Conservation of charismatic endangered species in Wehea Forest, Borneo: Interplay of ecological and social factors in a community-based conservation project

Borneo is blessed with incredible biodiversity, including some of the most charismatic endangered species on the planet. Yet despite being recognized as a biodiversity hotspot, Borneo’s forests, and the biodiversity contained therein, are being lost faster than anywhere else on the planet, with the main threats from habitat loss and hunting. Given the perceived failure of protected areas on Borneo to conserve biodiversity, some NGOs are implementing community-based conservation (CBC) and believe that win-win solutions are possible since biodiversity can be protected and human welfare improved with a single approach. However, on Borneo, where local communities were marginalized and natural resource institutions eroded during the Suharto era, the appropriateness of using CBC to protect biodiversity, especially elusive and low-density species, has not been investigated. In this thesis, I aim to advance our understanding of the conservation of charismatic endangered species on Borneo by examining the interplay of ecological and social factors in conserving the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi borneensis), Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeaus morio), and Miller’s Grizzled Langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus), in Wehea Forest, East Kalimantan. I used camera trapping and spatial-capture recapture modeling to estimate density and inferred the vulnerability of each species to threats by using estimates of abundance and conclusions drawn from my camera trapping studies. To help understand critical social factors of the Wehea CBC that could compromise the long-term viability of these three species in Wehea Forest, I used insights from common-pool resource theory and drew on my experience of being immersed with the Wehea Dayak for almost 4 years. Given the specific ecological and social factors found within Wehea, I conclude that a win-win outcome may be not possible. Either the long-term viability of these species may need to be compromised for the sake of human well-being, or the current protected area will have to be maintained at the expense of poverty alleviation. Since the ecological and social factors found within Wehea may be characteristic across Borneo, we should be careful not to automatically assume that CBC is the most effective approach for protecting wide ranging and low-density charismatic endangered species.