Indonesian Conservation Media Center

The Lost Home

Indonesia is a country in the equator with abundant natural resources and biodiversity. We often hear this in every moment of state events. But the fact tells you a different thing. It’s the exact opposite. It’s nothing like the sugar-coated government officials’ statements. The reality is this country, with population more than 200 million people and high unemployment rate, has a lot of its people live in poverty. Not to mention corruption, collusion, and nepotism which occur in the country, and also environmental degradation.

In the forestry, Indonesia is one of the countries who have the vastest rainforest in the world where millions of species of flora and fauna live. However, deforestation rate in the country is also increasing. With an excuse of improving the people’s prosperity, land conversion is keep occurring. Nowadays, in Indonesia, it’s not unusual to see forests turn into human settlement, oil-palm plantation, and mining. These legalized activities are only narrowing the rainforest in this country.

The anthropocentrisms have a certain view that natural resources are used as much as possible for human prosperity. This view has put other living creatures aside in favour of humans in the matter of living harmoniously in the planet.

An example of what forest conversion can negatively impact the environment is the narrowing of orangutan habitat in the rainforest. Orangutan is an endemic fauna and only found in Bornean and Sumatran rainforests. They are protected by Indonesian Law. The loss of food resources, shelter, and space, are threatening their existence. As big mammals, they need a spacious habitat to live. However, the forest is now being fragmented by plantations, roads, and mining, thus limiting orangutans’ home range and food resources.

There are many ways to protect biodiversity, wildlife and their habitat, and one of them is the establishment of conservation area, such as national park. However, national parks, which are the last defence of protecting Indonesian biodiversity, haven’t been able to fully provide safe places for wildlife.
Kutai National Park, with area of 198,629 hectares, is one of the last homes for orangutans. It is threatened with fires, logging, coal mining, and residential roads. One of the residential roads in Bontang-Sanggatta is inhabited by 23,000 people. The last home for millions of Bornean plants and animals is unable to escape from humanity in disguise of development and prosperity.

Then, what can us, humans, do as a creature with sense and knowledge? Humans should act wisely toward this earth. We need to change our paradigm and ways of thinking so that we can live on earth sustainably and fairly to other living creatures, especially in this time of global threat of climate change.

Source: Kompas, June 9th 2010 page 22 “Orang Utan Kutai Terkepung”
Translated by Ami Raini P (eclair.argent@gmail.com). Constructive critics and comments are welcomed.