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Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF)
Activity Report May to June 2004
Firstly we wish to offer thanks for the support that we have received from many sources in these last few months :
Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH), Australia
We are very pleased to announce that in June 2004, FNPF was chosen to be a recipient of the RNHP funds from the DEH. These funds will be focused on Community Development, Outreach Education and Health, and will be a very important component of our overall program. We thank Michael Kennedy from HSI Australia for his generous advice and support in this matter, and look forward to a close working relationship with the DEH.
Gibbon Foundation – Wildlife & Peacekeeping Program
The Gibbon Foundation has confirmed that it will renew and increase our funding for the 2004 year, allowing us to strengthen our Wildlife program and to incorporate important funds for Park peacekeeping activities. We thank Professor Willie Smits and Pak Iwan for their invaluable and consistent support, without which much of FNPF’s work could not take place.
Gibbon Foundation – Nusa Penida Project
We are very excited that the Gibbon Foundation has agreed to fund a Bird Sanctuary at Nusa Penida, one of a group of islands off Bali. Nusa Penida is renowned for its coral reefs and beautiful marine life; it is also a island that is very important from a spiritual standpoint for Balinese Hindus. Our project there will work with local communities, religious authorities, the Indonesia-wide Animal Rescue Centre (ARC) network, and the Department of Forestry to prepare and release endangered birds into their original habitat. Like our work in Borneo, the project will take a holistic approach, incorporating reforestation and community development work, and supporting birdlife research. We thank the Gibbon Foundation for their support.
Finally, we wish to thank all our supporters, staff, friends and family for the love, laughter and faith that has sustained us through some lean years. We hope and pray for the best for all living creatures: “semoga semua hidup berbahagia”.
From the Earth, To the Earth, For the Earth.
1.1 Work Methods & Techniques
In this period, we continued to apply the methods determined last quarter with field consultants and from our own review of our reforestation procedures :-
i) Cultivating several possible varieties of pioneer trees and an endemic cover crop to create a more supportive planting habitat
The growth rate of pioneer trees is slower than expected, although much faster than forest medium-hardwood trees. Ditto the ground cover crop. We are also not able to collect seed at present (wrong season) and therefore are using cuttings; we will switch to seed stock as soon as possible, as seed stock has always shown more ability to withstand harsh field conditions than wildlings collected.
ii) Producing organic fertilizers from leaf litter and forest materials
We are still recovering from the fertilising mistake in February; this coupled with the recent dry spell means that the mistake may have cost us close to 1700 plants. This has only made us more determined, however, to take greater care with our work, and to ensure staff are appropriately trained and instructed in future.
The “Bokasi” composting experiment by Mr Sunaryo, although cheap and productive, appears to need to much handling to be practical in the field. We are therefore continuing our search for a cheap and simple method with minimal handling. In the meantime, we are taking extra care in mixing planting media for our seedlings, choosing good topsoil mixed with decomposed forest material, ash and sand as required to prevent too dense a mix given the clay soils.
iii) Cultivating a larger range of local species, changing our plant mix, and collecting a lot more seedstock compared to wildlings
We are slowly changing our mix to reduce the amount of nyatoh seedlings, and are trialling 4 new species viz. medang kankora, ubar putih, buwah and puak. We have also greatly reduced the number of wildlings collected, preferring seed stock which has proven to be much stronger.
iv) Aerating soil and ensuring appropriately sized planting holes are dug
We are using a minimum standard of 30cm x 30cm, keeping in mind the canopy & root spread of the different species.
v) Strengthening the framework planting in the peat swamp site and experimenting with methods to overcome the water-logged conditions
In the previous months, we piled up soil into clumps, to try to prevent roots from rotting in the water-logged conditions. This appear to be successful, but it is slow and heavy labour. We have therefore started a mini-experiment with drainage, to overcome the water-logged conditions. Initial results are encouraging and we will look to dig a ditch in the coming months, to control water levels.
1.2 Infrastructure
In the period, we also put in place more infrastructure as per our project plans:
i) A water tower and pump was added to cover 20 hectares in Pesalat
ii) The peat swamp nursery was extended to cope with 2000 seedlings
iii) A small boat was built to allow easier river travel to search for seed
Staff had an enjoyable time building these, the boat is small but beautiful and the watering system will save a lot of work. The water tower, pump and piping in particular took a fair amount of time to build and set up. Even so, it was very rewarding when the whole system worked.
We wish to thank Mr Susiantoro for his help in designing and setting up the watering system. We also wish to thank the group of young local volunteers from Kumai who worked so hard to dig wells, put in piping and generally help set up the watering system; thank you!
1.3 Planting, Replanting and Maintenance
In May and June, it continued dry and we only replanted sparingly. In this period, we planted 405 seedlings viz Bedaru 10, Gaharu 60, Kayu Bunga 2, Ketikal 9, Nyatoh 190, Sampa 10, Sintuk Lawang 52, and Sundi 72. We also undertook normal maintenance tasks, clearing planting strips and aerating soil.
1.4 Seedling Stock & Cultivation
Seed stock was limited as not in season; even so we collected 1259 seeds and wildlings. Of this, nyatoh comprised 14% (previously, up to 70% collected); we also included 4 new species viz. medang kankora, ubar putih, buwah and puak.
As at end June 2004, we had approximately 3243 seedlings comprising :
Forest Nursery = 2343 seedlings
Comprising Nyatuh (696), Ubar Putih (656), Kayu Bunga (104), Medang (62), Garu (435), Samaku (333), Puak (48), Ulin (9). Avg period in nursery = <2 months
Acclimatisation I = 663 seedlings
Comprising Nyatuh (303), Sintuk Lawang (157), Medang (153), Poga (50)
Acclimatisation II = 237 seedlings
Comprising Nyatuh (101), Garu (21), Kayu Bunga (62), Sampa (35), Sintuk Lawang (18). Avg period in A2 = <2 mths.
1.5 Overall Targets, Risks and Risk Mitigation
Physically, Adong, Daniel and Butet continue in good health although they have had some minor colds and sneezes brought on by the rain. We continue to add vitamins and egg to their milk to strengthen their constitution and provide needed protein.
Butet and Daniel’s ability to find food continue to improve. In June, they stayed away from the feeding platform up for 12 days in the month, preferring to eat wild forest foods. We note that they ate from more than 30 food choices in the month, including insects, flowers, shoots, leaves, fruits and seeds. Interestingly, Butet ate from liana this month, something we have not previously seen him do. Butet and Daniel’s forest skills also continue to improve, both continue to explore and have expanded their range towards the peat swamp area.
Adong has been the surprise in this period. He has shown considerable improvement, eating from more than 20 wild food sources in the month, including bark, palm heart, liana, young leaf, fruit and flower. He has also become more active; previously he could spend >70% of his time just lazing around and resting in the trees; in the last two months, he has only spent between 35% to 50% of his time resting (yes, this is an improvement :-)) He is also starting to build more nests (previously, he generally stole nests or reused old ones). Importantly, he did not attend the feeding platform fo 4 days in May, and for 9 days in June. We put his improvement down to new methods by staff to reduce passive contact and actively lead Adong to different tracks; hopefully the coming months will show if he continues to improve.
Butet and Daniel remain close, although they are becoming more independant. These months, they have generally slept in separate nests. They are also clearly comfortable interacting with other orangutans in their area, and in fact sometimes leave each other to follow other orangutans. In this period, they played with several wild juvenile males, as well as with Yanari, the dominant 29 year old male in the area. In interaction with wild males, Daniel although younger has the lead over Butet.
Adong, as in other areas, lags behind Daniel and Butet in social skills, but has shown definite improvement. In both May and June, he only returned to the post twice. He is also playing more frequently with Butet now, although Daniel still avoids him.
All the orangutans regularly use defensive methods such as kiss squeaks, shaking branches and throwing sticks at unwanted visitors.
We expect that, if the orangutans continue at this rate, they will definitely be ready for release at the recommended age / weight of 48 months / 15 kgs, if not before that.
In these two months, the strong start to the program has been maintained :-
i) We brought another secondary school into the Park, being the SMK Negeri 1 Pangkalan Bun on 3rd May 2004; students and teachers participated enthusiastically in the “hands on” field program, and feedback was very positive.
ii) On 15th May, we trialled a different format aimed at primary schools. For this, we invited the local primary school from one of the villages in the Park, being the SD Sungai Sekonyer 1. It was an eye-opener for all parties; as a result, we are very keen to build a program involving schoolchildren in villages around the Park, as they are a core interest group who will have a strong impact
iii) On 23rd May, we worked together with Yayorin, the local arm of the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), to present materials on reforestation at our site in Pesalat. The Yayorin activity went very well; we hope for opportunities to work together in future and to strengthen cooperation amongst the various NGOs working in the Park.
iv) On 30th May, we hosted 15 local volunteers from Kumai, who worked with our staff to dig wells, clean equipment, install piping and help set up the Water Tower system in Pesalat. In particular, we congratulate the young women who refused the men’s offer to just do light work and cook (?!), and who pitched in with great enthusiasm and to great effect. Cewek Hidup!
We did not have any activities in June, given the examination season; however we intend to organize follow-up sessions in the form of overnight camps drawing together several schools, to build enthusiasm to create conservation clubs within the schools, and hopefully to generate some inter-school synergy and friendly rivalry.
We will also support school-based conservation activities such as medicinal plant gardens. We wish to thank the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the DEH Australia, whose funding will enable us to carry out this program.
In this period, we paid several visits to NGOs and other Park stakeholders:
i) On 5th May, we visited the offices of Conservation International Indonesia (CII) and met Mr. Sunarto, the Senior Biodiversity Specialist. FNPF will recommence the camera trap project, previously put on hold since the start of the year, and we look forward to working together again with CII.
ii) On 23rd May, we worked together with Yayorin, the local arm of the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), to present materials on reforestation at our site in Pesalat.
iii) In June, we met with Pak Budiman Saragih, Project Manager of World Education, and agreed in principle to work together where possible on small-scale agriculture projects in the villagers around the Park.
iv) In late June, we visited the Orangutan Care Centre (OCC) run by the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) at Pasir Panjang. The centre’s facilities were very impressive; we were also very interested to note that the veterinarians there have used homeopathic treatments for orangutans and found these to be most effective. We will definitely wish to investigate using similar herbal treatments for our own practices.
The Batik Cooperative started up in the previous period is doing very well, thanks in no small part to Ibu Nursilah, the Head of the Committee. In the 2 months to end June, 27 piece of batik work were sold, for a total income of Rp 860.000. Of this amount, approximately 30% went into a communal Batik fund, 30% went to FNPF for further reinvestment, and 40% went to the ladies who made the Batik. We are especially pleased that the sales, record-keeping, price-setting and profit-sharing procedures were all agreed and done by the ladies themselves, with minimal input from FNPF. We expect to continue to reduce our input, gradually phasing ourselves out of the project, except to provide technical advise on an “as needs” basis.
Education Support Program
In this period, we received a commitment from two very generous ladies to provide scholarships for two young girls from the local village. Currently, very few children continue their studies as the village does not have any education facilities beyond primary school. Thanks to Marcella Pearce and Dorothy Foote, Ismiyati and Jahratul will now continue their studies to Lower and Upper Secondary school respectively. If there is anyone who is interested in helping support the village children to continue their education, please contact us on fnpf@dps.centrin.net.id
Such is our report for the month.
Once again, we wish to thank all our sponsors and supporters for the help and support they give so generously.
Respectfully,
FNPF Staff and Volunteer