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Activists warn about impact of new capital development on orangutans
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Lush city: An aerial view of Sepaku district in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 28. (Reuters via Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he plan to move Indonesia's capital city to Kalimantan island will take a toll on the population of critically endangered wild orangutans living on the island, environmental activists warn.
Hence they suggested the government map out areas for orangutans and wild animal conservation and lock the sites from any deforestation efforts before major construction starts on the new capital.
The plan to move the capital from Java island was announced publicly by President Joko “Jokowi” Widowo in August. The choice of Kalimantan as the location of the new capital has sparked various reactions as the island contains millions of hectares of tropical rainforest, as well as many unique species of flora and fauna, including the orangutan.
Chairman of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), Jamartin Sihite, said Samboja district and Sepaku district in East Kalimantan province, which are projected to become the location of the new capital, did not directly border orangutan habitat. However, he was concerned about the effect of the capital development on the orangutans’ survival.
“Can you imagine how many people will come here [to Samboja and Sepaku] in the future? They will come with their families. And where will the food come from? It can’t all be shipped from Java. Economic development in Kalimantan will be rather unavoidable in the future,” he told The Jakarta Post.
He further added that the government did not have a mitigation plan to ensure orangutans’ survival.
Jamartin said he was aware that economic development in Kalimantan would be advantageous for society. However, according to him, 70 percent of orangutans lived outside of the conservation areas, directly bordering business land, human settlements and government properties. Thus, he suggested that any development should also consider the living condition of orangutans.
