Banjar, South Kalimantan – The South Kalimantan Forestry Workplace is saving at least 110 types of orchids at the Sultan Adam Forest Park in Banjar district.
“We are conserving types of orchids at the forest park as they are rather uncommon,” head of the technical implementation system (UPT) of the park, Ainun Jariah, stated here on Wednesday.
Initially, there were just about 58 types of Meratus orchids, which were found in 24 towns around the forest, she informed.
“Now, there are more than a hundred orchid species that we are saving at Sultan Adam Forest Park,” she stated.
The Sultan Adam Orchid Preservation Garden was built in 2021, she notified. The surrounding forest itself is working as a nature sanctuary for animals and plants.
In developing and procuring the centers and infrastructure at the orchid garden, the South Kalimantan Forestry Workplace involved numerous partners, she notified.
The orchid garden is being kept by officers and guards from the forest park, she stated.
According to her, the orchid conservation garden is an important part of the Meratus Geopark site, which is being promoted by the provincial government.
The Meratus Geopark is intending to realize geological preservation, biodiversity, and cultural diversity in order to produce prosperity, welfare, and sustainability for individuals.
Jariah said that Sultan Adam Forest Park is a strategic location for the orchid preservation garden since it is a warehouse of the history of the province.
“There is rich biodiversity in the forest park that we have actually kept and cultivated,” she included.
She notified that Sultan Adam Forest Park spans an area of 113 thousand hectares and covers Banjar District and some parts of Tanah Laut District.
She stated she expects the media to promote the forest park as a geo-heritage that produces uncommon types of orchids.
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