Tanjung Puting National Park
Location:
2°35'-3°20'S, 111 °50'-112°15'E; southeast of Kumai, Central Kalimantan.
Area:
Area of wetlands unknown; the official area of the National Park is 300,040 ha, but only 296,800 ha are currently mapped.
Altitude:
0-1 im.
Biogeographical Province:
4.25.12.
Wetland type:
07 & 21.
Description of site:
A vast low-lying area of coastal mangrove forests, Nypa swamp, peat swamp forest, freshwater swamp forest and kerangas forest, with areas of degraded fire-padang. The swamp forests are periodically flooded. The major source of water is local precipitation; the area is drained by several small, acidic, black-water rivers which are brackish for a considerable distance inland from the coast (as indicated by the extent of the Nypa vegetation). At maximum flooding during the rainy season, the depth of water in the freshwater swamp forest varies from 0.5 to l.5m. The tidal range in the Sehonyer River at Natai Lengkaus exceeds one metre.
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate, with two annual peaks in the rainfall (March and December). The main dry season is from June to September.
Principal vegetation:
Wetland habitats include mangrove forest, Nypa fruticans swamp, peat swamp forest and freshwater swamp forest. Large areas of kerangas forest, some old ladang and fire-padang elsewhere in the Park.
Land tenure:
State owned; managed by PHPA. There are some small private land-holdings and a few small settlements in surrounding areas.
Conservation measures taken:
The area has been afforded some protection since June 1936; it was designated as a Biosphere Reserve in January 1977, and declared a National Park in October 1982. A management plan was published in 1983.
Conservation measures proposed:
Pending Government approval and confirmation, another 190,700 ha will be added to the National Park as extensions to the north, west and southeast. Settlements and development within these proposed extensions may, however, hinder the expansion of the Park. The extension to the west (70,000 ha) would include adjacent marine habitats to protect sea-turtles and Dugong Dugong dugon.
Land use:
Illegal collection of forest products, poaching of Sambar Deer and fishing within the National Park; rice cultivation, coconut plantations, fishing and harvesting of forest products in surrounding areas.
Disturbances and threats:
Illegal forest exploitation (for bark and jelutung Dyera costulata), illegal hunting and fishing, and the collection of eggs of Egretta spp for human consumption.
Economic and social values:
The area is an important genetic resource of great value for scientific research.
Fauna:
The National Park supports a very rich fauna typical of the lowland forests of Borneo. The fish Scleropagus formosus occurs in the rivers. There are significant populations of the rare Storm's Stork Ciconia (episcopus) stormi and Dendrocygna arcuata, and there is a large mixed breeding colony of waterbirds including Phalacrocorax sp, Anhinga melanogasler, Nycticorax nycticorax, Egretta garzetta, E. alba, Ardea purpurea, Leptoptilos javanicus and Plegadis falcinellus. The mammalian fauna includes large populations of Orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus and Proboscis Monkey Nasalis larvatus. The Irrawaddy Dolphin Orcaella brevirostris occurs in Kumai Bay adjacent to the Park.
Special floral values:
The National Park contains the largest tract of kerangas forest in Borneo.
Research and facilities:
The study area of the Orang-utan Research and Conservation Project is located in the National Park. PHPA maintains a camp on the Sehonyer River at Natai Langkuas, which can be used by visiting scientists.
References:
Direktorat P.P.A. (l980d); Galdikas et al. (1985); Holmes & Burton (1987); IUCN (in prep); Karpowicz (1985); MacKinnon & Artha (l98la); Nash & Nash (1986a); WWF (1983).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 2a, 2b, 3b.
Source:
Anne and Stephen Nash.