May - June Newsletter from Tanjung Puting National Park

by Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF)

 

BORNEO WILDLIFE PROGRAM

Orangutans on the mend !

In this period we retested all our orangutans that are currently undergoing therapy in quarantine.  We are very pleased to note that all are showing significant improvement, after nearly a year of treatment.  Daniel’s leucocyt count, which indicates the presence of infection, has returned to normal and  we hope his TBC result next period will also be negative.  Robert’s heart function has returned to normal; his leucocyt count is now only slightly above normal, hematocrite and haemoglobin is almost normal, and trombosite levels have increased threefold to now become normal. 

 

For Adung, his urine test showed the presence of crystal amorph and fungus, hence we will increase his liquid intake to guard against urolitiasis and other possible renal or urinary tract infections. Adung also has cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) and high blood pressure, but this too is showing improvement.  Our Wildlife Vet, Drh Yenny, is hopeful that the orangutans will be released from quarantine in the near future; hence we also took the opportunity to tattoo them as a precursor to possibly leaving quarantine.

 

For Butet, the news is mixed. His liver function has now returned to normal; his leucocyt count has also returned to normal where previously it was twice the normal levels. However, hematocrite is still low and sadly, Butet seems to have developed thrombositopenia as a side effect of the TBC treatment he is undergoing.  To treat this, Drh Yenny is adding ferrum into his food and we hope he will respond positvely.

 

The baby of the family, Julius, continues to improve.  This period, he grew new teeth viz. the upper right B teeth; his health was good and bodyweight increased 0.6 kgs to become 6 kgs.  As Julius currently sleeps alone (his babysitter remains just outside), we have added a mirror near his cage so he can see himself and realise what he looks like or feel he has a companion.

At first he was afraid, kiss squeaking to shoo away his reflection; however, he then became curious, tried to grab the mirror and now he likes to look at himself.

 

In his training, Julius has been moved to a new area, to allow him to become familiar with different surroundings and to try new varieties of forest food.  His trainer, Ainun, spends a considerable amount of time up in treetops with Julius and has started to show him how to make a nest. Although he is not yet capable of nestbuilding, he has started to sleep in the nests we make for him in the trees. We hope he will quickly learn to make nests himself.

 

Community Turtle Program Commences

Almost a year ago, we did a preliminary turtle survey at Sungai Cabang village, thinking we might one day work in the area.  At that time, we did not have a presence at Sungai Cabang, nor did we have funding.  Now, thanks to DEH Australia,  FNPF has been working in Sungai Cabang for nearly 9 months on a community support program.  Recently,  we reaped the benefit of the trust built up by Drh Made Marthady, our Community & Livestock Veterinarian, working with Pak Hamidi, the Village Secretary and FNPF Community Organiser.

On 17^th June, the village held a community meeting where villagers, the village development body (BPD), local dignitaries and village authorities agreed to look at creating a special village regulation for Turtle and Terrapin Protection.  This is a significant win as villagers have long taken turtle eggs for sale or personal consumption, and the level of distrust around hunting and wildlife protection issues is very high.

 

Villagers agreed to set aside a stretch of beach as a protected turtle area, to save a proportion of any turtle eggs found, to set up a hatchery where eggs returned would be allowed to hatch naturally, and to commence a regular beach patrol.  Villagers who find and choose to return any turtle eggs would be reimbursed for the time  spent patrolling.  The program would be a village program, “Penyuku Jangan Punah” (“Don’t let our Turtles Disappear”), with FNPF providing technical support and a small amount of funding.  FNPF will also work with villagers to identify supportive activities around the turtle program, such as habitat enrichment and any eco-tourism and promotion opportunities.

 

Study Tour & Thank You to Kalaweit, Nyaru Menteng, Mawas & CIMTROP

We wish to thank YCI, Kalaweit, Nyaru Menteng, BOS-Mawas, OUTROP and CIMTROP at Palangkaraya, Tuanan and Sebangau for hosting several of our staff on various study trips during this period. Your kind hospitality and generous knowledge are deeply appreciated.

 

 

We thank HSI Australia and DEH Australia  for supporting our Orangutan and Community Turtle Patrol Programs respectively

 VILLAGE SUPPORT PROGRAM

Regular Monthly Health Program agreed with Sekonyer village

 

This period we are very pleased to announce that we have agreed a regular health program with Sekonyer’s new nurse, Ibu Ria. Ria will undertake to run monthly information and health assessment sessions for three key groups at Sekonyer village, namely mothers and young children (“Posyandu”), older folk (“Posyulansia), and primary schoolchildren (“UKS”).  The local Health Authority will provide information materials including posters and leaflets as required; FNPF will provide additional materials and a monthly honorarium of USD15.

 

FNPF will also fund any generic medicines provided to the older folk during the clinics; we salute Ria for charging cost price (40 cents per person for medicines, 20 cents per person for injections), instead of the frequent practice of taking profits at more than 20x the base cost.

 

Ria’s methods are personal and direct; as she examines each child or patient, she discusses health issues with them; mothers also stay back for a group discussion.  Her topics touch on basic health issues such as nutrition, diarrhoea, old-age ailments and the importance of health. 

 

The older folk have also responded positively to an idea to hold an “Older Person’s Aerobics” class each month. They will contribute 10 cents each, and this money will go towards tea and biscuits, and/or the aerobic instructor’s fee.  We look forward to this activity starting.

 

For the schoolchildren, Ria will hold a 30 minute class each month at the local school.  At the first meeting, she discussed personal hygiene with the children, such as bathing; keeping the teeth, nostrils, ears, nails and hair clean; and eating cooked food.  Ria found many children had poor oral hygiene as families tend to have one toothbrush which they share amongst all the members.  FNPF accordingly worked with Ria to provide toothbrushes for each child and Ria organised a fun and water-filled session for children to practice brushing their teeth!  We look forward to a strong relationship with the new Local Health representative; thank you Ria.

 

Field Practicum & Visiting Clinic; Potential “Local Vet Assistants” identified

 

This period, in addition to the regular “Livestock Field School” discussions, our Community Vet, Drh Marthady, had several “hands-on” practice sessions for villagers at Sekonyer and Sungai Cabang interested in learning more about animal health.  Villagers were given the chance to learn how to detect pregnancy in cows by feeling the uterus, to attach a nose-ring to a bull, to restrain a steer, give injections, prepare herbal potions, vaccinate chicks, and or recognise the early signs of disease in poultry.  Pleasingly, older folk, women and children also took part;  we believe this is important as they are often the people who look after livestock on a daily basis.

 

In an important move for FNPF, Sungai Cabang village appointed 3 cadets (Edi Jasadi, Hamidi, Tasrif) to be trained as “local vet assistants” to provide 1^st level medical support for the community’s livestock.  These men have varying levels of experience and ability at this stage, however all have excellent potential. Drh Marthady will work closely with these men and we will also lobby the government to provide more formal training for these cadets in due course.

 

Drh Marthady also visited Danau Rasau, holding a “Yankeswan” viz. a livestock health treatment clinic. Cases encountered included Newcastle Disease and eye infections in poultry; for cows there were cases of malnutrition, worm infestation, enteritis, ectoparasite and bloat.  In addition to treatment, our vet always shares his knowledge during these clinics and stresses the importance of good animal husbandry, encouraging villagers to look after their animals better.

 

Meanwhile, the pilot  “Cow Bank” at Sekonyer village is going well.  Badung, Bella and Dinda are growing healthily and their respective owners have been providing proper care and feed in keeping with our vet’s instructions. As cows are new to the village, initially children were scared but it is nice to see that some are now getting used to, and even becoming fond of the cows J

 

For poultry, although the volume and quality of stock is not yet adequate, FNPF has started taking free-range chickens from Sekonyer village for our staff, as an initial step to encourage villagers to consider producing for market and not just for personal consumption. Villagers have traditionally been fairly laissez-faire about poultry (“if they live, well and good; if they die well they die!”).  FNPF hope to show that animal husbandry can be a viable means of income and will continue working to build confidence and enthusiasm among villages to take up livestock farming seriously, and to provide better care for their animals.

 

 

We thank the DEH Australia, the Livestock Department Kowaringin Regency and the Local Health Authority Kumai for their invaluable support

FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM

 

Our reforestation program is now approaching maturity.  Two years ago, FNPF trialled a small reforestation program, without a qualified forester but with highly knowledgeble local staff and young, intelligent and educated professionals.  Dedication and determination were our greatest assets, but we lacked formal training and experience.  We have learnt much over this two year period; we have added an experienced professional forester, dared to experiment and switch to new methods, and in the last eight months our results have stabilised such that we are now confident the quality of our work will stand up to any scrutiny and more important, the good results can be maintained.

 

Of the seedlings planted with our new methods late last year, >90% have survived, and this has been stable over the last 6 months.  The 6 hectares we have planted with fast-growing pioneer endemics have helped us identify species that will make good nurse trees, and we will continue to prepare the site by pre-planting pioneers like gerunggang and keruing.

 

For the main planting of rainforest trees, currently we have 15,636 seedlings representing 47 species in stock, with only 2 species representing more than 10% of stock each. The bulk of these seedlings (94%) are healthy and we are giving more intensive treatment to the 6% of stock that is still weak.  We are on track to plant 30 hectares simultaneously come January, when the pioneers will be more established and seedlings sufficiently strong.  Planting dates will be aligned with the rainy season as well as the condition of seedling stock and in-ground pioneers.

 

The peat swamp site is also giving positive results. The bintuka we planted (Lopapetalum Javanicum) is surviving well; however the galam (Melaleuca Sp) is not and we are still trying to find the cause; we suspect root damage at the time the galam was transplanted.  Currently, we are making preparations to face the dry season, continuing to collect seed stock and maintain our nurseries and in-ground planting, as well as working to build staff skills in nursery management, mapping, plotting, and using equipment such as GPS.

 

In this period, 11 villagers from Sungai Cabang expressed interest in planting gaharu trees on their own land.  We were very pleased to provide 620 seedlings free of charge; we are trying to interest villagers to plant hardwood and rainforest trees around their village, as deforestation is a problem not only in the Park, but also in the villages within and surrounding the park.  We hope that more people will start taking their own initiative to restore the landscape, and we aim to work with local villages and the Park Authority to support some community forestry projects late this year.

 

We wish to thank the US Fish and Wildlife Services Agency for their incredible support, and also to thank Bas & all our field staff for their unceasing efforts
CONSERVATION and EDUCATION PROGRAM

In-situ Program Continues Strong; Fledging School Clubs stretch their  wings . . .:) 

This period, our on-site program continues well.  We hosted the Kumai Hulu State Primary School and Madrasah Aliyah Babussalam Kumai, both schools being so pleased with the program they requested to send further students self-funded.  We also welcomed villagers from Nanga Bulik brought to our site by another NGO, Yayorin; as well as members of Pecinta Alam Hijau Lestari. Our Conservation Education officer, Hatta, also gained valuable exposure on a recent study trip, and he has come back brimming with enthusiasm and with ideas to overhaul and improve the School Program, such that students  truly “Learn while Playing / Doing”!

The six schools which we have encouraged to form Conservation Clubs are showing mixed results. SMA Negeri 3 Pangkalan Bun has declared every Friday a ‘Clean Friday’ where the local conservation club students meet with their fellow students to promote conservation and undertake planting, maintenance, and dispose of rubbish (recycling, burning).  SMK Harapan Pangkalan Bun has also formed a Conservation Club; this club has been entrusted with looking after the plants around the school and the cleanliness of the school grounds.  SMA Negeri 1 Kumai has started a living apothecary, planting medicinal plants such as mengkudu, kunyit, jahe and serai. They also maintain the surrounds of each classroom.   However the other schools have preferred to focus on other extracurricular activities eg sport, scouts etc.  We will continue to encourage, but we believe that horses cannot be forced to drink; rather than have ‘outside driven activity’, we prefer to have none at all, as anything not arising from within will not be sustainable.

 

World Environment Day

In this period, FNPF participated in the activities organised by BOS-Mawas and WWF Indonesia to celebrate World Environment Day at Palangkaraya.  Forty three NGOs took part, alongside local schools and government departments.  Our Conservation Education staff, Hatta, joined a march along the main roads carrying conservation-themed banners, we also helped to distribute brochures and pamphlets to the public and witnessed a children’s drawing competition for conservation.

 

Hatta also met and exchanged ideas with many NGOs especially Yayasan Cakerawala Indonesia (YCI), Mawas and OUTrop; we also received a lot of brochures, books and conservation education materials which we intend to put to good use; thank you to these organisations J

 

Closer to home, Trans-TV featured FNPF’s reforestation site at Pesalat and interviewed our forester, Pak Basuki Budi Santoso for World Environment Day. Pak Basuki spoke on the need for forest restoration, his hopes for the future of our rainforests, and his ardent desire that people everywhere will take better care of our natural heritage.

Team Plasma Nufta

 

In this period, we hosted a team from the Agricultural Technology Research Body, Central Kalimantan. Dr Mahrita Willis led a largely female team to undertake an initial survey into the presence of medicinal and ornamental plants in Tanjung Puting.  The ladies were especially interested in ornamental plants with high market value and good cultivation potential; we were very pleased when they informed us that there are black orchids (or technically, dark brown orchids) near our post; they also noted soil conditions suitable for native plants.  We thank Drh Mahrita and her team for sharing their experiences with us, and for their offer to send more researchers to the Park in future.

 

 

“Indonesians for Indonesia” – Volunteer Program

This period, we welcome Pak Suwarno, S.Hut, who joins us as part of a volunteer program where experienced local foresters and conservationists give up their time to share knowledge with we that work in Tanjung Puting.  So far, Nano (as he is commonly known) has shown staff how to prepare a herbarium, provided information on innoculation of gaharu (to increase the chance of the precious perfumed sap forming), and participated in our on-site conservation education sessions.  Nano will stay for two months. We wish him a pleasant and productive time; thank you Nano!

 

Primary School prizes & scholarships

As part of our school support program in Sekonyer,  this period FNPF gave out class prizes to several children after the year-end examinations in June. For the first time in recent years, the school had a Primary Six class with seven students. At the June National Examinations all seven averaged scores of 60% or more; the top student averaged 75%.  These are excellent results for a small village school; we congratulate all students and staff on the result.  Thanks to DEH Australia, we will be providing scholarships to two of these Primary Six students to continue to Lower Secondary school; however, there is a young boy in particular who greatly wishes to continue, and who just missed out.  Should anyone wish to sponsor him, or provide any assistance to the school, we would be grateful if you could contact us on fnpf@dps.centrin.net.id

 

 

We wish to thank the US Fish and Wildlife Services Agency, DEH Australia and

private donors for sponsoring our Conservation and Education program

TNTP MULTI-STAKEHOLDER FORUM

 

This period, FNPF staff were invited to take part in a multi-stakeholder meeting held in Pangkalan Bun for all parties with an interest in Tanjung Puting National Park. The meeting was hosted by the Park Authorities, and sponsored by the Illegal Logging Response Centre (ILRC), European Union.  All four NGOs working in the Park were represented, as were the villagers within and around the Park, local government officials and several government departments.  We were split into mixed groups, for SWOT, problem identification and problem resolution sessions, and it was very interesting to see the perspective of the different parties.  We congratulate the Park for holding this forum, and hope to have many more opportunites to mix with and develop closer ties with all the stakeholders involved with Tanjung Puting National Park.

 

 

TRANS-TV COMES TO TANJUNG!

This period, a national TV channel, TransTV, sent a team to the Park, to shoot a children’s TV program, “Surat Sahabat” (Letter for my Friend).  They were accompanied by a journalist from Majalah Bobo, a children’s magazine.  The story revolves around a young girl whose father is a forest policeman, who joins him for a day at work in the Park.  The girl learns about the Park’s orangutan rehabilitation program at Tanjung Harapan and Camp Leakey; she sees the wildlife clinic at Tanjung Harapan and plants a tree at the Pesalat reforestation site, she joins the forest police on their patrol and she mixes with local children practicing English with overseas visitors at Sekonyer primary school.  A good time was had by all; the village children in particular thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the shooting, and we hope the exposure will be good for the all concerned. Throughout the shoot, FNPF were very pleased to offer all the help we could; we thank TransTV for featuring our work, acknowledging our support in the credits and promoting the Park.

 

Thank You, Trans TV and Majalah Bobo!

 

 

 

Such is our newsletter for the period.  Thank You Everyone.

Respectfully,  FNPF staff and volunteers