Summer Course Planting Mangrove

 Summer Course Program Planting Mangrove

(University Of Newcastle - Australia)

A LOT of 20 students and three professors from the University of Newcastle, Australia, took part in the action of planting mangrove trees on Curiak Island, in the middle of the Barito River, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan.

The mangrove planted is rambai (Sonneratia caseolaris) which is a source of food for long nose monkey proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus). The mangrove tree planting action was carried out with the University of Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) and Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia Foundation (SBI). 

The presence of students from Australia is part of the New Colombo Plan; Biodiversity Proboscis Monkey and Orang Utan Program in Borneo. They conducted research related to the behavior and habitat of bekantan in South Kalimantan. Chairman of the SBI foundation, Amalia Rezeki, said that this activity was an opportunity for South Kalimantan to further socialize the importance of preserving the native habitat of the endemic Borneo primates. "We together plant the Rambai tree, which is a Bekantan habitat to live and breed," said Amalia, Friday (6/7). Prof. Michael from the University of Newcastle Australia, said it had come to Kalimantan to see the habitat of the original bekantan. "Mangrove forests are the original habitat of Bekantan. We together build native habitats for bekantan," he said. University of Newcastle Australia student Tiara said, the mangrove forests that grow in the area of Curiak Island must be preserved, so that proboscis monkeys can breed well. (Media Indonesia.