Way Kambas National Park

Way Kambas National Park
Indonesian: Taman Nasional Way Kambas
Sumatran rhino in the Way Kambas Sanctuary
Map showing the location of Way Kambas National Park
Map showing the location of Way Kambas National Park
Way Kambas NP
Location in Sumatra
Map showing the location of Way Kambas National Park
Map showing the location of Way Kambas National Park
Way Kambas NP
Way Kambas NP (Indonesia)
LocationSukadana, East Lampung Regency, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
Nearest cityBandar Lampung, Metro
Coordinates4°55′S 105°45′E / 4.917°S 105.750°E / -4.917; 105.750
Area1,300 km2 (500 sq mi)[1]
Established1989[1]
Visitors2,553 (in 2007[2])
Governing bodyMinistry of Forestry

Way Kambas National Park is a national park covering 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi) in Lampung province of southern Sumatra, Indonesia. It consists of swamp forest and lowland rain forest, mostly of secondary growth as result of extensive logging in the 1960s and 1970s.[3] Despite decreasing populations, the park still has a few critically endangered Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants and Sumatran rhinoceroses. It also hosts over 400 bird species.[4]

In 2016, Way Kambas was formally declared an ASEAN Heritage Park.[5]

Threats to the park are posed by poaching and habitat loss due to illegal logging. Conservation efforts include patrolling and the establishment of the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary and the Elephant Conservation Centre.

In 2019 and 2021, the International Rhino Foundation was working to capture three Sumatran rhinoceros in the park.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b World Database on Protected Areas: Record of Way Kambas National Park
  2. ^ Forestry statistics of Indonesia 2007, retrieved 20 May 2010
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference USAID was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Jepson, P. (1997). Fielding's Birding Indonesia. Periplus Editions. ISBN 1-56952-133-6.
  5. ^ Mayuga, J.L. (2016). "Indonesia's Way Kambas joins list of AHPs". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Indonesia to capture 3 wild Sumatran rhinos to add to breeding population". Mongabay Environmental News. 2019. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  7. ^ "Mongabay Explores: Sumatra, Part 8: Where are the rhinos?". Mongabay. Retrieved 2023-12-31.