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FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS FOUNDATION
Our activities this month continue as usual, including :
The orangutans we are rehabilitating continue in good health. On 6th August 2003, we made a new feeding platform approximately 300 meters from the ost in the forest. With the completion of this new feeding platform, on 7th August we started feeding the orangutans at the new point. We hope this shift will give them many more opportunities to learn to live in their natural habitat and to return less frequently to the post. In the first week, they returned to the post thrice, even so we believe this is acceptable given the rehabilitation work is lengthy. We continue to drive them away from the camp to minimize interaction with humans. Their diet remains unchanged being bananas, pineapple and milk enriched with eggs.
This month, we did not undertake to follow the orangutans into the forest and observe their behaviour, other than to observe their behaviour at feeding. This is because we feel it is now appropriate to further reduce their contact with humans. We continue to note their condition at feeding especially their health, to ensure we can quickly respond should there be any signs of ill-health. We are aware that we need to continue to collect data to build up our information on the speed and extent of their progress, and we are trying to ensure that our need to build a continuous picture of their progress, does not impact on that progress itself.
Butet continues to astound with the speed of his progress. Every day he comes for feeding, even so he
only drinks milk which is to be expected given his young age. He is not drawn to the bananas and pineapple
we offer, preferring to find his own food in the forest which is far fresher
and more natural. We recently saw him
eating bark from the Pulai trees (Astonia
sp) around the feeding platform. He
continues to play extensively with Adong; after play he immediately builds a
nest to rest in. Adong and Lady are
also learning very quickly. They are
finishing the food we provide, however we note that Adong especially is still
trying to get close to tourists who visit; he is also lazy and prefers to sleep
sharing a nest with Lady. We constantly
have to explain to tourists or newcomers not to get too close and not to touch
them. This is vital to avoid
cross-disease transfer, to protect the safety of people and of the orangutans and
not to retard their progress.
Such is our report this month; thanks to all our supports you very much
for your care and concern.
Our reforestation work for this year has now been ongoing for four months, in which time much has been done but we have also noted and will learn from those things which did not go well due to either natural or huma factors. That which has been achieved is as follows :
a. Reforestation at Tanjung Harapan
This has gone well, we have prepared the area and begun to plant; however our program is being hindered by the prolonged drought in the area. The lack of moisture is such that we did not plant this month, but instead focused on preparing the site for the rainy season.
Site Preparation As at August, we have prepared almost 8 hectares of beds (80% of the area planned to be planted). Once the rainy season begins, we will begin extensive planting stimultaneously at various beds.
Planting We have planted almost 700 seedlings, in the main Pulai ( Astonia sp ) (271 seedlings), ubar (90), Terantang (40), medang rawa (110) and the other seedlings are papung, Jinjit, puak, dan mahang. Our reasons for choosing these trees are:
They occur naturally in swampy areas and grow easily even in wet conditions nor do they need special care
They are part of the original habitat in the area such that replanting will not disturb the ecosystem of the area
They are a natural food source utilized by many of the living creatures in the area especially primates such as Orangutan ( Pongo pigmaeus ), proboscis monkey ( Narsalis larvatus), gibbon (Hylobates agilis), dan long-tailed macaques ( Macaqa fascikularis ).
We will progress the planting once the rainy season begins and it is likely this will be at the same time as planting in the Pesalat area.
b. Reforestation at Pesalat
Seedling Preparation
As reported last month, we continue to build the acclimatization station where we can evaluate, harden and select seedlings for transfer to the actual site. Seedlings prepared for Pesalat as at August are as follows :
- Nyatuh ( Palaqium sp ) Total 3610
- Sundy Total 754
- Garu Total 442
- Medang natai ( Litsea sp ) Total 310
- Sindur (Sindora galledupa)Total 249
- Idur Total 228
- Sintuk Lawang Total 398
- Bedaru Total 267
- Bintangur (Calophyllum sp)Total 95
- Kumpang Total 123
Overall total 6456 seedlings
For threatened tree species such as seperti Ulin (Eusideroxylon zwageri ) and Ramin ( Gonystylus bancanus ) we are still trying various methods of raising stock.
Post Preparation
To cut down on travel time & use the available time more efficiently, we have started to build a shelter at Pesalat. The shelter is fairly unambitious and can fit 6 people, we are planning that 3-4 staff will stay there at a time on a rotation basis.
This post will also act as a communication post, and will be equipped with radio. We are also looking to add other living necessities such as kitchen equipment and bedding.
Land Preparation
We continue preparing 19 plots of approximately 1 hectare each, each plot comprising 20 planting stips of 20 mtrs with planting holes spaced 5 mtrs apart. To allow for replanting & die-off, we estimate a 30% loading viz. 8000 seedlings + 30% x 8000 = 10400 seedlings. At present, we have prepared over 50% of the planting beds; we have also started to dig holes for planting of approximately 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm until 1 m x 1m x 1m, depending upon the species of tree we intend to plant. At present, we have dug over 200 holes.
As per our plans, we will draw on further advice to determine suitable methods and ways of cultivating seedlings for those plants where seedlings are hard to find and which cannot be easily raised from seed. We intend to bring in graduates from Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta to undertake research in this area.
In addition we will bring in other graduates to provide feedback about our current reforestation work. We also intend to seek input from more established professionals (e.g. consultants from Tropenbos) for our work.
Acclimatisation station
Once the seedlings that have grown in polybags start showing promising new growth, we are shifting them to the adaptation station which is very suited to open and hot planting areas. When the seedlings can tolerate and adapt to the conditions for as along as month, then we consider them ready for planting. We have already shifted almost 1500 seedlings to this station, they are adapting well and are therefore ready for planting; however we still await the rainy season.
Planting method and monitoring
Before planting, we add compost into the planting holes, this compost is natural decomposing matter made by collecting leaf litter and other rotting plant matter and left to breakdown naturally. This process imitates the process whereby nutrients are naturally made available to plants in rainforest despite lack of a rich topsoil layer.
Once planting begins, we will monitor the percentage of plants which survive and the rate of die-off while replacing those which die.
Our activites this month are :
We are entering the 2nd month of training and the
participants continue to be very enthusiastic; even though only 15 people
initially chose to follow the course a few other women are starting to attend
to bring their ow cloth and join in with the group. Training continues at 3 times a week, and the first phase of
training will end at the end of September.
Training will then be given at the 2nd phase to 10 women;
those whose work has not reached the required standard will be given the
opportunity to return if they so wish.
Techniques covered this month include :
1. Sketching on white
oilpaper
2. Choosing, developing
and placing appropriate motifs
3. Waxing techniques to
ensure correct colour tinting
We have also trained a few of the participants how to make tannin and
mix colours, while encouraging them to experiment and to develop their own
ideas. In addition to extracting colour
from Indigo and Mengkudu, our experiments have yielded 2 other shades extracted
from bark viz.
-
Chocolate from
Ubar bark
-
Red from a
mangrove tree (which species we are still ascertaining)
Experiments with other trees have not yielded dyes which can hold fast,
even so we will continue with these experiments keeping in mind nature
conservation values.
We continue with English classes for the primary school children; they continue to improve and although not fluent in the language are beginning to joke in English J We will continue to support this program as much as possible, even so it needs at least a year before we can really see, appreciate and evaluate the results.
This month, the villagers at Tanjung Harapan celebrated Indonesia
Independence Day by holding celebrations and sportin events including
volleyball and badminton competitions, boat races, tug-of-rope, top-spinning,
and art competitions for the children.
In these activities FNPF participated by sitting on various committees,
providing some financial support and having FNPF staff take part in the
competitions. The festivities were
enthusiastically celebrated and a good time was had by all J
Survey Area Overview
The area chosen for this survey is the village close to the wildlife
areaof Lamandau and contains two villages viz. Desa Kertamulya in the Sukamara
district and Desa Tempayung in the old Kota Waringin district. Both these
villages have highland (Natai) and dry lowland forest.
Desa Tempayung
Desa Tempayung is one of 13 villages in the Kota Waringin Lama district.
The other villages are Desa Rungun, Desa Lalang, Desa Kondang, Desa Kota
Waringin Hulu, Desa Riam Durian, Desa Dawak, Desa Sumber Bukti, Desa Kinjil, Desa
Sukabulin, Desa Trans Tempayung, Desa Tempayung, Desa Bebuti, and Desa Babual.
The population of desa Tempayung are mainly Dayak, with 157 heads of
household (kepala keluarga (kk)), and 687 people in total. The majority of the population follow the Hindu
Kaharingan beliefs; a few households follow other religions such as Islam (4
kk) dan Christianity (7 kk).
The main income source for the people of Tempayung is working in palm
oil plantation (Hampir 70 %), a few plant rubber and very few log. Work as
farmers and planters for the villagers is generally in addition to other work,
where they carry out this work once a year in the rainy season; rice is
harvested and uniquely, regardless of the size of the harvest they will not
sell the rice, instead they store it and some have even stored rice for 20
years but the rice does not go bad; they have the belief that they cannot sell
the harvest.
Even though planting is not core work, the population is still used to
planting and farming using traditional methods such as swidden, although they
now rarely practice nomadic farming.
The standard of education is almost the same as with other isolated
villages in the interior of Kalimantan; in this village there is only a primary
school (SD), and the majority of those who finish primary school cannot afford
to continue due to various factors including lack of funds, secondary schools
are located too far away such that boarding away from home is necessary and
costs very high. Despite this, there
are still children who finish primary school who are able to continue their
education to lower (SMP) and upper (SMA) secondary school.
Desa Kertamulya
Desa Kertamulya is located in the district of Sukamara, other villages
in this district are desa Sedawak, desa Pudurundun, desa Terantang, desa
Petarikan, desa Pangkalan Lima, desa Sukaraja, and desa Kampung Padang. The
village is around 125 Ha and the area for farm and estates more than 1000 Ha
(could not be verfied as the boundary with the National Forest is unclear).
Desa Kertamulya comprises 174 heads of household (kepala keluarga = KK)
with a total population of 509. Not unlike desa Tempayung, desa Kertamulya is a
Dayak community, following the Hindu Kaharingan religion; there are only 3 KKs
who follow another religion viz. Islam.
Nearly 70 % of the people in desa Kertamulya work on palm oil
plantations, like the Dayak people at Tempayung they farm as a supplementary
activity and await the rainy season; once the rainy season begins they start to
clear the land, practice open burning, the result of the burning will be used
as fertilizer and when rain falls they will begin to plant padi.
Survey Dates
Survey Method
The survey method used was interviews and sampling done at the two
villages above, desa Tempayung and desa
Kertamulya. We used a sample of two
villages because of several problematic factors including geographical
distances between villages and difficulty with transport. To survey all
villages in the area would require a high expenditure in cost and time.
From each village, the population chosen for interview was selected from
those who had seen sun bear within the last 1 year; if more than a year ago,
they were not chosen as respondents. Respondents were asked about the meeting,
if they made a direct sighting of sun bear, when seen, where, the size of the
bear, hunting issues, and their perception about the presence of sun bears. As
time was very limited and the distance between housing settlements very high, we
selected only 15 respondents from each of the two villages.
Survey Results and Discussion
The survey was based on using simple interview questions directed to 15
respondents in each of the two villages, making 30 respondents in all. The results of the interviews are simplified
below; the full report will be sent to the donor and can be made available on
request.
The data we otained suggests that sunbears were
still frequently encountered in desa Tempayung and desa Kertamulya, with the
greatest frequency of encounters occurring in the last 1 month. At desa Tempayung, sunbears were largely
encountered in the surrounding forest (33.3 %), in the farms and estates (26.7
%) and in palm oil plantation. (20 %),
2 respondents (13.3 %) saw
sunbears just outside the village and 1 saw sunbear entering the village. (6.7
%).
In desa Kertamulya sunbears were also largely
encountered in the surrounding forest areas (53.3%) and in farms and estates (26.7%),
with 2 respondents (13.3%) encountering sunbear in palm oil plantation and 1
respondent (6.7%) seeing sunbear outside the village. According to the villagers, sunbears were frequently encountered
searching for food and in drought conditions like those at present, more
sunbears were see eating young palm oil fruit.
Our data suggests that the level of sunbear
hunting currently occurring in desa Tempayung (6.3%) dan desa Kertamulya (0%)
is very low. Naturally the data is
reliant on the answers of the respondents; we know that respondents may well
lie about having never hunted where they are afraid the interviewer is a
forestry official. However, our
interviewer has sought to reduce this possibility by clearly explaining our
purposes and soliciting more detailed responses. From queries we asked, we were able to determine that the low
level of hunting was not because respondents knew sunbears were endangered and
had to be protected, but more because the Dayak community had chosen to work
full-time with palm oil, rubber and farming, also because there were many
alternative animals which were easier to hunt such as wild boar, barking deer
and sambar deer.
The villager inhabitants in general had no idea
that the sun bear was a protected species and that keeping or selling a sun
bear was subject to punishment under the law.
Even so, villagers had so far never bothered the animal, they had always
left sun bears alone whenever they encountered them in the woods or around the
village. Villagers explained that they
do occasionally seek sun bear to obtain its liver for medicine should a
personal need arise, however they have never hunted the animal for trading
purposes.
Like other interior dayak communities, the
local inhabitants of desa Tempayung dan desa Kertamulya draw upon their
indigenous wisdom and practices to manage their land. They only clear forest for the specific purpose of preparing and
opening land for cultivation; rarely do they log to sell the proceeds outside
the region and once the cultivated land is no longer fertile, they reforest it
by planting rubber and let it recover naturally. It may well be that other parties, including migrant illegal
loggers and companies who do not manage their forest concessions wisely, are
more responsible for the sorry state of the forests in Kalimantan.
We hope the results from all the surveying and investigation we are
doing into the sunbear will be able to be built on, clearly there is a need to
carry out more research and to continue to survey more areas in the interior
for sun bear presence.
In the 2nd week of August, 8 probationary graduates came to
the Park. The graduates were from
Universitas Palangkaraya, Universitas Talue leo, Universitas Lambung
mangkurat, Universitas Gajahmada and
Universitas Brawijaya. These graduates were assigned by the park office to work
with two NGOs, ourselves (FNPF) and OFI.
We introduced the graduates to our reforestation work in Pesalat, and
sought their feedback. At Pesalat, the
graduates undertook the following tasks :
Due to limited funds and other campus work, the graduates were only with us for 3 weeks, however one in particular, Mr. Isur from Gajahmada University made personal sacrifices to commit to spending 2 months with FNPF at Pesalat. We very much wish to acknowledge this, and to thank him for it.
Such is our report
this month; we thank all our supporters who have consistently supported FNPF’s
activities such that these are able to run more smoothly in accordance with our
plans.
Tanjung Puting, 10
September 2003
Friends Of The
National Parks Foundation
Drh. I Made Sugiarta
Operations manager