Tanjung Puting National Park. Many islands dot the sea between the Pacific and Indian Oceans including Borneo, the third largest island on Earth. The island is split between 3 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. On the coast of Central Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo, a mere thirty to sixty meters above the Java Sea, Tanjung Puting National Park encompasses 4,150 square kilometers. The protected area consists of rain forests, peatswamp forests, mangroves, and wetlands, and is home to hundreds of endemic flora and fauna. Proboscis monkeys, clouded leopards, sun bears, pythons, crocodiles, kingfishers, giant Bornean butterflies, pitcher plants, and ramin trees inhabit Tanjung Puting National Park, as well as the largest population of wild orangutans. In 1936, the Dutch declared the area a game reserve. In 1984, after gaining independence, Indonesia declared it a national park. Tanjung Puting National Park is surrounded by palm oil plantations which has led to illegal logging and mining of the protected area. The tropical rainforest and peat swamps are considered areas of high carbon storage. The deforestation and degradation of this land will contribute more carbon to the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse gas effect, and contributing to climate change. 23
Perhaps the most famous feature is the orangutan research and conservation center. Orangutans are classified as critically endangered due to deforestation and poaching. In 1971, Camp Leaky Research Centre was established by Biruté Galdikas and Rod Brindamour to study and rehabilitate orangutans. Galdikas’ research and conservation efforts have helped the protected area maintain its efficacy by welcoming tourists and increasing enthusiasm for this national park. Camp Leakey has supported many research projects including orangutan, proboscis monkey, gibbon, and river system ecology. The research station welcomes tourists to come witness the feeding times of orangutans in rehabilitation. Tourists can book an eco tour which includes a klotok boat tour with a living quarters on the boat and a visit to the research station and the two other Orangutan Rehabilitation Centers, Pondok Tanggui and Tanjung Harapan. For lodging, tourists can stay at the Rimba Orangutan Ecolodge located on the Sekonyer River, elevated on a boardwalk above the wet terrain. The lodge participates in a reforestation campaign and has planted over 11,000 trees in the park.
To travel to Tanjung Puting national park, the common route is to fly from Jakarta to Pangaklan Bun, then take a taxi from Pangaklan Bun to Kumai and boat from Kumai into the national park. Boating the Sekonyer River is the best method of viewing the park. Conserving Tanjung Puting is important because people have often extracted resources from this area in the past, degrading the habitat and polluting rivers. Wetlands control erosion and flooding, regulate streams, filters water, and encourage the success of fish populations. The local people benefit from harvesting the abundant fish, the environmental controls, and use numerous resources including fibers, woods, oils, medicinal plants, rubber, and latexes. It is estimated that over 2,000 endangered species live in Tanjung Puting National Park. Ramin and meranti trees, also endangered, are used for their hardwood, but also cleared for palm oil plantations. Sometimes fire is used to clear land quickly and cheaply for plantations. The unchecked flames can burn into the park and can smoulder for months due to the peat and coal. Preserving Tanjung Puting is critical to maintain habitat for these species and prevent the growing palm oil plantations.
