Long Ikis, East Kalimantan - Covering 42,657 hectares, the Gunung Lumut Protected Forest (HLGL) spreads throughout East, Central and South Kalimantan. In East Kalimantan, it is situated in Paser regency in Long Kali, Muara Komam, Batu Sopang and Long Ikis districts.
But it is not an easy forest to get to. From East Kalimantan‘s Balikpapan, visitors cross to North Penajam Paser by ferry or speedboat and travel by car for hundreds of kilometers on good and not-so-good roads -- roads which are slippery when wet. During the rainy season, only four-wheel-drive vehicles can reach it.
The biologically rich HLGL is home to a vast range of animal species endemic to Kalimantan such as the bekantan proboscis monkey, orangutan and honey bear.
Designated protected status in 1982, it also contains a variety of timber species, including the ulin, bangkirai, red meranti and sandalwood, plus a wide range of herbal plants.
The Paser indigenous group, believed to have originated from the Dayak tribe in Central Kalimantan, resides in the area, spread throughout the Paser and North Penajam Paser regencies. One of them is Muluy hamlet, Suan Slutung village in Muara Komam district, Paser regency.
"They have been living in the preserved forest and protecting it for the past 13 generations," program manager of the Paser Traditional Community Association (Pema Paser) Syahrul M. told The Jakarta Post.
However, the HLGL and the isolated Paser tribe are threatened with extinction following reports that the Paser regency administration will turn it into a national park and relocate the surrounding communities, as was said at a press conference in Muluy hamlet, facilitated by the Kawal Borneo Community Foundation (KBCF), an environmental NGO operating in Kalimantan.
"The KBCF is pushing for the implementation of effective forest resource management and sustainability, thereby enabling the protected forest to remain intact," said KBCF project officer Abdul Ismail.
The KBCF will also economically empower traditional communities around the HLGL -- without damaging the forest. This can be achieved by capitalizing on nontimber products, such as rattan and honey.
The protected forest is at risk due to illegal logging, mining and plantation expansions, Ismail said.
"Weak supervision and the presence of immoral officials and businessmen have provided room for illegal logging," he said.
"The Paser traditional people are willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of protecting the forests from the pengako (thieves in the local dialect), in this case illegal loggers and miners."
The activities have definitely affected the community, said Paser Muluy customary head Jidan.
"We want the customary land spanning 18,000 ha to be separated from the protected forest and recognized as an enclave. We don‘t trust the ever-changing government ordinances which could at anytime issue mining permits for the forest," Jidan said.
"We trust our customary law more which has been followed for generations. We protected the forest long before it was designated a ‘protected forest‘."
Jidan added that the petition for the enclave came to the fore following frequent threats. The HLGL area contains large quantities of natural resources, such as gold, coal, timber and other forest products. Investors have conducted surveys in the area several times, but have failed to obtain approvals from the local community, he said.
"An investor once offered to pay us billions of rupiah to exploit the area and asked us to move out, but we turned him down. The sum of money does not equal the value of the forest which we have been protecting for so long," Jidan said.
Muluy hamlet is inhabited by 25 families, or 120 people.
The HLGL is a catchment area providing for two of Paser regency‘s main rivers -- Kandilo and Telake Rivers, both a source of living for hundreds, if not thousands of people living on both sides of the rivers.
The enclave is the only way to save both the Paser traditional tribe and the forest from extinction.
Source:
http://www.thejakartapost.com (December 12, 2008)
