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TBI IndonesiaThe Gunung Lumut Protection Forest and Biodiversity Assessment |
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In 2002, the Tropenbos International Indonesia programme (TBI Indonesia) has decided to focus its new research activities on the Pasir district south of the Balikpapan Bay. In this district, TBI Indonesia selected the Telake watershed for being representative for issues which arise when people and forests meet. Gunung Lumut Protection Forest is one of four protection forests in Pasir District. It is located northwest of Tanah Grogot, the district's capital. This protection forest covers 42.000 ha of relatively undisturbed Dipterocarp lowland forest.
Being a concession of PT Telaga Mas, the area was logged over in the 1970s. Since 1983 it was officially declared a protection forest (by MoF decree No.24/Kpts/Um/1983). However, logging activities around and inside the Gunung Lumut protection forest, both legally (HPH & IPPK) and illegally, pose a big threat to its future. Local communities still depend on the forest for wood, rattan, honey and other non-timber products. At the same time, they increasingly cut timber inside the protection forest, for their own use as well as for sale. Awareness of the important environmental functions of the forest is decreasing. Gunung Lumut provides very important environmental services. It contains the headwaters of Sungai Telake water catchment in the northwest and Sungai Kendilo water catchment in the west, south, and east. These rivers are vital water sources for almost all of the 70 settlements surrounding the area including the towns of Tanah Grogot, Batu Kajang, Muara Komam and Long Ikis. Initial surveys, e.g. by PPLH Unmul in 1999, have indicated high
floristic diversity and an intact fauna in Gunung Lumut. Based on
this survey, several plants and animals have been identified as
protected. In November 2005, TBI Indonesia and several Indonesian
and Dutch partners have carried out an additional rapid biodiversity
assessment in Gunung Lumut area. This additional data collection
was needed to support the formulation of a management plan for Gunung
Lumut as well as the possible establishment of a Biosphere Reserve.
Conflicting interests In addition to the protection forest, the area includes production forests, oil palm and rubber plantations and small-scale farm holdings. Several logging companies have been operating for a long period and are currently constructing logging roads to open up new forest areas. Oil palm plantation holders are clearing forests to enlarge their property with support from the district government which sees oil palm as their main source of income. To fight the recurrent flooding of the Telake River and open up the remote areas of Telake, the district government is constructing a road and is planning to build a dam close to one of the villages in the study area. This dynamic arena of stakeholders with diverging interests and activities is also home to the local Pasir people. Their background is unknown. Some people think they are originally from Sulawesi, while others are of the opinion that they descend from a sub tribe of the Dayak. Pasir people are well known for their independence. They still live mainly of hunting and gathering. They collect honey, hunt for deer and collect bird nests from caves which provide them with the much-needed income. The practice of slash and burn agriculture is still commonly used to grow rice. Customary law (adat) is widely used and local adat leaders are well organised with the aim to improve customary law and safeguard the cultural heritage of their communities. With its large amount of natural resources like wood, coal, gold and iron, the Telake watershed is the stage of a wide variety of stakeholders claiming the use of these resources. Furthermore, the ongoing decentralisation process makes this site representative for Indonesia's difficult road towards stable governance of forest areas. Finally, this site provides TBI Indonesia and its partners with the opportunity to collect relevant research data from both a scientific and a development perspective in order to support the sustainable use and management of Indonesia's forests. For more information, please contact:
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