Summary

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Northeast Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) are present in Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area.
The orangutan population size ranges from 806 to 821 individuals, from 2016 survey.
The orangutan population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 5,321.43 km².
The main reported threats include the expansion of palm oil plantations and illegal logging activities.
Conservation efforts have primarily centered on rehabilitating natural habitats, community awareness raising and community led patrols.

Site characteristics

The Wehea–Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area in East Kalimantan, located between the Regencies of Berau and East Kutai, spans over 530,000 hectares and is home to one of the largest remaining populations of Northeast Bornean orangutans (Atmoko et al. 2021).

Table 1. Basic site information for Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area

Species	Pongo pygmaeus morio
Area	5,321.43 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 1.664757 , Lon: 116.674340
Type of site	Non-protected area (Essential ecosystem area)
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 Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area

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	2017-2018			0.57		Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area			Atmoko et al. 2021	The paper provides orangutan density estimates as ranges derived from surveys across multiple landscape areas (e.g., PT Gunung Gajah Abadi, PT Karya Lestari, PT Hutan Lindung Wehea). The reported density estimate is the mean orangutan density estimate was calculated as a weighted average using range midpoints. However, this is an approximation due to insufficient data on the exact area covered by each density class.
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2016					Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area			Atmoko et al. 2021	According to the 2016 Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA), the estimated population of orangutans in the Wehea-Kelay Landscape ranges from 806 to 821 individuals (Atmoko et al. 2021).

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.3 Industrial farming (including palm oil)	Present (unknown severity)	The expansion of oil palm plantations is reported as a threat and poses long-term risks to forest integrity (Atmoko et al. 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.3.2 Commercial logging	Present (unknown severity)	Illegal logging activities have been reported, and a 2021 multi-stakeholder gap analysis revealed that some logging concession management units have not implemented orangutan protection programs (Atmoko et al. 2021).	Ongoing (2021)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area

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	Patrol teams like Petkuq Mehuey involve Dayak youth in biodiversity monitoring, fire prevention, and enforcing no-logging zones in critical wildlife areas (Atmoko et al. 2021).	Wehea Nehes Liah Bing traditional institution	Ongoing (2021)
5 Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Habitat management activities were reported to be present (Sherman et al. 2022).		2001-Ongoing (2022)
4 Education & awareness	Other	Community outreach and capacity building (Sherman et al. 2022).		2001-Ongoing (2022)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Enablers

Research activities

Research activities have been reported present in Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area (Sherman et al. 2022).

Documented behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

References

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
Atmoko, T., Sudiono, E., Rifqi, M. A., & Dharma, A. P. (2021). The best practices of endangered wildlife habitat management on landscape scale: A lesson from the Wehea–Kelay essential ecosystem areas. Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379024604

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