Kalaweit - Bornéo

Locations

The Kalaweit project in Borneo is located in three main sites :
> Palangka Raya (Central Kalimantan): The Logistics Centre and the Kalaweit FM radio.
> Pararawen: The sanctuary where the animals are located is near Muarateweh (350 km north of Palangka Raya)
> Hampapak: The release site for gibbons and the ecotourism project are located on a 25-hectare island in Hampapak Lake. The site is approximately 30 kilometers from Palangka Raya.

But Kalaweit is also about the management of natural reserves for the protection of forests and in-situ wildlife. Today these are :

- Pararawen Reserve, 5,300 ha, adjacent to the Pararawen sanctuary.
- Hampapak Reserve, 1,000 ha, around the Hampapak lake.
- Currently at a planning stage is the reserve of Gunung Lumut, 35,000 ha, 200 km east of Palangka Raya.

Created in 2001, the Logistics Center houses the administrative offices of the association and serves as an information center.

This is also the call center that people contact to inform us about a rescue to be performed.

Patrouille anti-braconnage

The radio station was created in 2003 to increase the awareness of local people about environmental issues and the conservation of wildlife. Nearly 40,000 listeners tune in to this radio station, and the average age of listeners is 15-25 years.

Kalaweit FM broadcasts mainly music programs and entertainment, to keep a high radio audience, interspersed every hour by 5 one-minute messages dealing with environmental issues in the country. These messages are called "Intermezzos". Twenty-two versions of Intermezzos are broadcast during a 24-hour cycle.

Today, nearly 60% of the animals received at Kalaweit Borneo have been gathered through radio listeners. In addition to the gibbons, the listeners also help to save other animals like pythons, loris, bears, orangutans, panthers, etc.

The reserve is ten hours' drive north-east of Palangka Raya, and 40 minutes from Muarateweh, the nearest town. The reserve covers 5,300 hectares, of which about half is composed of primary forest.

In January 2010, the reserve welcomed Kalaweit's new gibbon rehabilitation center in Borneo.

This nature reserve has the status of "Sanctuary" ("Cagar Alam"), awarded by the PHKA (Perlindungan Hutan dan Konservasi Alam or Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation), which answers to the Ministry of Forestry in Jakarta. The PHKA in Jakarta has extensions in the Indonesian provinces called KSDA (Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam). Kalaweit and the PHKA of Jakarta have thus become partners in the management of the Pararawen nature reserve via the KSDA. Kalaweit collaborates with the KSDA by establishing a yearly work plan.

> The Sanctuary :
The Sanctuary extends over an area of eight hectares, bordering the Pararawen nature reserve. The sanctuary is currently under construction and will be composed of three camps for staff facilities, a building for storing gibbon food (fruits and vegetables), a clinic accommodating three veterinarians and a nursery.

Double aviaries measuring 6 meters on each side and 6 meters in height will accommodate the 130 gibbons rescued by the program.

A one-hectare vegetable garden and a poultry house will permit Kalaweit to reach at least 70% independence to cope with possible future financial crises while continuing with its most essential function: feeding the animals!

Kalaweit is currently seeking funding in order to finish building the new sanctuary of Pararawen, including the construction of 60 additional aviaries and the construction of the clinic and the nursery, which will require about 20,000 Euros.

This is a site of 1,000 hectares of high biodiversity surrounding the island and the village of Hampapak. With a small existing population of gibbons, it is an ideal site for the reintroduction of gibbons into the wild.

Following an agreement with local and national authorities, Kalaweit has become the administrator of this nature reserve. The fauna and flora of this forest are now protected by the association. Kalaweit hopes to obtain the agreement of the authorities to extend the reserve to 4,000 hectares in the near future.

The protection of the reserve is provided by three rangers who patrol constantly throughout the day. In addition, three watchtowers have been built at strategic locations in the reserve to prevent fires.

In 2010, the protection of the Hampapak reserve is being strengthened. To do this, water supplies for firefighting are being placed at the edge of the reserve in the areas most at risk. This is especially the case in the South, because of the presence of a track near the reserve. The system will be operational in June / July. Two additional guards will join the team and this high-risk area will be patrolled continuously during the dry season.

Located within the reserve and acquired in 2002, this 25-hectare island hosted the larger of the two gibbon rehabilitation centers of Kalaweit (130 gibbons) until 2009.

In 2010, the rehabilitation center was relocated within the new nature reserve of Pararawen, located further north, to better meet the health and wellbeing needs of the gibbons.

The island of Hampapak aims to accommodate eco-tourists in the future, helping them to discover the richness contained in this nature reserve. This place remains primary place of Kalaweit for the reintroduction of gibbons into their natural environment.

The implementation of this project is underway. Applications for the ecotourism program will initially take place via the Internet. Tourists will be welcomed and hosted on the island of Hampapak. Lodges with individual bathrooms will accommodate up to six eco-tourists at a time. Two wooden camps on stilts will accommodate the staff. One of them will also have a common area where the eco-tourists can have meals and relax.

A radio station will be established, to collect data from patrolling forest guards in a third building. This will also permit the monitoring of wild orang-utans, to direct and guide visitors to them. The guides will be recruited in Bali or Java. The construction of a platform in the forest will provide the opportunity for eco-tourists to sleep in the jungle and make nocturnal observations.

Muarateweh, the nearest town to the Pararawen Reserve, will host a relay for the radio station "Kalaweit FM". This will be operational in late 2010 to extend our broadcast area. Kalaweit hopes thus to recover more gibbons held illegally by individuals. It is estimated that approximately fifty of these exist in Muarateweh.

Gunung Lumut is an area located about 200 km east of Palangka Raya in the East Kalimantan province, in the district of Paser. This reserve is at the planning stage. Kalaweit hopes to obtain the right to manage an area of about 35,000 hectares in this zone in the future.

Acquired in November 2002, this 100-hectare island, located on a river 200 km east of Palangka Raya, has allowed the reintroduction of two pairs of gibbons in 2006. It is covered with secondary forest and closed to the public. The introduction of gibbons on the island gives legitimacy to the village elders who want to protect this island because of their animist beliefs. The island cannot receive additional pairs of gibbons because of it size.

This research station is comprised of one camp of three rooms, surrounded by primary forest. It was the first gibbon shelter managed by Kalaweit.

The station was built in November 1999, within the National Park of Bukit Baka Bukit Raya at the foot of the mountains of central Borneo on the Samba River, 200 km north of Palangka Raya, the provincial capital.

The station still exists. One gibbon has been released in this area. Because this area is very isolated, and therefore the logistics complicated to manage, the station moved to Hampapak. That's why there is no more gibbons who were released in this area.