Battle to save precious Lore Lindu park goes on<\/p>\n
Bambang M., Contributor, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Numerous species of birds are perching on a fruit-laden banyan
\ntree while Sulawesi monkeys (Macaca tonkeana) greedily devour its
\nred fruit. In the old tree's shade, the pristine water of a small
\nriver flows by calmly.<\/p>\n
The natural beauty of tropical rainforest in the Lore Lindu
\nNational Park in Central Sulawesi is part of Indonesia's
\nrelatively well-maintained network of tropical forests.<\/p>\n
In the national park, the trees grow as high as 60 meters and
\ntheir thick foliage completely blocks the sunshine. Between the
\nbig branches, various species of rattan grow, just like numerous
\nkinds of ephiphytes like edible fern and beautiful orchids. The
\nground is covered with thick bushes.<\/p>\n
Measuring about 217.991 hectares in area, Lore Lindu was made
\na national park on Oct. 5, 1993. This park brings together Lore
\nKalamata nature reserve, Lindu Lake recreational and protected
\nforest and Lore Lindu fauna reserve. Administratively, the park,
\nthe second largest in Sulawesi, is located in Donggala and Poso
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
Despite its relatively virgin forest, this national park is
\nnot free of problems.<\/p>\n
Large-scale looting of rattan (Callamus. spp) and illegal
\nlogging still go on, while local residents living near the park
\nkeep on clearing forest area to plant crops.<\/p>\n
\"To date, illegal logging in this national park has covered an
\narea measuring about 3,000 hectares,\" said Bahar Umar, a worker
\nat the Nature Conservation of Lore Lindu Field Office.<\/p>\n
The illegal logging should be stopped immediately. The park
\nnot only boasts great biological diversity, but it also serves as
\nthe province's main water catchment area.<\/p>\n
Moreover, most of its flora and fauna are endemic to Sulawesi
\nand cannot be found in other places across the country.<\/p>\n
Anoa (Bubalus quarlesi), deer-hogs (Babyrousa babyrussa),
\nSulawesi civets (Macrogalidia musschenbroeckii), tarsius (Tarsius
\ndiane, T. pumillus) and allo birds or red-knobbed hornbills
\n(Rhyticeros cassidix) are some of the animals native to the
\nisland. Unfortunately, some of these creatures, such as anoa and
\ndeer-hogs -- listed in Appendix I of the World Conservation Union
\n(IUCN) -- are now becoming rare because of hunting<\/p>\n
As a whole, 98 percent of the 127 species of mammals found in
\nSulawesi are unique to the area. The same is true for 27 percent
\nof 328 species of birds, 26 percent of 117 species of reptiles,
\n76 percent of 25 species of amphibians and 77 percent of 68
\nspecies of fresh-water fish.<\/p>\n
Most of them are yet to be fully studied.<\/p>\n
With its outstanding biological diversity, the national park
\nhas been recognized by a number of international environmental
\norganizations like IUCN, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and
\nBirdlife International.<\/p>\n
The park's floral diversity, with an estimated of over 5,000
\nflora species, is also astonishing.<\/p>\n
One of the trees the national park can flaunt with pride is
\nthe leda tree (Eucalyptus deglupta), which can grow to 60m high
\nand has a trunk measuring 1.5m in diameter. When it is big
\nenough, the tree's bark peels off, revealing the shiny red and
\ngreen stem within.<\/p>\n
About 20 species of rattan, a source of livelihood for many
\nlocal residents, are also found here. Every year, it's estimated
\nthat some 25,000 tons of rattan are collected from the forest.<\/p>\n
Another important asset found in the Lore Lindu national park
\nbut rarely found in other national parks is megalithic stone
\nslabs of hundreds of years old. Nobody knows who made these
\nstones, which represent a human being, dakon stones and giant
\nvessels. They are found in Bada, Napu and Besoa areas.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, you can find other megalithic stone slabs inside the
\nforest and they are not known to the public,\" said Thamrin, the
\nforest ranger of the national park center at Bobo checkpoint.<\/p>\n
Apart from its rich biodiversity, the national park is an
\nimportant water catchment area in Central Sulawesi. With the
\npresence of this park, about 304,607 residents in Palu valley, or
\nabout 15 percent of this province's total population, never
\nsuffer from drought.<\/p>\n
Gumbasa, Palu and Lariang rivers flow through this national
\npark. Lariang river, which flows down to South Sulawesi, is the
\nlongest one in Sulawesi's longest, at 225 km.<\/p>\n
The livelihoods of many people would be threatened if illegal
\nlogging robs this national park of its ability to function as a
\nwater catchment area. The dry season will bring worse droughts,
\nand the whole region will flood in the wet season.<\/p>\n
In his research between November and December last year, Vince
\nDeschamps of ESG International Canada estimated the economic
\nvalue of water coming from the park at Rp 89.9 billion per annum.<\/p>\n
The water was used to support the daily activities of local
\nresidents, agriculture and plantation sector, animal husbandry
\nand industry in Palu valley. In the present era of growing
\nautonomy for the regions, it is certainly a very valuable asset
\nwhich needs to be preserved.<\/p>\n
\"With this research, we can inform the government, decision-
\nmakers and the public of the importance of the national park's
\necological value,\" said Deschamps, adding the park was the first
\nin Indonesia being surveyed of its water value.<\/p>\n
With the combination of natural beauty, a rich source of
\nknowledge and a high ecological value, the area was declared as a
\nman and biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational,
\nScientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1978. And now,
\nseveral international non-governmental organizations like TNC,
\nCare International, an Indonesian-German research cooperation
\ninstitute, STORMA (Stability of Rain Forest Margins Program) have
\njoined with dozens of local NGOs to help keep the park on a
\nsustainable footing.<\/p>\n
They know the park does not only belong to Indonesia. It is a
\nvital area of world heritage which must be preserved.<\/p>",
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