WEST KALIMANTAN
Mendawak
Mendawak is a highly significant yet largely unprotected landscape overlapping Kubu Raya, Ketapang, Sanggau and Kayong Utara. It is home to critical orangutan habitat, tropical forests, deep peatlands, and the province’s largest mangrove system.
Mendawak does not have clearly defined boundaries, but we prioritise a 934,558-hectare area that stretches from Mendawak Protection Forest in the north to just north of Gunung Palung National Park in the south. The eastern boundary is the eastern border of the pulp and paper concession PT Mayawana Persada and the western boundary is the coast of Kubu Raya district.
Mendawak’s centrepiece is the 100,000-hectare Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor. The corridor runs north to south down Mendawak’s eastern portion. Spanning two oil palm concessions, four pulp and paper concessions, and nine village forests, it is governed by a Corridor Working Group and provides a rare example of multi-stakeholder forest management outside of protected areas.
CHALLENGES & BIODIVERISTY
Conservation challenges in Mendawak
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Most of Mendawak lacks formal protection, and forest areas are vulnerable to the issuance of permits for agricultural, forestry, and mining concessions.
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Oil palm and pulp and paper concession have fragmented forests, peatlands, and critical wildlife habitats. Most prominent is the pulp and paper concession PT Mayawana Persada, Indonesia’s largest deforester between 2020 and 2024. The concession now forms the central part of the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor.
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Mendawak has rich bauxite reserves, the core mineral for aluminium, and companies seek to establish mining and smelting operations.
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Rural communities face challenges in scaling sustainable economic activities, increasing reliance on land uses that drive deforestation and habitat degradation.
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Demand for charcoal has led to degradation of Mendawak’s mangrove ecosystems
Key Biodiversity
The Critically Endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
The Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica)
The Endangered Storm’s stork (Ciconia stormi)
The Endangered pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina)
