Javan gibbons face extinction, illegal loggers blamed<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post\/Sukabumi<\/p>\n
Five groups of the endangered Javan silvery gibbon (Hylobates
\nmoloch), or Owa Jawa, have disappeared from the 100-hectare (ha)
\nKabandungan Forest, a lush corridor that connects Mount Salak and
\nMount Halimun in Sukabumi, West Java, a park official said.<\/p>\n
\"Illegal loggers have nearly cut down the entire corridor ...
\nthe small area of remaining forest is now isolated from the
\nKabandungan ecosystem,\" Mount Halimun National Park official Nur
\nFaizin told The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
In 1998, Faizin said, five families of four to five Javan
\nsilvery gibbons lived in the forest corridor.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe they died from the extreme change in their habitat,
\nwere killed by hunters, or migrated to another location,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another Halimun park official, Ika Kristiana, feared the
\nextinction of many flora and fauna, especially those as yet
\nundiscovered in the forest, due to the disappearance of the
\nforest corridor.<\/p>\n
\"The Kabandungan corridor is vital to the preservation of the
\nmontane ecosystems of Salak and Halimun, which are home to
\ndifferent animals and vegetation.<\/p>\n
\"We believe the forest corridor linked the two ecosystems and
\nenabled their endemic species to interact and expand their gene
\npools for better survival. Without this, species endemic to the
\nmountains would disappear one by one,\" Ika told the Post.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Forestry placed Salak and Halimun under a
\nsingle management last year, expanding the national park from
\n40,000 ha to 113,357 ha across Sukabumi and Bogor regencies of
\nWest Java and Lebak regency of Banten. The Kabandungan forest
\ncorridor is located in Lebak.<\/p>\n
Over the next five years, Faizin said, the national park,
\ntogether with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
\nwould begin rehabilitating the diminishing forest corridor.<\/p>\n
The park management and JICA are currently surveying the
\neconomic base of villagers living around the forest, establishing
\nthe park's border and involving locals in conservation programs.<\/p>\n
In addition, they are encouraging villagers to switch to
\nfarming to reduce locals' dependence on forests as their main
\nsource of income.<\/p>\n
\"We are also receiving assistance from other (environmental
\ngroups) to rehabilitate the forest,\" Ika said.<\/p>\n
These include the Indonesian Biodiversity Conservation (BCI),
\nwhich focuses on conserving panthers, the Mata Elang -- or
\nEagles' Eye -- that works to protect and conserve raptors,
\nparticularly the highly endangered Javan eagle (Spizaetus
\nbartelsi), and Bogor Institute of Agriculture students, who
\nmonitor and study the Javan silvery gibbon.<\/p>\n
The three protected species are endemic to the montane
\necosystems of Salak and Halimun.<\/p>\n
Faizin said the BCI and national park officials were
\nmonitoring panthers and their movement each month.<\/p>\n
\"We have found 40 panthers in the national park, each of which
\nhas a territory of 1,000 hectares,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The twin ecosystem is also home to 16 different species of
\neagles, including the 18 Javan eagles spotted there, and eight
\nremaining Javan silvery gibbon families that forage across 40,000
\nha of the park.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/javan-gibbons-face-extinction-illegal-loggers-blamed-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}