Sebangau National Park

Asia > Indonesia > Sebangau National Park

Summary

• Bornean white-bearded gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) are present in Sebangau National Park.
• The population size is unknown.
• The gibbon population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 5,500 km².
• Key threats to gibbons are illegal logging, illegal pet trade, and fires.
• Conservation activities have focused on habitat restoration and reforestation, fire prevention and fire-fighting.

Site characteristics

© Susan Cheyne

The Sebangau National Park catchment is characterised by deep peatland and low elevation. The area is flooded for 8 months of the year, and there are very few hill ridges from which gibbons can sing. In terms of habitat type and topography, study areas are representative of the rest of the catchment, though threats (e.g., land conversion, logging) are less at the Natural Laboratory of Peat Swamp Forest (NLPSF) where the bulk of studies are conducted. The Sabangau catchment comprises three different forest types: mixed swamp forest, low pole forest and tall interior forest (Cheyne et al. 2008). The park was established in 2004.

Table 1. Basic site information for Sebangau National Park

Area	5,500 km²
Coordinates	-2.475273, 113.660560
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Wetlands (inland) – Bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, peatlands, subtropical/tropical swamp forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Surveys in this area are carried out every 2 years to ensure clear population trend data. Loss of habitat due to logging and fire is an issue and impacts the conservation efforts. It is crucial to remember that while these numbers indicate that gibbon populations are thriving, the habitat loss, wildlife trade and presence of so many populations in non-protected areas means that all gibbons in Kalimantan are still endangered. There is a severe lack of data on gibbons in non-protected areas or small forest areas that may also contain viable populations (Cheyne pers. comm. 2021).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Sebangau National Park

Species	Year	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Hylobates albibarbis	2008			2.59	9 sq. km	Fixed-point triangulation	Cheyne et al. 2008
Hylobates albibarbis	2012-2016			2.51	12 sq. km	Fixed-point triangulation	Cheyne et al. 2016

Threats

The apes are threatened by illegal logging, hunting for the pet trade and habitat conversion throughout the catchment (Cheyne et al. 2008). Forest fires in 2019 had a significant impact on the Natural Laboratory of Peat-swamp Forest, a special zone within the Sebangau National Park, Central Kalimantan. Following disastrous fires in 2015, this was the second major fire event in recent years. As a result of the two big fires, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest, in one of the largest peat forest areas in Kalimantan, were burned down (Borneo Nature Foundation).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Sebangau National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Absent
3. Energy production & mining		Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors		Absent
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown		Offtake of gibbons for the pet trade; numbers are unknown (Cheyne et al. 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity unknown		Illegal logging exists across the landscape, but the extent and offtake is unknown (Cheyne et al. 2008, Cheyne & Macdonald 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	High	About 5-10% of forest is lost every ~5 years	This is an almost annual event but the severity of the fires varies and therefore the forest loss varies (Cheyne et al. 2008, Cheyne & Macdonald 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The 570,000 hectare Sebangau National Park in southern Central Kalimantan is one of Borneo’s most important areas of rainforest. This tropical peat-swamp forest is the largest unfragmented area of forest remaining in Borneo’s lowlands and supports globally-significant populations of endangered species, including the largest known population of the Bornean orangutan in lowland Borneo and the white-bearded gibbon. Its vast peat deposits cover an area of 6,000 sq. km and reach depths of 15 m, making Sebangau National Park peat-swamp forest one of the largest terrestrial carbon stores in the world (Borneo Nature Foundation). The Borneo Nature Foundation works in partnership with the Balai Taman Nasional Sebangau (BTNS) and the Centre for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP) at the University of Palangka Raya. Some activities include community patrol and fire-fighting teams made up of young, committed people from the local village, who want to stop the exploitation of their forest heritage and protect it for future generations. Their fire-fighting strategy is a model for fighting peatland fires in the province, and we are expanding our support of community fire-fighting teams to other like-minded and dedicated groups in recognition of the huge role they play in protecting forest during the worst drought seasons. Tree nurseries support the reforestation work, and there is also a training site for Indonesian and foreign students, children and researchers at Sebangau.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Sebangau National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	10.5. Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	The (Borneo Nature Foundation) delivers educational sessions to local communities to raise awareness of the causes and impacts of fire, discuss alternative land clearance practices and better management of fire, and engage with stakeholders and policy-makers to develop long-term solutions. This is complemented by awareness-raising campaigns via local radio, TV and print, exhibitions, public events and social media.	Ongoing
11. Habitat Protection	Other	Assisted reforestation of burned peatland (Borneo Nature Foundation).	Ongoing
	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is a National Park.	Ongoing (2023)
	Other	Fire fighting for habitat protection.	Ongoing
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Gibbons are able to maintain a good density across habitat types and time, even in unprotected areas. Population estimates are based on known forest sizes, predominantly forest with some level of legal protection. The numbers of gibbons living in non-protected forest is a cause for concern, as it is almost impossible to extrapolate current population numbers to these areas (Cheyne et al 2008).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Sebangau National Park

Challenge	Source
Lack of national protection for gibbons in the surrounding non-protected forests.	Cheyne et al. 2008

Research activities

The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop) program was founded in 1999; since then, scientists and conservation practitioners have been working in this area and have extensive data on gibbons, orangutans, red langurs, clouded leopards, marbled cats, leopard cats, flat-headed cats and many other species. For more information about the research activities conducted at the site, visit: https://www.borneonaturefoundation.org/scientific-research/

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Sebangau National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Sebangau -Borneo Nature Foundation

References

ADUL, A., RIPOLL, B., LIMIN, S. H., & CHEYNE, S. M. (2015). Felids of Sebangau: camera trapping to estimate activity patterns and population abundance in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity, 16(2).

Cheyne, S.M. (2010). Behavioural ecology and socio-biology of gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in a degraded peat-swamp forest. In: Supriatna J, Gursky SL (eds) Indonesian Primates. Springer, New York, p 121–156

Cheyne, S. M., Gilhooly, L. J., Hamard, M. C., Höing, A., Houlihan, P. R., Loken, B., ... & Zrust, M. (2016). Population mapping of gibbons in Kalimantan, Indonesia: correlates of gibbon density and vegetation across the species’ range. Endangered Species Research, 30, 133-143.

Cheyne, S. M., & Macdonald, D. W. (2011). Wild felid diversity and activity patterns in Sabangau peat-swamp forest, Indonesian Borneo. Oryx, 45(1), 119-124.

Cheyne, S. M., Thompson, C. J., Phillips, A. C., Hill, R. M., & Limin, S. H. (2008). Density and population estimate of gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in the Sabangau catchment, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Primates, 49(1), 50-56.

Page completed by: Susan M Cheyne Date:13/12/2021