JAKARTA – PT Kayung Agro Lestari (KAL), a subsidiary of PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya Tbk, is showing its commitment as a responsible palm oil plantation developer by actively involving itself in the management of the Gunung Palung National Park in the West Kalimantan district of Ketapang.
The cooperation in managing the park, entered with the national park’s authority, was covered by an agreement signed on December, 21, 2017 at the office of PT KJAL in Lamban satong village in the subdistrict of Matan Hilir Utara in Ketapang district.
The agreement was signed respectively by the head of the Gunung Palung National Park management, Dadang Wardana, and Sonny Sunjaya Sukada, the director for sustainability with PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya Tbk.
“This is the realization of our corporate commitment to participate in safeguarding the integrity of the National Park, and hopefully, the company’s involvement can provide a positive benefit for the national park,” Sukada said,
The Gunung Palung national part is a habitat for a number of local flora such as Belian (Eusydiroxylon Zwageri), Meranti (Shore Sp), Bangkirai (Shorea Leavis) as well as for a number of animals such as Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), Rangkong Badak (Bucheros Rhinoceros) and several other species.
“We hope that the four main programs that have been agreed on will later make the Gunung Palung National Park will become better quality-wise so that it can provide added value to the people around it and to the biodiversity in that area,” said Wardana.
After the signing, rerpresentatives of the two institutions and their staff, as well as representatives of the local Laman Satong community, planted a number of trees that are native to West Kalimantan, such as Meranti, Bangkirai, and a number of fruit trees at the park. The planting is hoped to be able to regreen an area of the park that had been degraded buy the widespread forest and ground fires that hit Kalimantan in 2015.