve: Inventory, Ecology, and Management Guidelines. WWF See Windows Workflow Foundation.  Report to Directorate of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHPA PHPA Professional Helicopter Pilots Association
PHPA Professional Hockey Players' Association
PHPA Port Hedland Port Authority (Australia)
PHPA Partial Hydrolytic Polyacrylamide (oil and gas drilling mud additive) 
), Bogor, Indonesia.

1995 The flooded forests and blackwater lakes of Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. UK-Indonesia Tropical Forest Management Programme, Conservation Project. Asia Wetlands Bureau, IPT IPT - IP Telephony , University of Malaysia.

Giesen, W., Deschamps, V.

1993 Preliminary recommendations for modification of the boundary of Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West-Kalimantan. Asian Wetland Bureau, Bogor.

Giesen, W., Deschamps, V., Dennis, R.

1994 Recommendations for Modification of the boundary of Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West Kalimantan. Asian Wetland Bureau, Bogor.

Jeanes, K.

1996 Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve: Catchment Development Review, Reserve Boundary Review and Buffer Zone buffer zone
n.
A neutral area between hostile or belligerent forces that serves to prevent conflict.

Noun 1. buffer zone
 Proposal. Project 5: Conservation, ITFMP. PHPA - Wetlands International-ODA.

Leighton, M., Leighton. D.

1983 Vertebrate vertebrate, any animal having a backbone or spinal column. Verbrates can be traced back to the Silurian period. In the adults of nearly all forms the backbone consists of a series of vertebrae. All vertebrates belong to the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata.  responses to fruiting seasonality within a Bornean rainforest. In: S.L. Sutton, T.C. Whitmore, A.C. Chadwick, eds., Tropical Rain Forest Ecology Forest ecology is the scientific study of patterns and processes in forests. The management of forests is known as forestry. Forest Ecosystem
Scope of Forest Ecology
 and Management. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, Pp. 181-196.

Meijaard, E., Dennis, R., Erman, A.

1996 Orangutan conservation in and around the Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West Kalimantan; Management implications. Unpublished report to Dept. of Forestry (PHPA) and TROPENBOS-ODA.

Meijaard, E.

1997a. The importance of swamp forest for the conservation of orang utans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) in Kalimantan, Indonesia. In: S. E. Page and J. O. Rieley (eds.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Biodiversity, Environmental Importance and Sustainability of Tropical Peat Areas of tropical peat are found mostly in South East Asia (about 70% by area) although are also found in Africa, Central and South America and elsewhere around the Pacific Ocean.  and Peatlands: 243-254.

1997b The orangutan in the one million hectare hectare (hĕk`târ, –tär), abbr. ha, unit of area in the metric system, equal to 10,000 sq m, or about 2.47 acres.  peat swamp forest project, Central-Kalimantan, Indonesia. A field trip report. Balikpapan Orangutan Society and World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Payne, J., Andau, P.M

1994 Censussing orangutans in Sabah: Results and conservation implications. In Ogden, J., Perkins, L., Sheeran, L., eds., Proceedings of the International Conference on Orangutans: The Neglected Ape. Zoological Society of San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , San Diego, Pp. 7-11.

Rijksen, H.D., Meijaard, E.

1999 Our Vanishing Relative: The Status of Wild Orangutans at the Close of the Twentieth Century. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers

Rijksen, H.D., Ramono, W., Sugardjito, J., Lelana, A., Leighton, M., Karesh, W., Shapiro, G., Seal, U.S., Traylor-Holzer, K., Tilson, R.

1995 Estimates of orangutan distribution and status in Borneo. In: The Neglected Ape, by R. Nadler, B. Galdikas, L. Sheeran, N. Rosen, eds. Pp. 117-122. New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
: Plenum In a building, the space between the real ceiling and the dropped ceiling, which is often used as an air duct for heating and air conditioning. It is also filled with electrical, telephone and network wires. See plenum cable.  

Russon, A.E., Erman, A., Dennis, R.

(in press). The population and distribution of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) in and around the Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biological Conservation.

van Schaik, C.P., Monk, K., Robertson, Y.

In press Dramatic decline in orang-utan numbers in the Leuser Ecosystem, northern Sumatra. Oryx--The International Journal of Conservation.

van Schaik, C.P., Poniran, S., Utami, S., Griffiths, M., Djojosudharmo, S., Mitra Setia, T., Sugardjito, J., Rijksen, H.D., Seal, U.S., Faust, T., Traylor-Holzer, K., Tilson, R.

1995a Estimates of orangutan distribution and status in Sumatra. In: The Neglected Ape, by R. Nadler, B. Galdikas, L. Sheeran, N. Rosen,eds. Pp. 109-116. New York: Plenum.

van Schaik, C.P., Azwar, Priatna, D.

1995b Population estimates and habitat preferences of orangutans based on line transects of nests. In: The Neglected Ape, R. Nadler, B. Galdikas, L. Sheeran, N. Rosen, eds. Pp. 129-147. New York: Plenum.

van Schaik, C.P., Azwar

1991 Orangutan densities in different forest types in the Gunung Leuser National Park Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km² in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces.[1] The national park, named after 3,381 m height of Mount Leuser, protects a wide range of ecosystems.  (Sumatra) as determined by nest counts. Report to PHPA.

Sugardjito, J., van Schaik, C.P.

1992 Orangutans: Current population status, threats, and conservation measures. In Proceedings of the Conservation of the Great Apes great ape

one of the larger monkeys, usually the tailless ones; includes gorilla, orang-utan, chimpanzee.
 in the New World Order of the Environment, Dec. 15-22, 1991, Pp. 142-152. Published by the Ministries of Forestry and Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, Republic of Indonesia.

Yanuar, A., Saleh, C., Sugardjito, 3., Wedana, I.

1996 Density and abundance of primates with special focus on West, Central and East Kalimantan's rain forests. Unpublished manuscript.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Borneo Research Council, Inc
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2000, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Author:Dennis, Rona
Publication:Borneo Research Bulletin
Geographic Code:9INDO
Date:Jan 1, 2000
Words:5230
Previous Article:Proboscis monkeys in Danau Sentarum National Park.
Next Article:After the conservation project: Danau Sentarum National Park and its vicinity--conditions and prospects (1).
Topics:



Related Articles
Caste-off orangs: controversy surrounds implications of a hybrid label. (interbreeding Sumatran and Bornean orangutans)(Cover Story)
Finding better homes for captive orangs.(study indicates captive orangutans should be released in areas where no wild orangutans exist)(Brief Article)
Danau Sentarum's wildlife: part 1. Biodiversity value and global importance of Danau Sentarum's wildlife.
Danau Sentarum's wildlife: part 2. Habitat characteristics and biodiversity distribution within and surrounding Danau Sentarum.
Amazing orangutans. (Animals).(Brief Article)
Losing the orangutan.(UPDATES)(pet trade declines Orangutan population)(Brief Article)
Red alert for red apes: DNA shows big losses for Borneo orangutans.(This Week)
Red apes in danger.
Diploma thesis: The Long Calls of Wild Male Orangutans: A Phylogenetic Approach.(ABSTRACTS)
Saving the man of the forest from mankind: protecting the orangutan means restoring its habitat. And with only two populations of this most...

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles