Sumatran tiger faces extinction<\/p>\n
Haidir Anwar Tanjung
\nPekanbaru<\/p>\n
Rampant hunting and illegal logging in the Bukit Tigapuluh
\nNational Park in the province of Riau have pushed Sumatran tigers
\n(Panthera Tigris Sumatraensis) there to the brink of extinction,
\nan activist said.<\/p>\n
Yuyu Arlan of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature's (WWF)
\nIndonesian Tiger Project said on Thursday that the number of
\nSumatran tigers in the park had decreased significantly over the
\npast few years.<\/p>\n
"We are worried that the Sumatran tiger will be extinct in the
\nnot-so-distant future. Sumatran tigers are very vulnerable to
\npoachers," Yuyu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In an effort to save the tigers from poachers, the WWF's
\nIndonesian Tiger Project formed a monitoring and anti-Sumatra
\ntiger hunting team on May 1, with the main task of monitoring
\npoachers in the park.<\/p>\n
Headed by Yuyu, the monitoring team is based in Rengat, some
\n340 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Pakanbaru.<\/p>\n
Yuyu said 22 members made up the team, which included four WWF
\nstaff members, four park forest rangers and 18 residents, who
\nwere all hunters.<\/p>\n
"The number of locals on the team will be increased to empower
\nthem so that they can take care of their environment," Yuyu said.<\/p>\n
He said the team would take inventory of the tigers, instruct
\nand mobilize locals in the area on how to protect the environment
\nand press charges against tiger poachers.<\/p>\n
The Sumatran tiger is one of the few species protected under
\nLaw No. 5\/99 on conservation.<\/p>\n
Data provided by the Natural Resources Conservation (KSDA) in
\nRiau's Forestry Office shows that there are 400 Sumatran tigers
\nscattered throughout the province.<\/p>\n
From 1998 until 2001, 65 Sumatran tigers were killed, 60 of
\nwhich were hunted down. At least 21 of them were found in the
\npark.<\/p>\n
"At least seven tigers are killed every year in the park due
\nto hunting," said Yuyu, adding that there were between 65 and 70
\nSumatran tigers left in the park.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging has also reduced the habitat of Sumatran
\ntigers in the park. Forests in the park, which was declared a
\nnational park in 1995, are being depleted by an average of 2,000
\nhectares a year. The park has 143,143 hectares of forests.<\/p>\n
Park chairman Waldermar Sinaga said hundreds of illegal
\nsawmills in Indragiri Hulu, some of which do not have a permit,
\nare depending on the timber that comes from the park.<\/p>\n
The logs are later sold to big companies for further
\nprocessing, while some are smuggled out of the country.<\/p>\n
An investigation by a non-governmental organization called the
\nIndonesian Environmental Investigation Institute, or Lilin,
\nrevealed that some 150 illegal sawmills located around the park
\nwere obliged to pay taxes and miscellaneous fees of up to Rp 6
\nmillion per year to the Indragiri regency administration.<\/p>\n
"By paying taxes, owners of these sawmills think they are
\nlegal," Lilin coordinator Zakirman said on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sumatran-tiger-faces-extinction-1447893297",
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