Sungai Wain Protected Forest

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Summary

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• Northeast Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) are present in Sungai Wain Protected Forest.
• The orangutan population size is unknown.
• The orangutan population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 112.45 km².
• The main reported threats include recurring wildfires, illegal logging and poaching.
• Conservation efforts have primarily centered on rehabilitating natural habitats, and community led patrols.

Site characteristics

Located near Balikpapan, Borneo’s fourth-largest city, the Sungai Wain Protection Forest is an exceptional area of biodiversity. Roughly half of the forest remains intact as primary coastal lowland dipterocarp rainforest, supporting the full range of native species. Although around 40% of the forest was affected by the devastating 1998 fires, effective protection measures have since prevented further major incidents, allowing the ecosystem to recover. Nonetheless, approximately 830 hectares were lost again during the 2015 El Niño event (Sugianto 2017).

Table 1. Basic site information for Sungai Wain Protected Forest

Species	Pongo pygmaeus morio
Area	112.45 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -1.1 , Lon: 116.85
Type of site	Protected area (Protection Forest)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Sungai Wain Protected Forest

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 morio

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Sungai Wain Protected Forest

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Wildlife poaching reported, details unknown (Gokkon 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Illegal logging activities reported present (Orangutan Conservancy 2012, Gokkon 2023).	2012-Ongoing (2023)
7 Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	High (more than 70% of population affected)	The 1997–98 El Niño severely impacted large areas of the reserve, followed by a 2015 fire that destroyed approximately 800 hectares of recovering forest. Such fires pose a serious threat to orangutan habitats and may force habituated individuals to relocate (The Orangutan Project 2022).	1998-2015

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Sungai Wain Protected Forest

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.12 Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares	Community led patrol teams support forest protection and monitoring efforts, and play a crucial role in effective fire-fighting during drought periods (The Orangutan Project 2022, Sherman et al. 2022).	Pro Natura Foundation, The Orangutan Project	2002-2012, 2016-Ongoing (2022)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site has held protected area status since 1998 (Sherman et al. 2022).		1998-Ongoing (2026)
5 Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Habitat management activities were reported to be present (Sherman et al. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)

Conservation activities

Research activities

Research activities were reported to be present in the Sungai Wain Protected Forest during the period from 1990 to 2010 (Sherman et al. 2022).

References

Orangutan Conservancy. (2012). Rehabilitated orangutans in danger if industrial project proceeds. https://orangutan.com/orangutan-news-rehabilitated-orangutans-in-danger-if-industrial-project-proceeds/

Orangutan Project, The. (2022, October 4). Protecting Borneo’s Sungai Wain forest from fire [Web log post]. https://www.theorangutanproject.org/weblog/2022/10/04/protecting-borneos-sungai-wain-forest-fire/

Sherman, J., Voigt, M., Ancrenaz, M., Wich, S. A., Qomariah, I. N., Lyman, E., Massingham, E., & Meijaard, E. (2022). Orangutan killing and trade in Indonesia: Wildlife crime, enforcement, and deterrence patterns. Biological Conservation, 276, 109744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109744

Sugianto, S. (2017, May 5). Primate population monitoring in the Sungai Wain Protection Forest, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Rufford Foundation. https://www.rufford.org/projects/sugi-sugianto/primate-population-monitoring-in-the-sungai-wain-protection-forest-east-kalimantan-indonesia/

Page created by: Aime Mizero Date: 2025-05-30