The Mahakam River, which flows through the capital of East Kalimantan, Samarinda, is the sole representative of Indonesia at the global forum, The Home River Bioblitz (THRB) 2025.
The THRB implementation in Samarinda was initiated by the public literacy community, SUMBU TENGAH, under the theme "Observe and Save Mahakam."
According to the official THRB partner's website, iNaturalist.org, 14 countries from various continents simultaneously held this event from September 19–21, 2025, across more than 60 rivers in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America.
These 14 countries included Mexico, Thailand, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Tanzania, Peru, Argentina, Italy, Kenya, Poland, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, and Indonesia.
Of all the participants, Mexico had the most locations with 26 river and natural area points, followed by Thailand with 9 rivers.
THRB is designed as a collaborative and participatory activity that connects the global community with a concern for rivers. In addition to iNaturalist, the event also collaborated with the National Geographic Society.
In Samarinda, the THRB Mahakam River event took place on Sunday (September 21, 2025), from morning until noon.
This 5th edition of SUMBU TENGAH also involved various partners, including the Alumni Association of the Faculty of Forestry at Mulawarman University, the Alumni Association of Master's and Doctoral Environmental Science (IAMDIL) Unmul, the East Kalimantan Forestry Department, DSylva Mulawarman and Mapflofa Fahutan Unmul, the Ulin Foundation, the Indonesian Environmental Experts Association (P-TALI) Kaltim, and Labtek Apung Jakarta.
The event was centered at Taman Bebaya, with the attendance of the Director of Pusrehut/UPT LSHK Unmul, Ali Suhardiman; member of the East Kalimantan Regional House of Representatives, Sarkowi V Zahry; public historian Muhammad Sarip; literacy activist Utih Arum Zahra; and volunteers from the Samarinda City Environmental Agency.