Tribe fights for park
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.