| Lake Sentarum National Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Danau Sentarum Location of Danau Sentarum in Borneo | |
| Location | West Kalimantan, Indonesia |
| Nearest city | Pontianak |
| Coordinates | 0°51′N112°6′E / 0.850°N 112.100°E /0.850; 112.100 |
| Area | 1,320 km2 (510 sq mi) |
| Established | 1999 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Forestry |
| Official name | Danau Sentarum Wildlife reserve |
| Designated | 30 August 1994 |
| Reference no. | 667[1] |
TheLake Sentarum National Park (Indonesian:Taman Nasional Danau Sentarum) is anational park protecting one of the world's most biodiverse lake systems,[2] located in the heart ofBorneo Island,Kapuas Hulu Regency,West Kalimantan Province,Indonesia. It lies in the upperKapuas River tectonic basin some 700 kilometres upstream from the delta. The basin is a vastfloodplain, consisting of about 20 seasonal lakes,freshwater swamp forest andpeat swamp forest. Local people call it as Lebak lebung (floodplain).[3] The National Park is located in the western part of this basin, where three-quarters of the seasonal lakes occur. Approximately half of the park consists of lakes, while the other half consists of freshwater swamp forest.
An area of 800 km2 was first gazetted as Wildlife Reserve in 1982, which in 1994 was extended to 1,320 km2 (890 km2 is swamp forest area and 430 km2 is dry-land)[3] when it became aRamsar site. In 1999 it was declared a National Park, however a National Park Authority was only established in 2006.[4]
Danau Sentarum National Park has a rich fish fauna with around 240 recorded species, including theAsian arowana andclown loach botia. During a biological expedition, scientists found species of such fish genera asChitala,Scleropages,Chitala,Channa,Leptobarbus,Parachela, including many new species.[5] There have been 237 bird species recorded including theStorm's stork andgreat argus. Of the 143 mammal species 23 are endemic to Borneo including theproboscis monkey. There is a relatively large population of the endangeredorangutans present in the park. The 26 reptile species include thefalse gharial andestuarine crocodile.[6]
The lakes support a largetraditional fishing industry. The western part of the upper Kapuas floodplain is inhabited by almost 20,000 people, 88% of which areMalay fishermen. About 3,000 people live in about 20 village enclaves within the Park.
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