A palm oil firm has cleared more than 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of forest inside a UNESCO biosphere reserve in Indonesian Borneo, threatening areas identified as orangutan habitat.The concession overlaps with a wildlife corridor linking two national parks, raising concerns over habitat fragmentation and increased human-orangutan conflict.Authorities have acknowledged the presence of the habitat inside the company’s concession, but proposed voluntary conservation measures rather than halting clearing, drawing criticism from environmental groups.The case highlights broader issues of weak enforcement, disputed land rights with Indigenous communities, and supply-chain loopholes that continue to allow deforestation-linked palm oil into global markets.
JAKARTA — A palm oil company is ramping up its destruction of forests that are home to critically endangered orangutans in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the island of Borneo, according to satellite imagery and government sources.
In October 2025, Mongabay reported that PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (ESR) had clear-cut 1,376 hectares (3,400 acres) of forest between January and August 2025, based on satellite image analysis by Satya Bumi, an Indonesian environmental nonprofit. Prior to that, ESR had cleared no more than 195 hectares (482 acres) of forest. The company is operating within a 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) oil palm plantation concession in Kapuas Hulu, a district in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province.
