Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 152510588

Long-term, sustainable management and education within the Mahakam River dolphin protection area in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

This project aims to finalize a multiple stakeholder five-year management plan for a proposed 51,000 ha large river dolphin protection area(PA). To define core-area usage within the PA, monitoring of dolphins' daily ranges and habitat usage was conducted. The boundaries were defined through community-participatory mapping and agreed upon by the 15 villages inside the protection area. In the current project, environmental awareness is being raised by targetting schoolchildren while teaching them on sustainable resource use in wetland areas and wildlife protection in both theoretical and practical classes and providing them with extra-curricular course material. Awareness on proper waste disposal is also being socialized within all community layers.