Tanjung Puting National Park facing disaster

Tanjung Puting National Park facing disaster

By Mahmudah

PALANGKA RAYA, Central Kalimantan (Antara): Tanjung Puting National Park, one of the most important forest reserves in the country, is in a deplorable state.

The internationally acclaimed park is home to endangered species like the orangutan and proboscis monkeys. It boasts an ecosystem including rain forests, freshwater forests, mangroves and a beautiful forested coastline suitable for tourism and research.

But its 415,040 hectares in Kotawaringin regency are dwindling because of rampant illegal logging.

Fauna endemic to the park are the orangutan (pongo pygmeus), proboscis monkey (nasalis larvatus), owa-owa (hylobates muellery), kelasi merah (presbytis rubicunda), bear (helarctos malayanus), and deer (cervus unicolor). It also boasts 220 bird species which are designated as protected.

The 400 families with 1,700 members living in the vicinity have flatly rejected allegations they are looting the park. They were displaced when the government expanded the park's area from 305,000 hectares to 415,040 hectares in 1996.

"Please don't brand us looters or wood pillagers of Tanjung Puting. What we are doing is exercising our rights (to the natural wealth) which were taken away by the Dutch colonialists and the New Order government," said Abdul Hain Yunus, a leader of the Kumai tribe.

He said the main mistake of the Dutch colonists and the New Order government was to designate the forest as a reserve without consulting generation after generation of the local people.

"We refuse to recognize the claim that Tanjung Puting is a national or international asset unless the government restores our right. As long as this condition is not met, it will be difficult to secure the park," he said.

"We are ready to help secure the park if the community living in the forest is empowered and not accused of stealing, looting and committing other crimes."

Chief of the park Suherty Reddy said in nearby Pangkalan Bun that illegal logging caused the park to lose about 5,000 hectares of forest in its core areas.

"The extent of the damage is increasing," he said. "The activity has even reached the area where experts from around the world are doing research."

The illegal loggers' number reaches into the thousands. They fell trees in areas like Buluh Besar, Buluh Kecil, Pembuang Hulu, and along the Sekonyer River.

Acting Central Kalimantan Governor Rapiuddin Hamarung said after his recent visit to the park that the provincial government would do everything it could for its protection.

"Frankly, we are very worried about the condition of the park. If we cannot stop the logging in two months, the park will be finished."

The government is planning a major operation to save the park. It has deployed personnel from the Navy and police around the forest to deter loggers.

"Our prime target is to demolish a 50-kilometer track that loggers use to smuggle stolen timber out of the park," Rapiuddin said.

The government has vowed to take action against officials colluding in the timber theft. It is also planning a crackdown on the estimated 600 sawmills in Kotawaringin Barat. Many are suspected of working with the loggers.

"Any unlicensed sawmills will be closed. All sawmill owners have to explain how they obtain their timber, and they will have their plants shut down if they fail to do so," Rapiuddin said.

The government, he added, will not issue more licenses for new sawmills. Port administrators have been ordered not to issue departure permits for boats carrying timber unless they have a clearance permit from the forest authorities.

It will auction the 10,000 cubic meters of wood confiscated from illegal loggers.

Observers believe that any attempt to stop the illegal logging will be futile unless the locals living in the forest areas are empowered.

"They will have to be provided with skills for alternative employment because evicting them would be unfair and inhumane," Rapiuddin said.

The provincial government is finding employment for the people, including at industrial forestry complexes. Workers can earn between Rp 190,000 and Rp 350,000 a month.

Cukong, or businesspeople who collaborate with the locals to obtain timber, will not entitled to bank loans for other businesses unless they stop cutting trees in the forest, Rapiuddin said.

Chairman of the Central Kalimantan provincial office of forestry and plantations Soehardijono said Tanjung Puting National Park would be reorganized.

"The borders will be reviewed based on the recent agreement with customary leaders," he said.

He said the operations against loggers would continue until the illegal activities stopped.

"All the seized timber will no longer be auctioned but will be destroyed. This is to erase the impression that the government justifies theft," he said.