The Threats of National Park Tiga Puluh Hills (Bukit Tigapuluh)
The Threats of National Park Tiga Puluh Hills (Bukit Tigapuluh)
(780 Words)
Written By : Slamet Setya Budi
Bukit Tigapuluh or "The
Thirty Hills" lies just South of the equator in Eastern Sumatra.
Approximately 130,000 hectares of
lowland and hill tropical rainforest (some intra ecosystems exist inside
like swamp and highland) of which the
largest part is located in Riau province; a smaller part of 33,000 ha. is
located in Jambi province. Bukit Tigapuluh is the most important area of
remaining lowland forest on Sumatra These forests represent the biologically
richest habitat type on earth, and one of the most threatened. Lowland forests
are under severe threat from agricultural encroachment as well as plantation
and timber enterprises all over Indonesia.
Bukit Tigapuluh has had the
great advantage that the area has been relatively isolated, only inhabited by the
local Malay, Talang, Mamak and Kubu tribes. Recently large-scale
plantation and timber companies have moved into the Riau and Jambi provinces
and threats to the park have intensified. Bukit Tigapuluh forms part of the
globally important Tesso Nilo Complex where some of the highest biodiversity
figures on earth have been recorded.
In addition to providing a
vital catchment protection for several large rivers the park is a safe haven
for thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened by
extinction or extremely rare. Known to exist are some of the rarest and
endangered species. 660 plant species have been recorded (to date) including
246 used locally as medicinal plants and rafflesia hasseltii and rafflesia
arnoldii flowers which can grow up to a massive 1metre wide and are only found
in 2 places on the planet. As 83 western Malaysian or Sumatran endemic plants.
The forests and its
surrounding buffer area also provide homes for Orang Rimba (Kubu) and
Talan Mamak - forest dwelling tribal communities all of whom have adapted to
living in the environment in a sustainable way that has little impact on the
ecosystem.
ORANG RIMBA: Orang Rimba,
the "People of the Forest" are an indigenous people, numbering
2,500, in Jambi Province. Approximately 364 live in the forests on Bukit
Tigapuluh. The Orang Rimba have developed a traditional system of forest
resources management, based on enrichment and selective enhancement of many
tree and plant species. They generally collect non-wood forest products, hunt,
and practice swidden cultivation. The fact that the Orang Rimba base their
livelihood on the collection of forest products makes this forest of great
importance to them.
TALANG MAMAK: Known as a
hinterland tribe, the Talang Mamak number only about 6,000 and depend on the
natural resources found in the park in Riau's Indragiri Hulu regency. The
Medicinal Biota Expedition found the Talang Mamak tribe use 110 and
the Kubu tribe 101 of medicinal plants and fungi to cure over 50
diseases. Leaves are the most usable part of medical plants after roots,
bark and sap. They have long known the plants and fungi as
effective cures for common diseases such as rheumatism, dysentery,
hepatitis, respiratory ailments, malaria, goiter, skin rashes,
coughs and diabetes. Some plants are also considered natural
contraceptives. Usually the parts of the plant are boiled then the water
drunk as a herbal extract.
Unfortunately, much of this
area, which borders directly on the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, is now
designated for conversion to plantation, and the remainder is being degraded at
a rapid rate, not merely by licensed logging companies but also by numerous
illegal loggers This all puts pressure on their traditional way of
life. Resettlement of poor people from Java and other provinces in
Sumatra is threatening the survival of the native communities. According
to recent studies within four years, "newcomers" controlled 30% of
the indigenous people's 3,275 hectares in Talang Lakat village. The
transmigrants' activities are environmentally destructive; they exploit the
forest and have taught the Talang Mamak to use chain saws to fell trees.
The park is under severe
threat from agricultural encroachment as well as plantation and timber enterprises
all over Indonesia. However, recently large-scale plantation and timber
companies have moved into the Riau and Jambi provinces and now approximately
two thirds of the park has been logged.
The main potential threat
comes from clearing land around the park for establishing oil palm or
Industrial timber plantation, and coal mining planning to north of the park The
other threat arise from newly established transmigration area to the north and
west of the park. Unfortunately, much of this area, which borders
directly on the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, is now designated for conversion
to plantation, and the remainder is being degraded at a rapid rate, not merely
by licensed logging companies but also by numerous illegal loggers.
References
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