Illegal logging has continued for years in Nusakambangan

Illegal logging has continued for years in Nusakambangan

Together with journalists of other printed media, The Jakarta
Post's Sri Wahyuni was recently invited to join an investigative
team formed by the Yogyakarta-based Silvagama Foundation. Since
1999, the non-governmental organization has been researching
illegal logging and the destruction of the natural environment of
Nusakambangan, a prison island located south of the Central Java
town of Cilacap. The team set out to prove that illegally logging
has continued unchecked on the island for years, despite its
status as a conservation area and the public's belief that
Nusakambangan is a stronghold.

It was 7 a.m. Environmental activist with the foundation Husnaeni
Nugroho, or Unang as he is popularly known, guided us to a spot
adjacent to Seleko port in Cilacap. From Seleko we made the
two-hour trip to Kalismek, Ujung Alang village, in a motorized
wooden boat. It was there that our trip really got underway.

"We will follow the jalur maling", said Unang, one of the
original team members, using the local term that refers to the
tracks of illegal loggers.

The image of Nusakambangan as a fortified place promptly
disappeared as we saw for ourselves that nothing prevented us
from trespassing. There was no notice, much less a signboard, to
indicate that our presence wasn't welcome.

So, we continued to Nusakambangan forest, part of which is
used for farming. After walking for two hours -- a tough stint
for city journalists -- we came across evidence of illegal
logging near a place locally known as Block C Beach on the
southern part of the island. Yet, while the freshly felled trees
told us that loggers had been there recently, nobody was in
sight.

"They probably moved deeper into the jungle," said Unang,
while inspecting the sawdust on the ground.

Indeed, as we made our way toward the forest's heart, we met
at least four loggers who were carrying three-meter-long logs. We
glimpsed four other men ahead of us on the maling (track), but
they were too quick for us to follow and we couldn't be sure of
their intentions.

"The forest is in a critical state. The damage to the
environment is unbearable. According to our calculations, unless
something is done about it, the forest will disappear in less
than 10 years," Unang said.

As a lowland tropical rain forest, one of only a few lowland
forests left on Java Island, Nusakambangan is biologically
diverse. Although it covers an area of some 17,000 hectares -- or
one thousandth of the total area of Java Island -- it is home to
one tenth of Java's flora. The existence of four nature preserves
on the island -- Nusakambangan Timur, Nusakambangan Barat,
Wijayakusuma, and Karang Bolong -- is further evidence of its
biodiversity.

In Nusakambangan Barat and Nusakambangan Timur alone, the
total area of which is 952 hectares -- or less than 6 percent of
the total area of the island -- there are 535 different kinds of
plants. Among them are rare and protected plants, such as
Wijayakusuma (Pisona grandis), Bunga Bangkai (Rafflesia padma),
and pelalar or Meranti Jawa (Dipterocarpus
littoralis).

At least 71 different species of birds are found in
Nusakambangan Barat -- 23 of which are protected -- 14 species of
reptiles and various kinds of mammals and other fauna.

Among the protected ones are spotted leopards or Macan Tutul
(Pantera pardus), deer (Muntiacus muntjak), mouse-deer (Tragulus
javanicus), sea eagles (Helauetus leucogaster), elang bondol
(Haliastus indus), and elang bido (Spilornis cheela).

Four of Java's six endemic primates, namely lutung
(Trachypithecus auratus), macaca (Macaca fascicularis), surili
(Presbytis comata), and kukang (Nyctibus sp.), are also reported
to live on the island.

Due to illegal logging activities, some 3,000 hectares of
Nusakambangan has been deforested.

Research conducted by the foundation revealed that some 12,480
trees on the limited-access area of Nusakambangan are logged
yearly. In fact, the forested areas of Nusakambangan comprise
only the four preserves, which cover a combined area of 953.5
hectares. With an estimated 144 trees per hectare, there are only
some 137,000 trees growing among the four preserves.

According to Cilacap Police unit (Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja)
head Paulus Triyanto, illegal logging first started in
Nusakambangan in 1995. Loggers, who work in groups of 20 to 30,
initially used handsaws. They would spend a month in the jungle
staying in huts, with a week or two at home to relax before their
next working stint.

In 1997, hundreds of people came to the area to work on a
Cavendish banana plantation. When the plantation failed to
generate profit, illegal logging escalated. It was abandoned the
following year, leaving the workers unpaid. Disappointed, the
workers asked to stay so that they could continue to farm the
former plantation. As it turned out, other land became available
for farming as it too was cleared of trees.

At the same time, more and more people arrived in
Nusakambangan for the same purpose. They set up camp with chain
saws replacing the old handsaws, causing more rapid destruction.

"In 1999, no less than 2,000 hectares of the forest had become
open fields," said Paulus, adding that over 1,000 families had
arrived in the area that same year.

In 2000, an integrated team comprising various institutions --
including local police and military commands -- began to address
problems caused by the existence of squatters in the forest. They
socialized the prevailing laws regarding Nusakambangan and
provided information on the legal consequences of living there --
as well as illegal logging -- and persuaded them to leave.

The following year, sterner measures were taken. Nearly 800
makeshift shelters were demolished. Hundreds of squatters were
questioned by the police -- among them employees of Nusakambangan
Penitentiary -- and were given moral and legal advice before
being released.

"We still conduct such operations, but not frequently enough
to stop the loggers. Besides which, most are too quick to be
caught in act. They can run very fast in the dense forest," said
Paulus.

Establishing security posts on Nusakambangan, according to
Paulus, is of no less importance.

At least three posts are needed to protect the four preserves
from illegal logging. They should be located at strategic points,
namely on Permisan, Karangtengah, and Karanganyar tracks, which
are heavily used by illegal loggers, Paulus said.

Such an effort, he said, would only be possible with the
resolution of a conflict between the Cilacap regental
administration and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights over
who has authority over the island -- and if the two institutions
worked together to save the island.

This is also important as the island is the
main source of clean water for the people of nearby Kampung Laut
subdistrict, which has a total population of about 14,000.

The deforestation of Nusakambangan could also speed up
sedimentation in the neighboring Segara Anakan region -- which
has been the main source of fish for local fishermen -- and cause
a shortage of fish in the region.

"Only the goodwill of the top officials of both institutions
can save Nusakambangan forest," Paulus said.