Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) began its work in establishing and managing protected areas by supporting the Wehea Indigenous community in converting a production forest into the Wehea Protected Forest, while strengthening their capacity to safeguard and sustainably manage the area. Since then, YKAN has actively advanced social forestry initiatives across West, East, and North Kalimantan.
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Since 2014, YKAN has facilitated village forest permits in West Kalimantan covering five villages and approximately 25,000 hectares. In East Kalimantan, it has supported around 30 villages with a total area of about 150,000 hectares, while in North Kalimantan it has worked with five villages across roughly 7,000 hectares. YKAN has also assisted local governments in formally recognizing four Indigenous communities (Masyarakat Hukum Adat) in North Kalimantan.
In 2025, YKAN initiated a new effort in the upper Mahakam River region, covering the sub-districts of Long Pahangai and Long Apari, which are home to several sub-tribes of the Dayak Indigenous Peoples who have long upheld and preserved their ancestral traditions. This forest landscape is of critical importance as it connects two major conservation areas and maintains 83% high-integrity forest cover. The area also serves as habitat for a range of globally threatened species, including the helmeted hornbill, Bornean orangutan, Müller’s gibbon, Sunda clouded leopard, and white-fronted langur.
Through a four-year program (2025–2029) funded by Rainforest Trust, YKAN aims to protect and manage approximately 350,000 hectares of forest through a community-based forest management approach. This initiative will be implemented through social forestry schemes, including customary forests within state forest areas, as well as areas of high conservation value within Area for Other Land Uses. The program also aims to strengthen tenure security, enhance community capacity, and improve livelihoods through the development of green villages.
The area faces a range of significant potential threats, including unsustainable logging, the expansion of plantations and extractive industries, as well as infrastructure development such as road construction. In addition, policies promoting forest conversion for food production and biofuel development have the potential to further increase pressure on forests and biodiversity.
The program is expected to deliver three key outcomes: strengthened social forestry and conservation, the establishment of community-based forest management systems, and the development of sustainable financing opportunities. YKAN is committed to replicating the SIGAP model (Inspirational Community Action for Change), which has proven effective in driving landscape-scale conservation while improving community livelihoods. These efforts represent an important step toward ensuring forest sustainability and safeguarding the future of the environment.
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