Merapi national park plan sparks anxiety<\/p>\n
Ridlo Aryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
It has been an unusual sight in the houses of the residents of
\nTurgo hamlet, Cangkringan district, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.
\nSince mid August, residents owning cattle -- either cows or goats
\n-- have been storing twice as much grass in their houses as
\nnormal.<\/p>\n
House wives have also kept a stock of firewood. They have
\ncollected more dry twigs than usual from the Turgo and Plawangan
\nprotected forests. What has caused a change in their regular
\nactivities?<\/p>\n
\"Just for stock, in case a decision is finally made to make
\nour hamlet part of the Merapi National Park. With the stock in
\nour houses, we can easily feed our cattle. We've been told that
\nwe will not be able to collect grass or firewood from the forest
\nat the edge of our hamlet if the area is declared a national
\npark,\" said Sriyono, 54, a Turgo villager.<\/p>\n
\"There will be a special regulation. We have also heard that
\nif the area is made a national park, we will all be required to
\nleave our hamlet and move elsewhere. Obviously, we will refuse
\nbecause my parents and I were born and bred here. Why should we
\nabandon our ancestral land?\"<\/p>\n
Sriyono's anxiety is shared by other villagers in Turgo and
\nthe surrounding hamlets. The people of Cangkringan district are
\nalso worried.<\/p>\n
In mid August, Sutarto, chairman of a team in charge of
\npromoting the government's plan came up with a shocking piece of
\nnews for the villagers at the Cangkringan town hall.<\/p>\n
\"We will not wait until everybody gives their approval. We
\nwon't collect signatures to show approval. The decision was made
\nlate last year. The Mount Merapi National Park project will
\nproceed and it will be inaugurated in October this year,\" Sutarto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Legally speaking, Sutarto may be correct. The Mount Merapi
\nNational Park brings together the legal status of various nature
\nconservation areas. The national park area, which encompasses a
\ntotal of 8,702 hectares, is located in two provinces, which
\nadministratively serve as boundaries of Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta
\nand Central Java.<\/p>\n
Some 7,000 hectares comprise state forested areas located in
\nBoyolali, Klaten and Salatiga (Central Java) while the remaining
\narea is located in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kuspriyadi Sulistyo, head of the Yogyakarta Natural
\nResources Conservation Center, said that since 1975 part of the
\narea at the foot and on the slopes of Mount Merapi has been
\nearmarked by the government as the Plawangan Turgo conservation
\nforest measuring a total of 186 hectares, and another 141
\nhectares has been declared the Turgo Plawangan Nature-Related
\nTourism Park.<\/p>\n
\"This is with a view to promote the function of forested areas
\nin the Merapi area for the regional administrations in Central
\nJava and Yogyakarta and maintaining the conservation of the area.
\nThe central government has decided to expand the area by
\ncombining the two forested areas as one national park,\" said
\nKuspriayadi.<\/p>\n
Sutarto, also head of the Yogyakarta Forestry and Estate
\nServices, explained why Merapi has been designated a national
\npark.<\/p>\n
First, the area's fertile land must be protected. Second, the
\nrich biodiversity must also be protected, such as tricolored
\norchids (Vanda tricoloor) and Javanese eagles (Spizatus
\nbartelzi). Third, the presence of Mount Merapi as a source of
\ndevelopment of various kinds of sciences, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The government acknowledges that Merapi is the 'soul' of
\nculture with an assortment of traditions developing around the
\nvolcano. Therefore, it would defy logic for us to send people
\naway from there. We really need their participation in taking
\ncare and keeping watch over the national park. Some will be
\nemployed as forest rangers,\" said Sutarto.<\/p>\n
The problem is whether the locals will believe Sutarto.<\/p>\n
\"How can we be sure that our people will get new jobs? When
\nthey determined the zoning of the national park, they did not
\ninvolve us in discussing this matter. So, we may not have a
\nchance to be forest rangers. Then we may no longer collect grass
\nand dry twigs in the forest that, for us, is a legacy from our
\nparents. There is clearly an intention to gradually marginalize
\nus,\" said Sriyono.<\/p>\n
Given the complex development, Fajar Irawan of the Indonesian
\nForum for the Environment (Walhi) of Yogyakarta has suggested a
\nway out.<\/p>\n
\"The Ministry of Forestry actually need not insist that the
\nnational park be inaugurated in October. Before the management
\nplanning of this project has been clearly explained to the
\nresidents and the idea of the national park promoted among the
\nvillagers, the project should be postponed. Otherwise, there will
\nalways be resistance on the part of the community because in the
\ndrawing up of the policy on the national park, the role and the
\nposition of the community were simply neglected,\" said Fajar.<\/p>\n
Now, the regional administration and the forestry ministry has
\nonly two options: to proceed or to take a step back in order to
\nmove forward with the wide support of the community.<\/p>",
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