Borneo, Malaysia, April 2025
We thank you for your invaluable support for the reforestation project in the Kinabatangan Sanctuary, carried out in collaboration with local communities. With your help, we are working to restore one of the last remaining forested floodplain ecosystems in Southeast Asia. The project aims to plant 26,250 trees on former oil palm plots, with the goal of restoring degraded forest areas, enhancing biodiversity, and combating climate change.
Today, we would like to update you on an important development. In recent months, exceptionally heavy rainfall has caused major flooding in the Lower Kinabatangan region. All of our planting sites are currently completely submerged, making access and operations impossible for the time being. For safety reasons, field activities have been temporarily suspended.
Please rest assured, this suspension is only temporary. As soon as the water recedes and conditions become safe again, our team will be ready to resume planting operations without delay.
In the meantime, our work continues in other ways. At the Danau Girang Field Centre, the local partner of A Tree for You, the team is actively working on data entry, analysis, and reporting related to the project. We are also closely monitoring the condition of the young trees that were recently planted. Some species, such as Nauclea and Mallotus, are resilient to short-term submersion. However, if the flooding persists, we may need to carry out replanting once the area is accessible again.
We are also in regular contact with the local planting team members, who—although unable to work at the moment—remain fully engaged and motivated to resume activities as soon as possible.
To help you better understand the situation, we have attached aerial photographs showing the extent of the flooding across our project sites.
We want to reassure you: the project has not been cancelled. It is simply on hold, and we are closely monitoring the situation so that we can act quickly when conditions improve. We will continue to keep you informed of all key developments.
Thank you once again for your ongoing commitment to restoring the Kinabatangan ecosystem and supporting local communities.
Amaziasizamoria Jumail
Field Manager and PhD Candidate, Danau Girang Field Centre
