A friend to tribespeople in need<\/p>\n
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru<\/p>\n
Most \"modern\" people might find it difficult getting on with
\npeople who live in the jungle, struggling to fill the silence
\nwith some polite small talk. And you can generally forget about
\ncity dwellers and jungle residents from becoming fast friends.<\/p>\n
However, Rudi Syaf has proven to be an exception to the rule,
\nwith his love and compassion for the Kubu, a small tribe that
\nlives in the wilderness of the Bukit Barisan National Park in
\nJambi province.<\/p>\n
The tribe prefers to call themselves Orang Rimba, or people of
\nthe jungle, because \"Kubu\" is usually associated with
\nbackwardness. Only a few thousand in number, the survival of the
\ntribe is very much in question, particularly if deforestation
\ncontinues unchecked.<\/p>\n
Rudi, an activist with the Jambi-based non-governmental
\norganization Warsi, became interested in forestry and jungle
\ntribes when he was a student at the School of Agriculture at the
\nUniversity of Jambi.<\/p>\n
In his student days, Rudi was an active member of the
\nAssociation of Nature Loving Students. He was also active in
\nforest conservation efforts and set up a non-governmental
\norganization, Gita Buana (Song of the Earth), in 1987<\/p>\n
After graduation, he cofounded Warsi in January 1993 as an
\norganizational network established by 20 non-governmental
\norganizations in four provinces in Sumatra: South Sumatra, West
\nSumatra, Jambi and Bengkulu. Its focus was the conservation of
\nnatural resources and community development.<\/p>\n
Originally, Warsi had its office in Jambi city. Then in April
\n1994 the office moved to Bangko, the capital of Sarolangun Bangko
\nregency. Today, its headquarters has returned to Jambi city.<\/p>\n
Rudi and his colleagues spend much of their time living
\nalongside the jungle dwellers, providing them with legal advocacy
\nand introducing them to more \"modern\" values, such as basic
\neducation and health services.<\/p>\n
Rudi's ambition is to save the Kubu as they are pushed back by
\nmodernity. The tribe suffers from many social problems brought
\nabout by development near the forest, such as transmigration,
\nland clearance by forest concessionaires, the development of
\nplantations and so forth.<\/p>\n
\"We NGO activists are concerned about their survival and their
\nfuture,\" Rudi told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He has placed a number of Warsi environmentalists in areas
\nwhere the jungle people are found, such as the Bukit Duabelas
\nNational Park and in the buffer zone around the Kerinci Seblat
\nNational Park. Warsi members are also stationed at the Bukit Tiga
\nPuluh National Park, which covers land in three provinces: Riau,
\nWest Sumatra and Jambi.<\/p>\n
The activities of Warsi are supported by the group Cultural
\nSurvival of the U.S. and also by the World Wide Fund for Nature
\n(WWF), Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In the southern part of the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in
\nJambi, Warsi -- in cooperation with the WWF -- has conducted a
\nstudy on the lives of the jungle people. Warsi was responsible
\nfor the study, while two WWF representatives were included on the
\nfive-person research team.<\/p>\n
In 1996, the work that Rudi and Warsi were doing with the
\njungle people caught the attention of an international non-
\ngovernmental organization, the Norwegian Rain Forest (NRF)
\nFoundation. Later, a long-term agreement was signed by the
\nNorwegian government, Warsi and NRF to follow up on the work that
\nWarsi had done over a five-year period (1997-2002).<\/p>\n
\"Warsi and the NRF are making efforts to provide educational
\nand health services and, most importantly, to save the homes of
\nthe jungle people in the remaining forest around Bukit Duapuluh
\nand Bukit Tigapuluh national parks, and also along the middle
\narea of the Trans-Sumatra highway,\" Rudi said.<\/p>\n
Warsi helps provide the children of the jungle residents with
\nbasic education, in cooperation with the government. Because the
\ntribe is nomadic, it is quite difficult to teach the children.
\nWhen they move from one place to another, the school that the
\nlocal administration built for them through the Ministry of
\nSocial Affairs is simply abandoned.<\/p>\n
To provide the children an education, Warsi also teams up with
\na number of anthropologists engaged in research of the jungle
\npeople. As part of this cooperation, the anthropologists are
\nready to teach the children reading, writing and arithmetic.<\/p>\n
\"This is effective because the anthropologists follow the
\njungle people, so the children's education is not disrupted,\"
\nRudi said.<\/p>\n
Warsi also is monitoring the trade in rare animals, such as
\nSumatran tigers and rhinos. In April 1999, Warsi began
\ncooperating with WWF Indonesia to become one of the nodes in the
\nnetwork established to monitor the trade in Sumatran tigers and
\nrhinos.<\/p>\n
Warsi is responsible for monitoring the trade in central
\nSumatra. As part of this work, Warsi collects data on the
\npoaching of Sumatran tigers and rhinos, as well as the network
\nresponsible for selling these animals.<\/p>\n
As could be expected, Warsi's environmental work sector often
\nfaces impediments. The biggest hurdle, Rudi said, is the
\ndifficulty entailed in convincing the public that conservation is
\nimportant not only for them, but also for future generations.
\nThis process will take a long time and will require much work.<\/p>\n
\"It is man's natural instinct to exploit nature. Those engaged
\nin large-scale logging have lost their conscience and a loud
\nvoice is needed to stop them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rudi said numerous parties were involved in illegal forest
\nexploitation and illegal logging, but law enforcement efforts
\nremained weak.<\/p>\n
\"The forests, even those categorized as conservation areas,
\nare open to the public. We have to do more than just trying to
\ncatch illegal loggers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The forests in Sumatra are fast disappearing due to logging
\nand land clearance for plantations. The World Bank has warned
\nthat at the current rate of deforestation, little will remain of
\nthe Sumatran forest by 2005.<\/p>\n
\"It will require much more concerted efforts to save the
\nforests,\" Rudi said.<\/p>",
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