Deforestation threatens Riau tribespeople<\/p>\n
Like many other provinces, Riau has been fast losing its
\nforests due to illegal logging and land clearing to make way for
\nplantation projects. The activity has not only destroyed the
\nforest and its rich biodiversity but also endangered the survival
\nof the minor Talang Mamak and Suku Rimba tribespeople, whose
\nlives depend on the jungle. The Jakarta Post's reporter Haidir
\nAnwar Tanjung in Pekanbaru , Riau's capital, looks into the
\nissue.<\/p>\n
The fate of the Talang Mamak tribespeople gives rise to
\nincreasing concern not only due to the devastation of their
\nhabitat by illegal logging now rampant in the resource-rich
\nregion. The jungle tribespeople with their strong animistic
\nbelief are even losing the "Gods" they believe coexist with them
\nin trees and sacred places in the forest.<\/p>\n
To date, around 6,400 Talang Mamak people living in the Bukit
\nTigapuluh National Park's buffer zone in the Riau-Jambi
\nprovincial border area continue to perform rituals under large
\ntrees they consider sacred. Now with much of the forest being
\nillegally denuded, particularly in the Indragiri Hulu regency,
\n350 kilometers from Pekanbaru, it is difficult for them to find
\nhuge trees for their worship.<\/p>\n
"Since the majority of the Talang-Mamak people embrace animism
\nwith the practice of making offerings to what they believe are
\nsacred trees, the timber looting amounts to losing their God,"
\nDr. Tabrani Rab, a Riau cultural expert, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The tribe can be found only around the Bukit Tigapuluh
\nNational Park (TNBT), which is between Riau and Jambi. In Riau,
\nthe park is located in Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir
\nregencies, and in Jambi it is in Tanjung Jabung and Bungo Tebo
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
TNBT and its surrounding forests play an important role in
\nmaintaining the hydrological function of the area, with many
\nwater springs forming river streams. The park also serves as a
\nmajor catchment area for the Indragiri river in Riau and
\nBatanghari river in Jambi, with six lesser rivers, Gangsal,
\nCinaku, Reteh, Keritang, Pengabuan and Sumai.<\/p>\n
The catchment areas enhance the hydrological function of
\nTNBT's eastern part because the peat layers along the eastern
\ncoasts of Sumatra are highly dependent on the rivers in TNBT's
\nupstream areas. Any hydrological imbalance in the east will
\nreduce the rate of flow of clean water, and in the case of
\ndryness the peat land will shrink and pose a fire danger.<\/p>\n
These pristine forests have 82 vegetation species, including
\nrare mushrooms, while the Talang Mamak utilize 110 herbal plants
\nto cure 56 diseases. There are also 42 mammalian species, some
\nface extinction like beavers, Sumatran tigers, elephants and
\ntapirs. Of the 192 bird species found in the park, 18 are
\nendangered.<\/p>\n
"Illegal logging has threatened the local flora and fauna,
\nwith the tribesmen being increasingly cornered," said Nazier
\nFuad, director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia.<\/p>\n
According to Nazier, Bukit Tigapuluh was declared a national
\npark in 1995. However, of the 250,000 hectares proposed, only
\n127,698 hectares were finally approved pursuant to a decree of
\nthe forestry minister.<\/p>\n
"It was owing to pressure from forest concessionaires with
\nhigh-level political access, which also enabled them to become
\nthe main contractors involving a million hectares of land in
\nKalimantan," he said.<\/p>\n
The concession holders operating in TNBT border areas are PT
\nIFA (Barito Pacific Timber Group), PT Dalek Hutani Esa and PT
\nInhutani V, the first two being joint ventures with state owned
\nInhutani V. Nazier indicated that such concessionaires failed to
\nabide by the logging regulations in force and tended to exploit
\nthe TNBT buffer zone on a large scale.<\/p>\n
This situation is worsened by the presence of plantation and
\ntimber estate (HTI) companies obtaining forest conversion
\npermits, so that the areas that must meet protection criteria
\nhave turned into monocultural forests providing no habitat for
\nprotected wildlife.<\/p>\n
"Various rare plants with medicinal properties have even been
\nindiscriminately cut down," said Nazier.<\/p>\n
Based on a WWF investigation, with the introduction of
\nGovernment Regulation No. 6\/1999, which opens the opportunity for
\nlocal communities to utilize forest products through groups or
\ncooperatives, logging in the buffer zone has been on the rise
\nparticularly following the monetary crisis that began in 1997.
\nThe local people need cash and concessionaires support such
\ncooperatives.<\/p>\n
"Consequently, logging has gone beyond control and the firms
\nare seen as saviors while the locals only serve as cheap labor,"
\nNazier pointed out, adding that the devastation of forests around
\nthe park was also supported by at least 31 sawmills in the area,
\nready to process the loot.<\/p>\n
Despite the highly endangered state of TNBT, the Riau
\nadministration still plans to reopen the 18,783-hectare timber
\nestate area west of the buffer zone to PT Surya Dumai Industri.
\nFurthermore, some 38,950 hectares of pristine land in the zone's
\nIndragiri upstream area in Indragiri Hulu regency, will be
\nconverted into a timber estate in 2003.<\/p>\n
Regent Raja Thamsir Rachman issued conversion licenses to
\nlocal firms, PT Bukit Batabuh, PT Sei Indah and PT Citra Sumber
\nSejahtera in April, 2002.<\/p>\n
"If the forests are converted into timber estates, Talang
\nMamak people will inevitably lose their Gods. They have never
\nreceived proper attention from the government and are now even
\nbeing driven out of their own dwelling places," Tabrani said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/deforestation-threatens-riau-tribespeople-1447893297",
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