PROJECT-SUPPORT BORNEO / INDONESIA

GREEN BOOTS, Effretikon, Switzerland

Country / Place

Indonesia, Sebangau Nationalpark, Borneo

Indonesia is an island nation in Southeast Asia, spread over a total of 17’508 islands. It borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea,  and East Timor on the island of Timor. With its more than 274 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. About half of the population lives on the island of Java, which is also home to the capital Jakarta.

Borneo is an island in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia. With an area of almost 752’000 km², it is the third largest island in the world after Greenland and New Guinea, and the largest island in Asia. Borneo is divided between the three states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Sebangau National Park is a national park in the province of Central Kalimantan. It consists largely of peat swamp forests and is bordered by the Katingan and Sebangau rivers, which give it its name.

General

GREEN BOOTS supports rainforest protection projects on site, informs the Swiss population about the rainforest ecosystem and its importance, and campaigns politically for more rainforest protection.

Tropical rainforests span the earth like a belt along the equator. Intense sunlight, constantly high temperatures, and at least two thousand litres of rain per square metre per year are the most important characteristics of a rainforest. 

Beneficiary

The 600'000 hectare Sebangau National Park is the largest remaining lowland rainforest (swamp rainforest) in Borneo. The rainforest in the project region is exceptionally rich in species. The largest orangutan and gibbon populations are found here, as well as numerous rare charismatic animals such as the clouded leopard.

The aim is to protect the rainforests as an entire ecosystem, and thus to preserve and promote biodiversity, to mitigate climate change, and to secure the livelihoods of indigenous peoples. The local population is involved in the projects and helps shape them according to their needs.

Project-support

Rainforests need our help

GREEN BOOTS is working with its local project partners to dam drainage canals in the swamp rainforests of Sebangau National Park. The forest in this area is criss-crossed by a network of illegally constructed canals that were once used to transport felled timber.

These canals still drain the swamp rainforest, which is now protected. By damming the canals, the peat soils are rewetted, the species-rich habitat is restored, and the risk of forest fires is reduced.

The project is also an important contribution to active climate protection. The project started back in 2010 with the mapping of the canals. Since then, around 100 canals have been blocked annually. Project partner: Borneo Nature Foundation - www.borneonaturefoundation.org