Orangutan Foundation

Thank you to everyone who has recently left comments, especially about Brian and Rosa’s release – they do mean a lot to our staff (Rosa, lovely to hear from you and of course the orangutan Rosa was named after you. Rosa was our vet who previously work at the orangutan care centre).

I’d like to respond to Louis McCarten, who left a comment about Belantikan’s protection - ‘I think it is time to press the Indonesian government to provide actual legal protection to the Belantikan rain forest. And quickly. I do not see a future for the biodiversity here if this is not attempted (and financed). Why not a Belantikan National Park? Better that than a Belantikan alan alang wasteland (or yet another oil palm plantation the world doesn’t need–which of course is what is the world is going to get if we don’t do something to save the Belantikan).’ 

Your point about Belantikan needing protection is entirely reasonable and this is why we are working in this area. Belantikan has the world’s largest population of orangutans outside of a protected area and it is important for many other ecological reasons.  However, the situation in Belantikan it isn’t black and white – there are many factors to consider when deciding how best to protect a high conservation value forest area. Designating the forests as a national park isn’t the answer either. We must deal with the reasons behind deforestation otherwise they will persist despite the change in land status, as we have witnessed in other Indonesian national parks.  

A lot of the land is community owned, adat and so rightfully it is the local people who make the decisions about their land.  The logging concessions are legal and still have many years left before they expire. However, rather than seeing these as only negative factors we need to find a way to work together.   

A co-operative management approach, where all the stakeholders (local communities, logging concessions, government) are recognised, have a voice and are taken notice of is one of our aims. The Belantikan Conservation Programme, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme – Great Ape Survival Partnership, began in 2005 and it is attempting to engage and work with all the stakeholders of Belantikan.   

One of our objectives is to see more of the area designated as protected forests (not national park) therefore maintaining key ecosystem functions, such as watersheds.  We are also helping the local communities, who are highly dependent on the forests, to earn a living that is ecologically and economically viable.  The communities have to make vital decisions about their land (whether to sell to oil palm companies, lease to timber concessions, how to farm it) and through increased education and awareness we can help them to understand the future implications of their decisions.

It is terribly depressing that you have to drive for 6 hours through uninterrupted oil palm plantations before you reach the forests and it is upsetting to think of all the wildlife that has been lost.  Our work in Belantikan is still in it infancy and we are working to set strong foundations for what we hope will be a future for these forests, its village communities and the wildlife. However, the ultimately responsibility lies with the Indonesian government and it will be to their detriment, as well as everybody else’s, if they fail to make the right choices. 

Thank you,

Cathy – Orangutan Foundation (UK office)

During September (dry season) the Sekonyer river, which flows through Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan Indonesian Borneo) was very low. We are also noticing that the low tides, year on year, are getting worse. Some people believe the root cause of the low tide are illegal logging and illegal mining. 

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International 

When fire fighters from Tanjung Puting National Park (BTNTP), Central Kalimantan Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA Kalteng), Orangutan Foundation, Orangutan Foundation International, Friends of National Park Foundation tried to damped the forest fires in park the extreme low tide prevented the speed boat from getting through.

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International

Water level on the jetty of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station. Photo by Devis, Orangutan Foundation

This is a worrying trend. Thankfully, October has had rain reducing the fire risk.

Thank you,

Hudi Dewe

Programme Co-ordinator Orangutan Foundation

A quick answer to Sheryl’s question about David Hagan’s blog Vounteering in Belantikan – Morning Commute , “Are there police patrolling this logging concession? Is there no plan in place to replant trees to rebuild the forest?”.

Logging concessionaires have police on check points on access routes into their concessions, because illegal logging isn’t just a problem for the National Parks, it occurs in many forms. The police, however, only monitor local people who try to extract trees – they are on the side of the concessionaire. It is the Forestry Department who monitor the activities of the concessionaires. The operator in Belantikan seems reasonably respectful of the law. In other areas the ‘legal’ loggers are less responsible.

Personally, I think our partners Yayorin (www.yayorin.org), a local Indonesian NGO, deserve big credit for the behaviour of the concessionaire in Belantikan. By simply being there, they are helping to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. As for replanting, there is a reforestation program but one hopes the forest there will recover on its own. The soils are more fertile than those we have in the lowlands and there should still be a crop of regenerating young trees left behind.

During our time in Belantikan we were also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have some long conversations with some of the older villagers about their way of life. We visited the ladang of Pak Taryom outside the village of Nanga Matu, to see the new crops he is cultivating with Yayorin’s help and find out how their new methods are bringing benefits to the area.

Pak Taryom in his ladang near Nanga Matu, cultivation here has been much changed with Yayorin’s help

Pak Taryom also explained to us about the traditions and ceremonies of the Dayak people. His brother, Pak Maju, is the last man of Nanga Matu refusing to convert to one of the five state approved faiths of Indonesia and still clinging to Kaharingan – the traditional Dayak religion. He is also the father of Yayorin’s cook Ani, the youngest of his seven daughters.

Pak Maju lives outside Nanga Matu and, on our last day in Belantikan, we went to visit him at his ladang tucked away inside the forest. He’s 58 years old and still working in the fields. We found him sat under a tarpaulin sheet in the centre of his ladang, a thin line of smoke twisting to the sky from the fire he was sitting by chewing tobacco rolled in leaves, a rifle and a long knife by his side. I got a little perturbed at one stage during our conversation when he turned to me and mimed pulling off my head and drew his knife. Although it turned out, via translation, that he was just explaining that when a Dayak is angry they can pull off an enemy’s head with their bare hands without recourse to a blade.

Pak Maju – Nanga Matu’s last adherent of the Kaharingan religion in his ladang

Pak Maju also told us how the villagers of Nanga Matu and Bintang Mengalih still come to see him and ask him to summon the spirits to grant their wishes. Nevertheless, it seemed to me that he could accept the end of the Kaharingan culture, religion being in his mind a matter of personal choice. He could not, however, accept the destruction of the forest. When we asked him what he thought of it he told us that the balance of life has been upset and ‘when the trees and the hills are all gone [to logging and mining] the people will all die.’. The world around Pak Maju is changing so fast that his fears for the forest, and everything that lives within it, could be realised within his lifetime.

We left Belantikan full of great memories. The work of the Orangutan Foundation, Yayorin and the local communities to protect this area for the benefit of people, orangutans and the forest continues.

Thank you,

David

Its 6:30 on the 3rd December and we’re on our morning commute to work. Our boat is cutting its way through the rapids of the river and we’re on the look out for crocodiles lurking on the banks.

Morning commute – the rapid at Nanga Matu the starting point for the morning commute to work!

On the river – mist over the Belantikan river on the early morning journey to work.

On this early morning a mist still hangs over the top of the forest-covered hills on either side of the river. All around us the forest still thrives, providing sufficient sustenance for both the huge range of wildlife and the small village communities that have made this beautiful corner of Kalimantan their home. We are on the way to teach in one of these villages, Kahingai, and it’s the most incredible commute to work I could ever imagine, but sad too to think what this might be like in five years time if the fate of the forest here follows much of the rest of Kalimantan.

Our journey up to Belantikan from Pangkalan Bun, one month ago, showed us what the future might hold for the forest here. Passing us on the road heading back to town were the biggest trees I’ve ever seen, all stacked up two by two on the trucks that filed past in a long procession. Further piles of enormous dead trunks, neatly stripped of all unnecessary leaves and branches, lay by the side of the road awaiting transportation.

Logging concession – destruction of the forest on the road to Belantikan

Rampant logging was only part of the problem; most of the journey out was through oil palm plantations, with the neat ranks of oil palm advancing into the former territory of the wild forest. The new plantation is a parody of the original forest, providing no home to the orangutan or other animals, and when the planters have finished they leave a land degraded that can never become forest again. If Borneo was once a Garden of Eden then what has been done to the trees here makes stealing a bit of fruit look very innocent indeed.

Oil Palm Plantations on the way to Belantikan (Photo: Orangutan Foundation)

We were fortunate enough on our journey up to Belantikan to have an unscheduled overnight stop off in a richer part of the jungle when our van, swerving to avoid a fallen tree, got stuck in the mud.

Our accomodation for a night in the jungle, a van stuck in a ditch.

The accommodation, on the back seat of a van sunken on one side into a deep muddy ditch, wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was amazing to wake up with the dawn to a chorus of gibbons in the trees overhead. We were also lucky enough to see a deer flash across our path to disappear into the trees on the other side of the road. We were still in the territory of the logging concession that envelops Belantikan, but in a relatively untouched part of the forest. A well-policed logging concession can actually be considered the lesser of three evils, and there are fears of what might happen to Belantikan when the concession expires in 2012 if the twin terrors of illegal logging and palm oil move in en masse. It raises the question, what will be left when the children we are teaching today have grown up?

The Belantikan Hulu ecosystem in Central Kalimantan is a priority conservation area for Orangutan Foundation and their partner Yayorin. The still surviving dense forest there is home to an incredible diversity of species, including the largest population of wild orangutans outside of a protected area. Belantikan Conservation Programme focuses on both researching and cataloguing the wildlife of the area and working with the local communities to develop ways to maintain their traditional lifestyles without having a detrimental impact on the forest ecosystem. As part of Yayorin’s capacity building educational programme Catherine Burns and myself, former Orangutan Foundation volunteers, travelled to Belantikan to work with Yayorin as English teachers in the schools of the villages of Nanga Matu, Kahingai and Bintang Mengalih.

Orangutan Foundation invited me to blog about our time there and the ongoing struggle to save this precious part of the Borneo forest. You can read my account of our experience over the next week.

Thanks,

David Hagan

As you will no doubt know from Stephen’s posts about a month ago, I recently ventured out of the London office and over to Pangkalan Bun (Borneo) or, more accurately “the field”. This was not my first time there; my employment here (for my part!) is the result of me being completely overwhelmed by the plight of the orangutans when I stumbled upon the Volunteer Programme in 2001.

Amongst other things, I now run the Volunteer Programme here at Orangutan Foundation and continue to get enormous pleasure from arranging for people go over to Indonesia for what pretty much always ends up as a life-changing experience. The small size of the UK office means that I have my fingers in many of the Orangutan Foundation pies and so my trip out there was also to see the programmes that I write about day-in-day-out. In short, it was an amazing trip and reminded me that I work primarily to save the orangutans and their home, something that seems to slip the mind in hectic times.

The highlight was most definitely going to Camp Rasak (orangutan release in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve) and knowing that the orangutans I saw in the trees were primarily orangutans that would have been in the Orangutan Care Centre on my last visit in 2001. A close second was Belantikan. It really is a beautiful area and needs to be saved.

It not only has orangutans but is some of the most amazing forest that I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot). Time is key too – in an eight hour journey there we drove through oil palm for six hours and heavily logged areas for one hour.

Oil Palm Plantation

Logging on the journey to Belantikan

It really was quite surreal –little dumper trucks carrying kernels or actual palm oil were the only traffic on the road…..and they seemed to infiltrate EVERY bit of land….

Seeing this destruction on the way really enforced how important our work with Yayorin, our Indonesian partners, in Belantikan is for these forests, its wildlife and the local communties who live here.

Catching up with the Volunteer Programme seven years on was one of the main reasons for me to go to Indonesia. I said I’d try and post about my time on the programme so I’ll do this in the next few days!

Thanks,

Elly

Development & Volunteer Co-ordinator
UK Office

Dear Sherri

Your point about using illegally felled wood is a good one and is something we have debated at length. There are essentially three options when dealing with illegal loggers:

1. Evict them and thus the fallen wood is left behind
2. Evict them and render the wood useless by sawing it into unusable pieces that can’t be used.
3. Arrest and process the loggers. After their trial the timber, which is classed as evidence, can then be auctioned.

Option three is by far and away the best. Wood bought at a Police auction is transparently ‘clean’ and could be used for a good purpose. Unfortunately, this option requires full police involvement and happens infrequently. Our staff have general powers of “citizens arrest” but that isn’t enough. The Police really need to be there at the time of the arrest but, not un-understandably, they are frequently reluctant to press charges against small time loggers who, after all, are just local people. Also, the wood needs to be sold, not given away, as the Police need the proceeds to cover the cost of the trial.

What we find – illegal logging raft

Option one is the worst, though this was the strategy we had to use when we were overwhelmed by illegal logging a few years ago. While the wood remains in the forest, someone will be tempted to get it out. Being hardwood the timber remains useable for years after being felled but there is no way either we or the Government could use it. It would appear we were either profiting from the illegal logger’s efforts or, bizarrely, even robbing them. In the local context, where arguably double standards apply, we have to be whiter than white. We simply could not use illegal felled wood directly without someone holding it against us.

Cutting the wood into unusable pieces with police support

Option two is the method most commonly used. By chopping up the wood, the logger’s efforts are in vain, resulting in a net loss to them (they hire the chain saws, borrow money for food and equipment etc.) However, without the teeth of a more severe punishment, some people may accept being evicted as a risk worth taking. That’s where Jak comes in. He pushes the Police to at least hold the loggers in custody for some time, even if they do not actually end up in court. People here are scared of the Police and going to jail for an unspecified period of time is a terrifying prospect.

This year, we will be trying to fund large signboards along the major rivers, which the Police have requested, saying logging is forbidden and warning of the consequences. The Police always accompany us when the illegally felled wood is destroyed (see photo) but, when it comes to arresting people, they want to be in a position where it is 100% clear; there can be no excuses for logging in these places.

Do we admit the system is imperfect? Yes, completely. But is it about as good as we can get it at the present time? Probably.

Kind regards

Stephen

The Orangutan Foundation’s protection of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park has been extremely effective in reducing the level of illegal activities. Because of the protective measures that we have in place, in 2007, we recorded just 12 incidents of illegal logging in Lamandau. This may seem high but without our monitoring and constant presence illegal activities would, without a doubt, be much more prevalent.

Jak the LECP Patrol Manager

Jak, short for Jakiruddin, Patrol Manager of Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP), who I have mentioned a few times in my blog, has only been working in this role since April 2007. Jak is excellent at his job. His strong leadership skills not only mean he is very effective at leading his team but he has also earned the respect and the confidence of external institutions that the Foundation works with, such as local Ministry of Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources.

Jak supervises the Foundation assistants who are assigned for the mobile patrols and to the guard posts, which are located on the rivers (the only way in and out of Lamandau, for us and illegal loggers). Every Thursday Jak brings logistical supplies and necessities to the network of guard posts for the week. He uses the VHF radio to organize his personnel in the different locations. It is fortunate that Jak is determined as he has received numerous threats from illegal loggers. Nevertheless, he continues to perform his task professionally and he will not step back just because of the intimidation.

The local Ministry of Forestry on patrol

Last year, on the Mangkong River, Jak and his team found a large quantity of illegal logs, an estimated one thousand cubic metres. The logs, which had been cut into approximate lengths of 2 to 4 metres, included the valuable timber species, Kempas and Meranti. The logs had already been made into a raft and were waiting to be floated away by the illegal loggers.

Photo above – the illegally cut logs made into a raft were found by Jak and his team

Police support – standing upon the rails made by the illegal loggers so that they can roll the logs out to the river.

The logs were destroyed by the local Ministry of Forestry and the Police in order to send a clear signal that illegal logging will not be tolerated. All access to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve will continue to be guarded. The combined forces of the local Ministry of Forestry and LECP will add extra personnel for each of the current seven guard posts.

The mission of the Orangutan Foundation, and of Jak, is to see Lamandau totally free from illegal activities. With the participation of the surrounding communities we are determined to keep Lamandau’s forest intact so it continues to provide a viable habitat for orangutans and a sustainable livelihood for the local people.

A few weeks ago the Orangutan Foundation participated in a community meeting held in Terantang village, which is located on the boundary of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Local communities have the right to the sustainable use of non-timber products from Lamandau. This meeting was organised to enable stakeholders to raise and discuss any problems or issues. The meeting was facilitated through the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP).

Mr. Ade Suharso (Local Head of the Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources) and representatives from the police department and community leaders were invited to contribute to the meeting.

The Chairman of Terantang Consultative Assembly, admitted the community, including himself, is aware that cutting-down trees, especially in the conservation area, is forbidden. However, he demanded that law enforcement needs to be fair. He said that police officers should not have arrested only minor illegal tree-cutters but also the illegal logging syndicates.

The Chairman of Kumpai Batu Bawah Consultative Assembly, has given his support to forest conservation. He added that some villages near Lamandau Reserve, such as Terantang and Mendawai have experienced flooding during the rainy season. He believes this is due to an environmental imbalance that is being created through deforestation of the local area. In the discussion representatives from Kumpai Batu Bawah Village requested the government do more to empower the local community in safeguarding the natural resources. A resident of the village asked for help so the local communities can be assisted to find alternative sources of earning income besides cutting-down trees in the forest.

All the speakers agreed to try and resolve the issues that had been exposed during the meeting. Help has been promised to develop the local community’s economy so that alternatives to illegal logging can be found. Brigadir Harto, from the police department assured villagers that the law enforcement officers will act professionally and fairly as demanded. Mr. Ade Suharso will  continue to collaborate with the community so this conservation area can be protected.