Tribe fights for park

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post/Jambi

Illegal logging and land clearance in the past 20 years have deforested some 40 percent out of the total 60,500-hectare forest in the Bukit Duabelas National Park.

To prevent further damage to the forest reserve, the Rimba (forest) tribe, natives to the area, has made efforts to develop agro-forestry in the form of hompongan (rubber plantation), over the past two years. They believe that their existence will be in jeopardy without a forest to live in.

They reason that the rubber plantation can replace the secondary forest and, from the economic side, it will also be a benefit for the Rimba tribe.

The rubber plantation is located on the fringe of the park and borders nearby villages. The entire area of the rubber plantation extends to some 300 hectares at the moment and is being managed by 300 Rimba households in the Makekal, Airhitam, Kejasungbesak and Terab watersheds. Each household handles a one-hectare plot.

"The total area is not that big but it can at least help to preserve the severely damaged national park," assistant manager of the Indonesian Conservation Community (KKI) overseeing the park, Nurdin Hasan, told The Jakarta Post recently.

The KKI has helped and encouraged the Rimba tribe to preserve the park for the past two years. Every one in the Rimba tribe has been requested to collect rubber seedlings around their villages. "We have also given them prime seedlings," he added.

The KKI this year is making efforts to extend the area of the rubber plantation by 100 percent so that each family will get two hectares.

Besides being able to restore the forest, the rubber plantation will also become a source of livelihood for them, said Nurdin. They can obtain a new source of livelihood with the presence of the rubber plantation even though the rubber trees will not be able to be tapped for another two years. The Rimba tribe used to live on subsistence agriculture and hunting.

The efforts are valuable in helping preserve the forest given that the government thus far has shown little sign of implementing the National Forest Renewal Program (GNRH) program, which initially projected the reforestation of 4,800 hectares in the park this year. Lack of funds is blamed for the failure to proceed with the plan.