Samboja Lestari : an area of restored tropical rainforest
Samboja Lestari Samboja Lestari is an area of restored tropical rainforest near the city of Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, created by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation led by Dr Willie Smits, with the aim of providing a safe haven for rehabilitated orangutans while at the same time providing a source of income for local people. According to Smits' talks for Qi Global and TED, Samboja Lestari has evolved on the principles of People, Planet, Profit, linking community and empowerment and capacity-building with promoting economic development and conservation. Located about 38 kilometers from East Kalimantan's capital, Balikpapan. The small town of Samboja was founded about a century ago in what was then rainforest when oil was discovered in the area. The 1st drilling began in 1897 near Balikpapan Bay. Dutch oil workers moved into the area to work for a company that was later taken over by Shell and later still by the national Indonesian oil company Pe...