Betung Kerihun National Park

Betung Kerihun National Park
Coordinates: 1 ° 13 '15 "  N , 113 ° 21' 11"  E
Location:	Kalimantan Barat , Indonesia
Surface:	8000 km²
Founding:	1995

The National Park Betung Kerihun (formerly Bentuang Karimun is) a 8,000 km² large national park in Indonesia , located in the province of West Kalimantan on Borneo near the border with Malaysia . The park was established in 1995 and covers an area of ​​8,000 km². It was proposed to create a world heritage site called the "Transborder Rainforest Heritage of Borneo" together with the 2000 km² Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Malaysia .

Topography and ecology

The area of ​​the Betung Kerihun National Park is hilly to mountainous, with heights between 150 m and 1,800 m. The topography is characterized by steep slopes, with slopes with over 45% inclination taking up more than half of the parking area. The highest peaks are Kerihun (1,790 m) and Lawit (1,767 m). The park is located on the upper reaches of the Kapuas .

The park consists largely of two ecoregiomes, the Borneo mountain rainforest, which takes up about two thirds of the area, and the Borneo lowland rainforest.

Flora and fauna

In the lowland rainforests the Dipterocarpaceae species dominate the trees , which are replaced in higher elevations by oaks ( Quercus and Lithocarpus ) and pseudo-chestnuts ( Castanopsis ). At least 97 orchid species and 49 palm species ( Arecaceae ) have been identified in the park.

The park's fauna includes 300 species of birds (25 of which are endemic to Borneo), at least 162 species of fish and at least 54 species of mammals. The park is home to the endangered Bornean orangutans and seven other primates typologies: Gray Gibbon , Weißstirnlangur , maroon leaf monkey , Southern pig-tailed macaque , cynomolgus monkey , Sunda Slow Loris and Horsfield's tarsier .

Human settlement

Several Dayak tribes, including Dayak Iban , Dayak Taman and Dayak Bukat, live in the park. There are 12 villages in and around the park, two of which are inside the park (Nanga Bungan and Tanjung Lokang) and six are adjacent to the park. The Dayaks make their living from hunting, collecting forest products and subsistence farming based on shifting agriculture.

Protection and threat

A 600,000 hectare nature reserve was established in the area of ​​what is now Betung Kerihun National Park in 1982 by a decree of the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1992 the reserve was expanded to 800,000 hectares and in 1995 the protection status was converted into a national park. The Betung Kerihun Park Administration was established in 1997 by the Ministry of Forestry. Currently the staff is 57 full-time employees and 20 volunteers. Among them are 24 park rangers who are responsible for monitoring the four field stations in the 800,000 hectare area.

Deforestation through illegal logging and poaching represent major threats to the park . According to data from WWF from 2002, over 31,000 trees were illegally felled in the park. Reports suggest that poaching for threatened orangutans has reached alarming proportions. Over 10–15 orangutans were removed from the forests of western and central Kalimantan each month for purchase in major Indonesian cities, including Jakarta and Denpasar.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Betung Kerihun National Park . Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Betung Kerihun National Park (Transborder Rainforest Heritage of Borneo) . UNESCO . Retrieved October 3, 2007.
3. ^ Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved October 3, 2007
4. ^ Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved October 3, 2007
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Betung Kerihun National Park . WWF . Retrieved July 20, 2010.