Meet Ahmad Kasyful Anwar (Aan), Biodiversity section head and Ibnu Nur Fikri Muhamad (Ibnu) Illegal logging and wildlife poaching section head.
They are both coordinators in Biodiversity Department of Katingan Mentaya Project, and are responsible for overseeing and managing Katingan Mentaya Project’s area in all aspects related to monitoring and conservation of key habitats and species. In addition to that, Aan and Ibnu also give much valued input on all wildlife related issues around the project. Katingan Mentaya Project has operated a comprehensive biodiversity management programme for many years as part of our commitment to run our conservation project responsibly. Let’s find out a little bit about them and their role.
What does a typical day involve for you two?
There’s no such thing as a typical day as our work can be affected by weather conditions, time of day, seasonality and responding to issues that need immediate attention. Broadly speaking, much of the dry and rainy season will see us carrying out surveys – everything from plants, to birds, to orangutans, loggings, and everything else in between. This enables us to see what species we have present, population numbers, and trends in the environment, which help to gauge whether our habitat management programme is working or needs adjusting.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Discovering new and different species are always exciting and biodiversity management has always been a major interest to us both. So getting to manage a variety of projects with all their associated flora and fauna is quite a privilege. Lately, we’ve also found rare species of otter living around the project area too.
What have you accomplished during your work with the project?
After 3 years working around the project site, we have found and collected data from around 190 species of birds in the project area. That’s around 30% of all bird species that live in the island of Borneo. Getting to explore, discover, and monitor the biodiversity in KMP’s project area has really been an accomplishment in itself.
What have been the biggest challenges and setbacks at work?
At times, updating existing data on biodiversity can be difficult as some species of animals and plants are hard to find in the field. Previously, we have also experienced a setback in 2019 when 2 of our operation control posts were caught in a fire.
Buy carbon credits from Katingan
Climate change is a global challenge that requires global action. We can help you meet your commitments to deliver a brighter future.