Our team in Indonesia, together with Gunung Palung National Park (BTNGP) and Unity Forest Management (KPH), has carried out reforestation activities in the region of Gunung Tarak in Nanga Tayap District, Ketapang Regency, to commemorate Earth Day on Sunday 22 April. The activities involved planting 800 tree seedlings in an area of 1.5 hectares.
This is not the first time reforestation has been carried out in the region. We have already planted more than 7,000 saplings in the region in an area of 16.5 hectares in the past year.
As well as carrying out planting, our team cultivates nurseries of seedlings to reforest the region. “We plant 14 species of plants including meranti, woodnights indora, mangrove, majau, jihing, jungkang and sourswamp - which are all plants that are native to the region,”said Argitoe Ranting, our Indonesia Field Manager for reforestation. “We carry out reforestation to restore the biological diversity that has been missing from this region as a result of land clearance and forest fires in 2014,” he added.
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uch activities involve numerous figures from the community villages around the region of Sub District Nanga Tayap, including members of Nanga Tayap Police force and members of Brimob Polda Kalbar, Yayasan Palung, the ASRI Foundation and representatives from the Genting Group. Teachers and students from local schools were also actively involved in the planting.
All together more than 50 people took part. This type of engagement provides valuable experience of real conservation activities to young children in the region. It’s hoped that, by introducing children to conservation at an early age, they will become active participants and share their knowledge and enthusiasm with young people around them.
Head of TNGP, M Ari Wibawantoyang expressed appreciation of the activities. He said: “We hope this effort will set a good example of what can and should be done to restore the natural ecosystem in the region, particularly as it serves as vital habitat for orangutans and other wildlife.” Karmele L Sanchez, Programme Director of IAR Indonesia, said that the reforestation activities demonstrate a mutual commitment to forest protection.
“We too are grateful and very appreciative of the commitment to law enforcement, particularly by Nanga Tayap District, that prevents and tackles forest fires on the land in its territory. As a community we must never forget the importance of the forest as a support and a source of life on earth.”