"Ridges to Reefs" Initiative in Indonesia

The Nature Conservancy and Chevron (formerly Unocal) are collaborating to involve local communities to build awareness and promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods in a “ridges to reefs” initiative in imperiled marine and terrestrial landscapes near Berau in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan.

The Indonesian province of East Kalimantan and its waters are a priority conservation site. Conservancy staff are working alongside fishermen, village leaders and government officials to conserve fisheries around the Derawan Island chain, an archipelago near the Berau delta. Surveys around just two of these islands reveal at least 475 species of fish from 206 genera, ranging from the pygmy seahorse to the giant manta ray to an ethereal stingless jellyfish that is only found in one enclosed lagoon on Kakaban Island.

The seas around Derawan also host significant populations of commercially important species including shrimp, tunas and numerous species of reef fish. Collectively, the marine resources of the area could support multimillion dollar fishing industries, marine ecotourism and subsistence livelihood for tens of thousands of people.

With the support from Unocal, The Nature Conservancy completed construction of a marine monitoring and research station on Derawan Island for scientific applications and to engage the local community in conservation efforts. The Nature Conservancy and local partners are raising awareness with fishing communities about the devastation that the increased capture of sharks for shark-fin soup has had on shark populations. Funds are also leveraged to construct a visitor center at the Sungai Wain forest reserve near Balikpapan. The reserve provides habitat for the threatened sun bear.

The Nature Conservancy is using former Unocal grant funds to test new reef-rehabilitation structures in the waters around the Derawan Island of Sangalaki. The structures are shaped like a star, a shape chosen to test the hypothesis that more structural complexity and edge surface increases coral recruitment and coral species diversity.