Cagar Biosfer Giam Siak Kecil Bukit Batu Riau Indonesia

Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu Bioreserve (Indonesian: ''Cagar Biosfer Giam Siak Kecil Bukit Batu'' or CB-GSK-BB) is a

peatland A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

area in

Riau Province Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accordi ...

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, covering and large parts of

Bengkalis Regency Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in the Riau province. The regency, which includes the whole of Bengkalis and Rupat Islands in the Strait of Malacca, has been established since 1956. The regency was formerly divided into 13 districts (or ...

and

Siak Regency Siak ( Jawi: ), is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It has an area of 8,556.09 km² and had a population of 376,742 at the 2010 Census and 457,940 at the 2020 Census, comprising 236,494 male an ...

. It is a declared UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve and supports a

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

timber industry. It is home to two wildlife reserves, namely Giam Siak Wildlife Reserve and Bukit Batu Wildlife Reserve;

flagship species In conservation biology, a flagship species is a species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. Definitions have varied, but they have tended to focus on the strategic goals and the socio-economi ...

include the

Sumatran elephant The Sumatran elephant (''Elephas maximus sumatranus'') is one of four recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In 2011, IUCN upgraded the conservation status of the Sumatran elephant from endang ...

and

Sumatran tiger The Sumatran tiger is a population of ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. Sequences from complete mitochon ...

History

The bioreserve is located in a province that has seen widespread forest destruction. Extensive

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

has led to a decline in forest cover from 78% in 1982 to 33% in 2005; further reduction, at an average rate of 160,000 hectares per annum, has resulted in 22% left as of 2009.

Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

has left the region vulnerable to intensifying

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

and

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

and has supported the highest of Indonesia's provincial population growth rates due to migration. Cleared land for

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

and paper has led to not only perennial

haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification ...

over the province, but also in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve was created in 2009.

Flora and fauna

The reserve houses an estimated 189 species of plants, 29 of which are classified as endangered under

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

, Appendix 1 and 3. Peat swamp forest flora are dominant. Several species of animals found in the reserve are classified as endangered under CITES Appendix 1 including the Sumatran elephant (''

Elephas maximus ''Elephas'' is one of two surviving genera in the family of elephants, Elephantidae, with one surviving species, the Asian elephant, ''Elephas maximus''. Several extinct species have been identified as belonging to the genus, extending back to ...

'') and Sumatran tiger (''

Panthera tigris sumatrae The Sumatran tiger is a population of '' Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. Sequences from complete mito ...

''), two species of birds, and one fish. Other

include the

sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a species in the family Ursidae (the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'') occurring in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest bear, standing nearly at the shoulder and weighing ...

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

marbled cat The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') is a small wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of . As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatened on the ...

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

, and

hairy-nosed otter The hairy-nosed otter (''Lutra sumatrana'') is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to Southeast Asia and one of the rarest and least known otter species. It is threatened by loss of natural resources and poaching. Description The hairy-nosed otter has ...

. 162 species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

are an important "indicator" of forest condition.

Forest fires

Haze due to forest burning and general land clearance is common. Despite establishment of the biosphere reserve in 2009, some 22% of the fires were still burning within it some months later. Again in February 2014, some 1,200 hectares of the reserve were burned. CB-GSK-BB was initiated by private parties in cooperation with the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

through BBKSDA (The Center for the Conservation of Natural Resources); major stakeholders include the

Sinar Mas Group Sinar Mas is one of the largest Conglomerate (company), conglomerates in Indonesia. It was formed in 1938. It has numerous subsidiaries including Asia Pulp & Paper and palm oil producer PT SMART. The company also acquired Berau Coal Energy from A ...

, a conglomerate which owns the largest paper and pulp company in Indonesia. The company marked

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

2012, and the reserve has won accolades and acclaim from the press and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, among other groups, yet issues of

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

in the surrounding area as well as in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

in neighbouring

are unresolved.

References

External links

UNESCO Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu

Industry preserves globally recognized conservation site

Large-scale forest destruction in Sumatra undermines Indonesia's deal with Norway

{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Indonesia Environmental issues in Indonesia

History

Flora and fauna

Forest fires

See also

References

External links