Sumatran tiger faces extinction
Haidir Anwar Tanjung Pekanbaru
Rampant hunting and illegal logging in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in the province of Riau have pushed Sumatran tigers (Panthera Tigris Sumatraensis) there to the brink of extinction, an activist said.
Yuyu Arlan of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature's (WWF) Indonesian Tiger Project said on Thursday that the number of Sumatran tigers in the park had decreased significantly over the past few years.
"We are worried that the Sumatran tiger will be extinct in the not-so-distant future. Sumatran tigers are very vulnerable to poachers," Yuyu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
In an effort to save the tigers from poachers, the WWF's Indonesian Tiger Project formed a monitoring and anti-Sumatra tiger hunting team on May 1, with the main task of monitoring poachers in the park.
Headed by Yuyu, the monitoring team is based in Rengat, some 340 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Pakanbaru.
Yuyu said 22 members made up the team, which included four WWF staff members, four park forest rangers and 18 residents, who were all hunters.
"The number of locals on the team will be increased to empower them so that they can take care of their environment," Yuyu said.
He said the team would take inventory of the tigers, instruct and mobilize locals in the area on how to protect the environment and press charges against tiger poachers.
The Sumatran tiger is one of the few species protected under Law No. 5/99 on conservation.
Data provided by the Natural Resources Conservation (KSDA) in Riau's Forestry Office shows that there are 400 Sumatran tigers scattered throughout the province.
From 1998 until 2001, 65 Sumatran tigers were killed, 60 of which were hunted down. At least 21 of them were found in the park.
"At least seven tigers are killed every year in the park due to hunting," said Yuyu, adding that there were between 65 and 70 Sumatran tigers left in the park.
Illegal logging has also reduced the habitat of Sumatran tigers in the park. Forests in the park, which was declared a national park in 1995, are being depleted by an average of 2,000 hectares a year. The park has 143,143 hectares of forests.
Park chairman Waldermar Sinaga said hundreds of illegal sawmills in Indragiri Hulu, some of which do not have a permit, are depending on the timber that comes from the park.
The logs are later sold to big companies for further processing, while some are smuggled out of the country.
An investigation by a non-governmental organization called the Indonesian Environmental Investigation Institute, or Lilin, revealed that some 150 illegal sawmills located around the park were obliged to pay taxes and miscellaneous fees of up to Rp 6 million per year to the Indragiri regency administration.
"By paying taxes, owners of these sawmills think they are legal," Lilin coordinator Zakirman said on Thursday.