Planet Indonesia has been at the forefront of biodiversity conservation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia since 2014. Our award-winning holistic approach to biodiversity conservation addresses both the symptoms and drivers of Indonesia’s greatest biodiversity challenges. Currently, we work with over 3,000 households and protect over 640,000 hectares across four major project sites from coral reefs to the mountaintop rainforest. Our organization is structured into two major components encompassing both in-situ and ex-situ conservation.
Our In-situ conservation projects focus on engaging community-led solutions to tackle rural socio-economic inequalities, limited livelihood opportunities, and lack of social services. One of our most popular programs – the Conservation Cooperative model, establishes community-run organizations (cooperatives) to reduce illegal wildlife trade and protect biodiversity. In every Conservation Cooperative, villagers create a community-run management system that is supported by Planet Indonesia with a variety of social services and logistical support which encourages local communities to become self-sufficient. These services include education, health, agricultural, financial, natural resource management and much more. We listen to the needs of each community in order to maximize our impact rather than following a “one-size-fits-all” strategy. In addition, we have established community-led ranger patrol units to protect at-risk ecosystems and have a dedicated research team to study our and our partner communities impact on the environment.
Our ex-situ conservation projects forming the Wak Gatak Conservation Center (WGCC) tackles the root causes of the wildlife trade in Indonesia. WGCC also adopts a holistic approach entirely focused on addressing the myriad of challenges facing nature conservation through strengthening governmental capacity as it relates to the illegal wildlife trade. Our programs include a Songbird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, Law enforcement & Judiciary support, wildlife trade research and analysis, and the implementation of behavior change campaigns among communities.
The lasting relationships we build with our community are based on positivity and trust. Our overall impact has driven a tangible and beneficial transformation on biodiversity and the biocultural dimension of society. Fuelled by passion and a great sense of solidarity, we strongly resonate with The ConservationNOW spirit. We wish to share our innovative and strategic approaches with like-minded partners to constructively influence communities in Indonesia and around the world.