Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth—and home to the last remaining wild orangutans. These great apes, found only in Sumatra and Borneo, rely on large tracts of forest to survive. Yet, their habitat is shrinking rapidly due to logging, agriculture, mining, and infrastructure expansion.
Protecting orangutans means protecting forests—but it also means rethinking how forests are classified and managed.
Indonesia’s forests are legally divided into three main categories:
Conservation Forest (Hutan Konservasi):
Includes national parks (taman nasional) and nature reserves (cagar alam). These are fully protected for biodiversity.
Protection Forest (Hutan Lindung):
Maintained to safeguard essential ecosystem services like watersheds and erosion control.
Production Forest (Hutan Produksi):
Designated for timber, plantations, and conversion. This includes:
Limited production forest
Permanent production forest
Convertible forest (for agriculture or development)
🧠 Note: Orangutans don’t follow these boundaries. They use a wide range of forest types—primary, secondary, and even degraded or relict forest patches—making it crucial to expand protection beyond officially classified areas.
Effective habitat protection takes a multi-layered approach that includes both legal and grassroots strategies:
Even national parks and reserves need active management. Threats include illegal logging, poaching, and land grabbing.
Key actions include:
Forest patrols and ranger deployment
Community-based monitoring and reporting
Remote sensing and camera trap use
Law enforcement and prosecutions
Without consistent presence and protection, legal status alone won't stop forest destruction.
Many orangutans live outside protected zones—often in buffer areas, community land, or agricultural mosaics.
We can safeguard these areas by:
Engaging local communities in stewardship
Promoting sustainable agriculture near forests
Supporting reforestation and corridor restoration
Building partnerships with landowners and farmers
These "unofficial" forests are essential for maintaining habitat connectivity and gene flow.
We can push for more forest areas to be legally protected by:
Urging government to re-gazette production forests into protection status
Supporting the creation of new national parks or conservation areas
Presenting biodiversity data to policymakers
Working with indigenous communities to formalize conservation areas
Changing a forest’s legal status can prevent its conversion to palm oil, mining, or logging concessions.
In some cases, direct conservation action is possible through long-term leasing or land purchase.
This approach allows:
NGOs to manage forest areas for conservation
Establishment of private or community-managed reserves
Long-term protection in areas awaiting government action
When managed well, this can be one of the fastest paths to safeguarding forest and wildlife.
Orangutan habitat doesn’t always fall neatly within protected lines on a map. That’s why our strategy must be comprehensive, flexible, and inclusive of all forest types. Whether through government policy, community partnerships, or land acquisition, each step plays a role in saving Indonesia’s forests and the orangutans who call them home.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia (KLHK)
Forest Area Management and Classification Regulations.
Website: https://www.menlhk.go.id
Rijksen, H.D., & Meijaard, E. (1999).
Our Vanishing Relative: The Status of Wild Orangutans at the Close of the Twentieth Century.
Dordrecht: Springer.
Wich, S.A., et al. (2012).
Understanding the impacts of land-use policies on orangutan conservation in Sumatra and Borneo.
PLOS ONE, 7(11): e49142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049142
Ancrenaz, M., et al. (2010).
Recent insights on the management of orangutans in human-modified landscapes.
In: State of the Apes: Industrial Agriculture and Ape Conservation. Arcus Foundation.
Orangutan Land Use Studies (2009–2022).
Borneo Futures and Hutan-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme Reports.
Website: https://www.borneofutures.org
IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. (2017).
Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Orangutans (Pongo spp.) in Southeast Asia: 2016–2025.
IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
WWF-Indonesia (2021).
Forest Protection and Orangutan Conservation Programs.
Website: https://www.wwf.or.id
Orangutan Republik Foundation.
Programmatic Reports and Field Data (2004–2024).
Website: https://www.orangutanrepublik.org
Gaveau, D.L.A., et al. (2014).
Four decades of forest persistence, clearance and logging on Borneo.
PLOS ONE, 9(7): e101654. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101654
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF).
Habitat Restoration and Community-Based Forest Management Strategies.
Website: https://www.orangutan.or.id