Ujung Kulon on alert for forest fires

UJUNG KULON, West Java (JP): "Command Post I, Command Post I -- a fire is breaking out around the protected forest. Please dispatch the fire brigade to extinguish it," said an Ujung Kulon National Park ranger into his communications radio, asking for help.

Moments later, a fire brigade of forest rangers carrying fire- fighting equipment rushed into the area to extinguish the fire, now beginning to rage in the forest.

This was part of a forest fire-fighting exercise for the national park's rangers, in which they were learning to operate fire-fighting instruments donated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan to WWF Indonesia.

"Prevention is better than cure, as the old adage goes. This is what we adhere to in guarding the forest and everything inside it," said Tri Wibowo, head of the Ujung Kulon National Park, who accompanied the forest rangers in the exercise.

"I really did not know what to do when there was a fire here in the dry season in late 1997 because I was a newcomer. As we know, when there is something strange with Ujung Kulon, it becomes the focus of the world's attention because Ujung Kulon is associated with its single-horned Javanese rhinos (rhinoceros sondaicus). Hopefully this dry season will not be like previous ones," he said.

Ujung Kulon National Park, home to a thick forest and a great variety of beautiful wildlife, is one of Indonesia's most important national parks. It measures 120,551 hectares, comprising 76,214 hectares of land area and 44,337 hectares of water. During the dry season of 1997, the forest sustained several fires, which raged in the Honje mountain area, Cinini Cape and on Panaitan island. However, these forest fires were a long way from the habitat of the Javan rhino.

"Forest fires at Ujung Kulon National Park are not attributable to natural factors, but rather to human factors -- namely, a lack of attention to the beauty of the forest," said Arief Tongkagie, head of the park's conservation section.

"Sometimes the forest rangers find traces of fires. Some people may have grilled fish which they have caught on a small open fire, and then just left without ensuring that the fire has been extinguished. Things like this may cause a forest fire," he added.

To ensure that there will be no repeat of the forest fires that broke out in the dry season of 1997, the management of Ujung Kulon National Park has established the Rhino Monitoring and Protection Unit (RMPU). The unit is managed by the Directorate General of Nature Protection and Conservation and the International Rhino Foundation, which is financially supported by the Mitra Rhino Foundation and WWF Indonesia.

In this way, forest fires can be handled early enough to ensure that the Javan rhinos will not be disturbed. The RMPU group monitors the movement of Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park. Members of RMPU stay in the forest for weeks at a time to monitor the rhinos.

"I follow rhinos wherever they go. I measure their foot prints and collect their dung, which is later examined by our medical team," said RMPU member Ridwan S.

According to a survey conducted between 1967 and 1997, only some 50 to 60 rhinos remain in Ujung Kulon National Park. Other sources quote the total number as 80.

A team of researchers from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture claims there are only 50 to 60 Javan rhinos left because of the Arenga Palm (arenga obtusifolia), which damages the plant usually eaten by Javan rhinos.

Therefore, it is difficult for the rhinos to find food, and as a result they cannot multiply easily. In addition, the rhinos may have to fight for food with the parks numerous bulls (bos javanicus), estimated to number 800 according to a 1997 survey by the institute.

The national park's management strives to maintain the habitat of the Javan rhinos, which are now rare animals. The people living in the surrounding areas of the national park are provided with counseling to promote their active participation in keeping the forest and its contents sustainable and intact.

Ujung Kulon National Park and WWF Ujung Kulon, the national park's working partner, has devised a program called Rhino Care. This program, which is intended to preserve the rhinos and promote the welfare of Ujung Kulon's community, has produced souvenirs in the form of rhino statues, unique to Ujung Kulon.

Warca Dinata, a resident of Ujung Jaya village, Ujung Kulon, joined the Rhino Care program in 1995.

"My family and I enjoy a better life now as a result of selling rhino statues," said Dinata, who belongs to the Rhino Manunggal Engravers' Group. (PJ Leo)