National park project involves locals<\/p>\n
TANJUNG PUTING, Central Kalimantan (JP): Even after the
\norangutans have arrived at Tanjung Puting, they are not entirely
\nbeyond the reach of human need or greed.<\/p>\n
Recognizing that the park's borders are threatened by the lack
\nof economic development in the Kumai-Pangkalanbun area of Central
\nKalimantan, Tanjung Puting has embarked on a course integrating
\nconservation within the national park with community development
\noutside of it.<\/p>\n
This approach, representative of new thinking throughout the
\narchipelago's nature reserves that waves a banner of eco-tourism,
\npositions the park within the ecosystem of the larger community.<\/p>\n
The thinking, under the stewardship of Tanjung Puting head
\nHerry Susilo, says that a park is not safe until the local
\nresidents view it as a magnet for economic opportunity rather
\nthan a patch of forest off-limits to their livelihoods.<\/p>\n
As such, Susilo takes an activist role outside the park,
\nworking regularly with the office of economic development of the
\nregional administration, with community groups, and potential
\ntourism operators in the area.<\/p>\n
Susilo and the park's 21 field employees who are stationed
\nthroughout Tanjung Puting's 415,000 hectares are constantly
\nreminded of the park's community mission by the threat of illegal
\nwoodcutting.<\/p>\n
Since July of last year, park officials have nabbed 200 people
\nfor logging within park borders, Susilo said. In December 1995, a
\none-month operation by park rangers caught 179 people illegally
\ncutting timber in the park.<\/p>\n
But park management decided that educating local residents
\nabout the park and building community relations would accomplish
\nmore than prosecution, and they took the opportunity to give
\npoachers information about why they shouldn't violate park
\nborders.<\/p>\n
\"It's not easy because they need something to eat,\" Susilo
\nsaid, also noting that the park did find prosecution prudent in
\nother cases, which has sent 10 people to jail since 1994 for
\nlogging within park borders.<\/p>\n
People try to cut trees from the park because they need money,
\nbut often they are hired by other people who are economically
\nwell-off to log in the park.<\/p>\n
\"Why do they come into the park? Because they can't find what
\nthey need outside,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, around 1,000 gold prospectors a few kilometers
\nupstream dump mercury and sand into the Sekoyner River and
\nshatter the tranquility of the park by zooming to the mine in
\nspeedboats in search of greater economic well-being (see related
\nstory).<\/p>\n
Tanjung Puting's park rangers are also the ambassadors of the
\norangutans outside of the park. Most of the rangers have not
\ncompleted high school -- exactly the people likely to end up as
\nlogging or working in the gold mine -- but they have become the
\ndevoted guardians of the orangutans. One ranger at Camp Leakey
\ncarves wooden statues of orangutans in his plentiful spare time
\nand sells them to visitors.<\/p>\n
Rangers say residents of nearby Kumai and Pangkalanbun know
\nwho they are when they venture into town on days off, and that
\nthey are the envy of the community.<\/p>\n
A ranger at Pondok Tanggui, Ismail, who used to work as a
\nlogger before coming to Tanjung Puting, said living in the forest
\nwith the orangutans changed the way he values nature. \"I think
\nabout the forest and the animals differently now.\"<\/p>\n
Susilo points to the potential for developing recreational
\nofferings within the park, eco-tourism and success of community
\nprograms already in place which reveal a brighter future for
\nTanjung Puting and nearby residents.<\/p>\n
In 1996, 3,980 visitors came to the park -- more than double
\nthe number of visitors in 1990. Forty percent of the visitors are
\nforeign, and Susilo's conservative estimate is that they pump
\nbetween Rp 300 million (US$124,223) to Rp 700 million into the
\nlocal economy each year.<\/p>\n
Susilo believes that even more tourists would come with
\nimprovements to the park. Canoe trails would allow visitors to
\nenjoy more of the park's land and would enable local people to
\nearn money by renting canoes and working as river guides. If the
\npark could purchase the land on the opposite bank of the Sekoyner
\nRiver, it could ensure that the river will stay a tranquil place
\nthat tourists would want to visit and remain a viable economic
\ncommodity over the long run.<\/p>\n
Park management says that eco-tourism around Tanjung Puting
\ncould bring more money into the area for an indefinite span of
\ntime rather than exhausting resources for short-term economic
\ngain.<\/p>\n
Susilo points to the Eco-Lodge as a model of eco-tourism,
\nreferring to the practice of environmentally and culturally-
\nfriendly tourism business that is structured to keep profits
\nwithin the community.<\/p>\n
The Eco-Lodge, which opened last fall to Tanjung Puting
\ntourists, donates 10 percent of its profits to a community
\norganization it started. The Eco-Lodge and its foundation have
\nestablished a rice field behind the village, supports the
\ndevelopment of home and handicraft industries, and local cultural
\ntraditions.<\/p>\n
As part of Tanjung Puting's regional vision, the park has
\ngiven fruit trees to local villages and supports a pepper
\nplantation.<\/p>\n
Susilo says that integrating conservation, resource management
\nand community development is not a choice. He warns the
\nalternative is that, in a decade, \"Tanjung Puting will become an
\nisland.\" (Becky Mowbray)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/national-park-project-involves-locals-1447893297",
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