Batang Ai National Park

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Summary

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• Northwest Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) are present in Batang Ai National Park.
• It has been estimated that 119-580 individuals occur in the site.
• The orangutan population trend is decreasing according to statistical model estimates.
• The site has a total size of 24 km².
• Key threats to orangutans are hunting and habitat loss.
• Conservation activities have focused on awareness raising and biomonitoring.

Site characteristics

Batang Ai National Park is located in Sarawak, Malaysia, bordering Indonesia to the south. The park was gazetted in 1991, after the construction of the Batang Ai dam (Horowitz 1998). Sarawak's largest ethnic group, the Iban, live in traditional longhouses around Batang Ai (Pandong 2019). Thousands of Ibans were displaced as a result of the construction of the dam and the establishment of the park. Batang Ai National Park is contiguous with the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, which also adjoins Bentuang-Karimun National Park in Indonesia; together, these three areas cover almost 10,000 sq. km and form a transboundary conservation area (WCS).

Table 1. Basic site information for Batang Ai National Park

Species	Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus
Area	24 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 1.220503 , Lon: 111.947544
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

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  Batang Ai National Park © Isabel Ordaz-Nemeth

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  Batang Ai Dam © Isabel Ordaz-Nemeth

Ape status

Between 1999 and 2015 it is estimated that the orangutan population in the region of Sarawak, where the park is located, decreased by 900 individuals (Voigt et al. 2018).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Batang Ai National Park

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus	2004				119-580	Batang Ai National Park	Line transects		Wich et al. 2008

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Batang Ai National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	In 2016, the carcass of a flanged male orangutan with gunshot wounds was discovered at the proposed northern extension of Batang Ai National Park (Pandong 2019). A longhouse community living near the park reported that hunters from nearby villages and towns come into the area to hunt orangutans and other wildlife (Ordaz-Nemeth pers. comm. 2023).	2016-Ongoing (2023)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Oil palm plantations continue to expand in the region, threatening to encroach orangutan habitat (Pandong 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.2 Wood & pulp plantations	Present (unknown severity)	Industrial forest plantations growing in the region, which threaten to encroach orangutan habitat (Pandong 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present (unknown severity)	High density of logging roads in the region facilitates access for hunters (Pandong 2019).	Ongoing (2019)

Threats

Conservation activities

In 2003, the Sarawak Government legalized the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) to be the Forest Department’s operating arm in managing protected areas and biodiversity conservation in the state. Management changes included greater emphasis on reducing losses and numbers of park staff, as well as reduction in community conservation and communications in totally protected areas, including at Batang Ai National Park. The changes led to general unhappiness among the privileged communities and reduced commitment to protect conservation targets by park authorities, resulting in minimal control over illegal hunting and encroachment into the protected areas at the time.By the 2010s, there were multi-agency efforts to conserve orangutans, address the livelihoods of affected local communities and clarify agency roles and jurisdictions (Pandong 2019).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Batang Ai National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	SMART patrols implemented by WCS Malaysia and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (Pandong 2019).		Ongoing (2019)
4 Education & awareness	4.4 Regularly play TV and radio announcements to raise ape conservation awareness	The orangutan radio program entitled “Jerita Bujang Sigat” or “The Saga of Bujang Sigat” was developed and aired to disseminate information about the importance of the park and its ecosystem services as well as to engage local communities to conserve orangutans and other wildlife (WCS).		2011-2012, 2018
4 Education & awareness	4.5 Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	An orangutan conservation education and awareness program was conducted by WCS with Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and also with the assistance of some of the local communities (WCS).		Unknown
4 Education & awareness	4.5 Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	The Participatory Photography event with the theme, “Appreciating nature through pictures”, was held at SK. Nanga Delok, a primary school near Batang Ai National Park. This is a boarding school with students from different longhouse communities in the area (WCS).		Unknown
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site was established as a National Park in 1991.		1991-Ongoing (2023)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Batang Ai National Park

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
3 Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	Pandong 2019

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Batang Ai National Park

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Enablers

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Batang Ai National Park

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Not reported

Behaviours

External links

Sarawak Tourism Board

WCS Sarawak

WCS

References

Horowitz, L. S. (1998). Integrating indigenous resource management with wildlife conservation: A case study of Batang Ai National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Human Ecology, 26(3), 371-403.

Pandong, J. (2019). Conservation Ecology of Bornean Orangutans in the Greater Batang AiLanjak-Entimau Landscape, Sarawak, Malaysia [Master's thesis, The University of Adelaide.

Wich, S.A., E. Meijaard, A.J. Marshall, et al. 2008. Distribution and conservation status of the orang-utan (Pongo spp.) on Borneo and Sumatra: how many remain? Oryx. 42: 329–339.

Voigt, Maria, Wich, Serge A., Ancrenaz, Marc, Meijaard, Erik, Abram, Nicola, Banes, Graham L., Campbell-Smith, Gail, d’Arcy, Laura J., Delgado, Roberto A., Erman, Andi, and others. (2018). Global Demand for Natural Resources Eliminated More Than 100,000 Bornean Orangutans. Current Biology, 28 (5). pp. 761-769. ISSN 0960-9822. (doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.053) (KAR id:66068)

WCS. (n.d.).WORKING TOWARDS CONSERVING ORANG-UTANS AND THEIR HABITATS.https://malaysia.wcs.org/Wild-Places/Working-towards-conserving-orang-utans-and-their-habitats.aspx

WCS. (n.d.). Orang-utan.https://malaysia.wcs.org/Wildlife/Orang-utan-conservation-in-Sarawak.aspx

Page created by: APES Atlas Team Date: 2021-10-24