China House and Conversation Action Network Borneo (CAN) in Indonesia have worked together since 2017, jointly establishing the Center for Orangutan Protection (COP) in 2020.
Earlier this year, the center partnered with Fellow Village Community to carry out a planting project in the Labanan Conservation Forest on the Bawan Batu River, where a bushfire occurred in 2019.
According to the baseline survey, the local area is a typical karst landform, and is home to more than 40 kinds of wild animals, including orangutans, gibbons, langurs, hornbills, and leopards, 15 of which are listed as protected animals.
After the forest fire, the upper vegetation was burnt, causing severe soil erosion, which cut the forest into scattered small areas.
Animals can no longer travel between the woodlands and have to go through human settlements, exacerbating the contradiction between man and nature.
There is also an unknown amount of ancient Dayak prehistoric ruins preserved in the local Karst Caves, which are also in jeopardy due to the collapse of rocks without vegetation protection.
The afforestation project is expected to not only restore forests, but also stop soil erosion, prevent the occurrence of destructive floods, and improve local biodiversity.
During the past three months, 30,000 trees have been planted, covering an area of 30 hectares. The One-Fifth Planting method is also designed to be adopted, that is, if the annual mortality rate of saplings exceeds 20 percent, replanting will be carried out, to maintain sustainable restoration of the landscape.
