Fears for orang utans, dolphins as Indonesia presses on with new capital

SAMBOJA, Indonesia – Just outside Indonesia’s planned new capital on Borneo island, an orang utan catches with one hand a banana thrown by a conservationist on a boat, while her other hand clings to a tree branch.

She is one of 127 orang utans that the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) is caring for in Samboja district, East Kalimantan. They have lost their homes to deforestation,

often linked to coal mining, and palm oil and timber plantations.

But the giant apes could face an even bigger threat as South-east Asia’s largest country builds from scratch Nusantara – a new US$32 billion (S$42.8 billion) city.

The government has promised to protect wildlife and undertake major reforestation in parts of the capital, which has been marketed to investors as a smart and green city.

But environmentalists are wary that construction in an area spanning nearly 260,000ha – almost four times the size of Singapore – would disturb some of Borneo’s endemic fauna, including endangered long-nosed monkeys, Irrawaddy dolphins and orang utans.

“Our biggest concern is Balikpapan Bay will turn into a giant pond, a place for residual waste from Nusantara’s activities,” said Mr Mappaselle, a director with local environment group Pokja Pesisir.

About 400ha of mangrove forest along the coastline of Balikpapan Bay has already been cleared, according to the group’s estimation, to make way for a coal port and oil refinery.

Mr Mappaselle fears more could be razed when a new toll road is built to connect Nusantara to the nearest city of Balikpapan, and a port to bring in construction materials.

The Nusantara Capital City Authority said mangroves would be replanted in other areas and guidelines have been drawn up for workers encountering an animal.

“It’s a very high concern of how we’ll try to have harmony between people, nature and culture... because that’s the soul of the city,” Nusantara chief Bambang Susantono said.

Foundations are being laid for government buildings. Later in 2023, homes will be built for 16,000 civil servants, military and police officers due to move to the city in 2024.

For now, conservationists hope the government stays true to its pledge to care for animals.

“We hope that with the capital city being here, we can pave the way for animals to live side by side (with humans),” said BOSF manager Aldrianto Priadjati.

“At least provide an area for orang utans, so they can live a better life.” REUTERS