Ecobiz.asia — The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation on cross-border wildlife protection amid increasing movement of protected species across the Kalimantan–Borneo border region.
The commitment was underscored during a bilateral meeting between Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni and Malaysia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Syed Mohamad Hasrin Tengku Hussin at Manggala Wanabakti in Jakarta.
During the meeting, the Forestry Minister presented a technical report from North Kalimantan highlighting population movements of orangutans crossing Indonesia’s administrative boundaries into Sabah and Sarawak.
The Bornean orangutan is listed as Critically Endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In addition to orangutans, cross-border movements have also been recorded among other protected species, including elephants and proboscis monkeys.
“Wildlife does not recognize national borders. Their movements are ecological in nature and not constrained by administrative boundaries, which means conservation approaches must also extend beyond national lines,” Raja Juli Antoni said, as quoted on Thursday (Feb. 26, 2026).
He emphasized that Kalimantan’s forest landscape constitutes a single, interconnected ecosystem despite being divided by national borders. Habitat fragmentation, land-use change, and illegal activities were cited as key factors increasing pressure on threatened wildlife populations.
Malaysia’s ambassador welcomed the initiative and expressed his government’s readiness to enhance technical collaboration between forestry and conservation authorities in both countries. The cooperation is expected to serve as a model for cross-border conservation management in the region.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to follow up through formal cooperation mechanisms and to develop a joint technical framework in the near term to support coordinated wildlife protection efforts. ***
