March, 2026

Advance a Multi-Stakeholder Forest Corridor

Challenge

Although often referred to as the Bentarum corridor, or sometimes the Labian-Laboyan corridor because of its two rivers, connectivity throughout Bentarum has been reduced by a road that runs east to west through Bentarum’s central belt, linking the Kapuas Hulu capital Putussibau with Sarawak. The expansion of farms, industrial oil palm concession, dwellings, and business premises has further degraded connectivity.

Solution

Bring key landscape stakeholders together to create corridors that enhance forest connectivity and secure safe areas for wildlife across multi-use, disparate land-use types.

Progress

Sangga Bumi is securing a corridor that covers 107,765 -hectares, extending from Danau Sentarum in the south to Betung Kerihun in the north.
The corridor includes the following areas:

Melemba and Sepandan: Two villages that border Danau Sentarum National Park. The villages cover a combined 46,106-hectares and have 32,964-hectares of forest cover. Two existing Hutan Desa protect 8,410-hectares of forest (4,195-hectares in Sepandan and 4,215-hectares in Melemba). 15,613-hectares in both villages are within Danau Sentarum National Park. 26,453-hectare are within Indonesia’s forest estate (Kawasan Hutan). 4,040-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, for oil palm concession development. Sangga Bumi doesn’t work in Melemba and Sepandan, as other NGOs have led conservation activities.
Sungai Ajung forms Sangga Bumi’s most southerly work area. The village covers 19,460.57-hectares. 18,401.3-hectares is still forested, a mixture of disturbed and undisturbed peat swamp and some mixed agriculture. We are securing a 2,567.85-hectare Hutan Adat. A 3,325-hectare Hutan Desa forms Sungai Ajung’s only other protected area. 14,254.7-hectares lies within the permit area of PT Kokoh Buana Selaras, which plans to develop a concession for the trading of carbon credits. 786-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, 18,674-hectares are within the forest estate.
Labian: The village covers 4,824-hectares. 3,566-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, 1,258-hectares are within the forest estate. We are working to secure a 1,359.60-hectare Hutan Adat. 2.235,23-hectares of the Other Land Use land is covered by the oil palm concession PT Equator Sumber Rezeki in Labian.
Pulau Manak: The village covers 3,601-hectares. 2,534-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, 103 -hectares are within the forest estate. We are working to secure a 1,166.59-hectare Hutan Adat. 331-hectares of the Forest Estate land is covered by the concession PT Borneo Konservasi Restorasi and 252-hectares by PT Kokoh Buana Selaras. Both seek to turn their concessions into carbon trading projects.
Banua Martinus: The village covers 935-hectares. 832-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, 18,674-hectares are within the forest estate. We are working to secure a 458.27-hectare Hutan Adat.76-hectares of Banua Martinus is covered by the carbon concession PT Kokoh Buana Selaras.
Menua Sadap: The village covers 270,953-hectares. 216,932-hectares are within Betung Kerihun National Park. 1,422-hectares are designated for Other Land Uses, 52,599-hectares are within the forest estate. We are working to secure a 37,927.84-hectare Hutan Adat. The village also contains a 1,382-hectare Hutan Desa. 10,002-hectares of the Forest Estate land is covered by the concession PT Borneo Konservasi Restorasi, which seeks to develop a trading mechanism for carbon credits.

There is often a perception that forest corridors must secure complete, uninterrupted forest cover. We prioritise a more pragmatic approach, enhancing connectivity across land-use and habitat types but supporting sustainable development and how wildlife can travel safely in human-altered landscapes.

Through Hutan Adat and Hutan Desa management plans, we clarify how protected area should be managed. Through the process of developing village spatial plans, Hutan Adat and Hutan Desa can be integrated into areas used by villagers for farming and agroforestry. Our Sangga Farming approach is being applied with farmers to identify go/no-go areas for agricultural expansion and provide training on how to prevent negative interactions with wildlife. Through engagement with corporate concessions holders, it’s possible to advocate for the protection of forest buffer areas and the retention of connectivity between forest areas inside and outside of concessions.

Sangga Bumi Lestari survey team conducting a roadkill impact assessment

Connectivity Challenges and Road Impact in Bentarum

The biggest challenge for connectivity in the corridor is the road that runs east to west through Bentarum. Between 2024 and 2025, we conducted a road impact study. The stretch of road that runs through our corridor has the highest traffic count but a lower roadkill count than other stretches of the road. Despite this, wildlife mortality is high. Almost 80% of residents have seen carcasses on the road, which tend to be snakes, chickens, rats, dogs, and birds. Large mammals appear to largely avoid the road. Species occupancy is high at distances of around 2-4 km from the road, but it reduces significantly at around 50 metres. This indicates that for large mammals, Bentarum has essentially become a separate northern and southern landscape, with little evident population connectivity.

Hunting is too high in Bentarum for wildlife bridges to be an immediate solution but the trialling of potential ways to regulate traffic flow and reduce collisions (for example rumble strips that give an audial warning) will be trialled between 2026 and 2028.

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