Saving Leuser ecosystem poses a long-term challenge<\/p>\n
By Serge Wich<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): The Leuser ecosystem is one of the
\nmost important rain forest preserves in the world and arguably
\nthe most important in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
No other area can boast a mixture of habitats from long
\nbeaches fringing the Indian Ocean, to large tracts of coastal
\npeat swamps, to humid lowland forests, placid lakes, long rift
\nvalleys, steep volcanoes and mountains which, until recent times,
\nwere covered in glaciers. Nowhere else in the world do orangutan,
\nelephant, rhino and tiger live in the same area. The community of
\nlesser animals and an unknown number of plants still await the
\nattention of science.<\/p>\n
The extraordinary richness of nature in Leuser is possibly
\nreason enough to conserve this area. But there are other reasons.<\/p>\n
For eons, a large part of the Leuser ecosystem has had a high
\ncultural value to the people that surround it. In 1928, the
\ntraditional leaders of the communities living near the western
\nhalf of what is now the Leuser ecosystem requested that their
\nforests and all that lay beneath be conserved for all time. After
\nabout seven years of lobbying, the rugged mountains on the
\ninterior were given protected status, but the rich lowlands that
\nconstituted about half the area were excluded.<\/p>\n
Another important reason is that the Leuser ecosystem provides
\nessential environmental services to up to four million people.<\/p>\n
Things like water, flood control, local climate regulation and
\nfresh water fisheries are all utilized by the people living
\naround Leuser. The city of Medan relies on its water. The
\nindustrial hub at Lhokseumawe in Aceh (gas fields, fertilizer
\nplants, paper mills and so on) all rely on Leuser's water, as do
\nlarge areas of rice fields. Without these services and many more,
\nsustainable economic development in Aceh and parts of North
\nSumatra would be impossible.<\/p>\n
So what is being done to conserve Leuser?<\/p>\n
The good news is that there is adequate legislation in place
\nto support the conservation of the Leuser ecosystem. There are
\ngovernment agencies that are given a major mandate in protecting
\nparts of the area -- the designated Gunung Leuser National Park
\nwhich lies at the heart of the Leuser ecosystem, a grand forest
\npark near Brastagi in North Sumatra, the designated Singkil Swamp
\nWildlife Sanctuary, the Lingga-Isaq Hunting Reserve and a strict
\nnature reserve in the Serbajadi water catchment.<\/p>\n
The downside is that government agencies charged with
\nprotecting these areas have only limited resources at their
\ndisposal.<\/p>\n
To address these problems, the Leuser Development Program
\n(LDP) was instigated. This cooperation, jointly funded by the
\nIndonesian government and the European Union was, at the time of
\nits inception, one of the largest conservation projects in the
\nworld. The project budget is 50.5 million euro -- of which the
\nEuropean Union is contributing a grant of 32.5 million euro.<\/p>\n
As a result of this intervention, the Leuser ecosystem (not
\njust the complex of conservation areas named above) has received
\nsignificant policy support. In short, it is now considered a
\nnatural entity in its own right.<\/p>\n
Local support<\/p>\n
The Leuser ecosystem is about three times the size of Gunung
\nLeuser National Park and support for its conservation and
\nsustainable utilization is growing daily. Not surprisingly, the
\nfirst efforts to conserve Leuser came from the traditional
\nleaders of Aceh and North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, universities, youth groups and non-governmental
\norganizations (NGOs), of which there are currently more than 200,
\nhave begun actively working to support the conservation of
\nLeuser. An NGO, the Leuser International Foundation, even has a
\nrole in the management of the area. School books to be used
\nthroughout the province of Aceh are soon to be distributed. The
\nlong process of raising awareness and developing a sense of
\nownership has begun.<\/p>\n
In addition to the software referred to above, much has
\nhappened on the ground. Large areas of degraded forest have been
\nrehabilitated; boundaries have been marked and planted by local
\ncommunities with commercial tree crops; over 400,000 hectares of
\nforest planned for clearance have been saved and are being
\nprocessed for conservation status.<\/p>\n
Small tourism sites were developed but the situation in Aceh
\nmade further development impractical for the time being. Several
\nlogging concessions which were on areas of excessively steep
\nslopes have ceased operation. Two road proposals which would have
\nhad a severe negative impact on the ecosystem were discontinued
\nand a major swamp drainage scheme was shelved before it could
\nbegin.<\/p>\n
There are, however, still many challenges to face. One that
\nhas received a lot of publicity of late has been illegal logging,
\nwhich is occurring in most of the country's easily accessible
\nforests.<\/p>\n
Some people have asked what the program is doing to help.<\/p>\n
Indonesian policy is clear on this point. The job of stopping
\nillegal logging is very much the responsibility of government
\nagencies -- special forestry staff, the police and sometimes the
\nmilitary. If any arrests are made, then it is the job of the
\njudiciary to process the cases. The fact that illegal logging
\ncontinues, and in fact is getting worse, means that either the
\nagencies responsible are not willing to take care of the matter
\nor they are not able to.<\/p>\n
The LDP has provided information to a broad range of parties
\nabout illegal logging and sometimes this information has been
\nacted upon by courageous effort, particularly by local forestry
\nand national park staff. But the organization behind illegal
\nlogging -- from protection in the field to the transport of the
\ntimber to processing plants and finally the marketing -- are
\nwell-financed and given strong armed support. Stopping illegal
\nlogging will therefore require sustained political pressure from
\nthe highest levels in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
If the Leuser ecosystem can be effectively conserved -- and
\ndespite all the problems there is good reason to be optimistic --
\nthen Indonesia will have a resource of extraordinary richness of
\nthe like of which exists nowhere else. The local economies will
\nbenefit greatly and the people will live richer lives. This would
\nbe the ultimate win-win solution.<\/p>\n
The writer is a long-term researcher on Primatology in
\nLeuser (sponsored by Utrecht University).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/saving-leuser-ecosystem-poses-a-long-term-challenge-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}