Working in partnership with the University Muhammadiyah Palangka Raya (UMP), and with the support of local government and communities, we have established a permanent research base where our scientists are discovering the wonderful secrets of Rungan. We have concluded the first orangutan population surveys across the Rungan landscape, identifying a population of 2,220 to 3,275 orangutans, significantly higher than previous estimates and potentially one of the largest unprotected populations in the world. Our camera trap surveys have confirmed the presence of all five of Borneo’s wild cats, including the little known and rarely recorded bay cat. Rungan is the only known site in Central Kalimantan to have all five cat species, further demonstrating the urgent need to protect this habitat.
We are taking a collaborative, multi-partner, multi-stakeholder approach aimed at building momentum and identifying co-management opportunities to maintain forest cover. We are working with the regional government to develop landscape-level planning that ensures the protection of a large, ecologically-significant area of rainforest to equally protect biodiversity, cultural and socio-economic values. We are presenting the case for conservation through a process of mapping, field surveys, and socio-economic surveys, community engagement and participatory rural appraisals, and identifying areas where forest can be protected for biodiversity conservation. We are working to expand the regional social forestry programme so that communities can manage their traditional lands, and engaging with industry stakeholders to protect areas of high conservation value forest within their concessions.