Project Barito Ulu aims to save Kalimantan's rain forests

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): More a compromiser than a die-hard environmentalist, Rupert Ridgeway is the manager of Project Barito Ulu, whose main objective is to regenerate Kalimantan's damaged rain forests without halting logging activities.

"Rain forests will not have any commercial value, and then what's the use?" said the 46-year-old Brit, who recently gave a talk on Kalimantan's rain forests to members of the Indonesia Heritage Society.

The question now is how to minimize environmental damage while still making a profit on forest products.

He compares Kalimantan's tropical rain forests with the Amazon. About 80 percent of the plant species in Kalimantan have commercial value, compared to only 30 percent in Amazon.

It therefore should not come as any surprise that many timber companies flock to Kalimantan. Ridgeway showed me a map of logging concessions in Central Kalimantan, where nearly every hectare of land is taken up by logging companies.

Heavy commercial logging is not the only threat to the rain forests. Shifting cultivation, human settlement and road building (mostly by logging companies) also contribute to the damage.

Thus the importance of Project Barito Ulu. The project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Forestry and Cambridge University. Local and foreign scientists as well as students have worked on forest regeneration around the upstream, or ulu, area of the Barito River in Central Kalimantan since 1989.

Barito River

The upstream Barito River work area covers approximately 900 hectares. The journey there can take six or seven days from Banjarmasin and part of the trip involves taking a boat, which can be very challenging if the water level drops.

The upstream area was chosen for site research because no research had ever been done in Central Kalimantan despite heavy logging there, said Ridgeway, who discovered his interest in rain forests after taking pictures of the Amazon's forests.

The research area is also the meeting place of the Barito, Busang, Joloi and Murung rivers, which contributes to the diversity of animals and plants.

Besides forest regeneration, the project also identifies plants and sends them to the international herbarium in the West Java town of Bogor, Kew in England and Leiden in the Netherlands. Others tasks include observing animal feeding habits, adding fertilizer to selected areas to test soil quality and analyzing the impact of weather on plant production. Here, a knowledge of botany, zoology and the physical environment is needed.

Commenting on cross-science and the complexity of the research projects, Ridgeway said: "If you take one small bit, chances are you damage another part. Tropical rain forests are very complex. There are a lot of things there, just like a jigsaw puzzle."

Ridgeway has seen more responsible logging practices over the past five years, compared to 15 years ago. However, this does not mean that no damage has been done.

For example, the government only allows trees with diameters greater than 60 centimeters to be chopped down. As a result, most giant trees are now gone, allowing the hot sun and heavy rains to penetrate the species which usually live in shaded areas.

It also makes reforestation efforts more challenging. If the tall, big trees are gone, the forests are survived only by shorter, less genetically superior ones. Moreover, logging roads have opened up the areas to common people who can now reach the areas and start cultivating.

Gold

Kalimantan is not only rich with tropical rain forests but also mineral deposits. The Busang gold deposits not only invite business controversies but also environmental concerns as gold mining activities are well-known for devastating the environment.

When asked if the project would be interested in restoring ex- mining areas, Ridgeway said they did not have the skills for this kind of recovery. He explained that the mining industry usually does more damage to the soil, while most scientists working for the Barito project are usually botanists.

"It is also not part of our memorandum of understanding," he said, citing another reason.

The costs of a long-term forestry project, including this one, are generally high. So far, Wickes, a British house-improvement franchise, has given the project 500,000 poundsterling a year.

Ridgeway cited some reasons for the high costs. First, the research usually takes a long time. Secondly, scientists need to go to remote places to carry out their field studies. Thus, Ridgeway calls on timber companies for financial assistance with his research. "It is in their best interest," he said.

For now, he has to be content with information assistance from several timber companies.

"I don't believe in a confrontation. It is counterproductive. Once they are suspicious, they think we are radical environmentalists and they may not be willing to release any information," which, he said, could ultimately undermine forest- saving efforts.