ACTION
ALERT
***********************************************
WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Allegations
of Major Illegal Logging in Indonesian National Park
***********************************************
Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
6/23/99
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by EE
The
collapse of central government authority and the continuing
economic
downturn appears to be yielding a frenzied logging free for
all in
Indonesia's National Parks. Several
different sources have
been
approaching me with information regarding systematic violations
of
logging laws in supposed protected forests in Indonesia. The
attached
materials relate to Suaq Balimbing Research Station in Gunung
Leuser
National Park, Sumatra. This
undisturbed (until recently) peat
swamp
forest is home to the highest concentration of Orangutans
anywhere. There are similar reports of active and open
logging in
Tanjung
Puting -- a national park in Kalimantan.
Given
natural economic ups and downs, reasonable (although apparently
limitless)
human development aspirations, and the relative short time
frame
that Western style parks have been established--it is hard to
imagine
how any particular Park is actually preserved and likely to
remain
so in the long term anywhere in the World.
Given enough
economic
hardship, it will all come down. In my
opinion, this argues
for
emphasizing maintaining forests over much larger areas based upon
the
core, buffer, and corridor model. Only
if remaining natural
forests
remain predominantly so; and remnants are allowed to expand
and are
restored, can we expect the natural forest systems to be
maintained
and regenerate themselves in the long run.
Following
are two articles relating to the logging in the Gunung
Leuser
National Park in Sumatra; the first a background piece and the
second
an action alert of sorts from a concerned and courageous
individual. Please take the time to respond to the
action alert.
g.b.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM #1
Title: URGENT: HELP STOP ILLEGAL LOGGING NOW
DESTROYING THE SWAMP
FOREST AT SUAQ BALIMBING RESEARCH
STATION, SUMATRA,
INDONESIA
Source: Copyright 1999, Worldtwitch Home Page
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/9684/suaq.html
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to
source
Date: June 22, 1999
Byline: John Wall
One of
the richest lowland forests in southeast Asia, the until
recently
undisturbed peat swamp forest at the Suaq Balimbing Research
Station,
in Gunung Leuser National Park, north Sumatra, Indonesia, has
come
under assault by loggers operating without opposition from the
Indonesian
authorities. This is the site discovered by Carel van
Schaik
of Duke University in the early 1990s, where the population
density
of Orangutans is more than double that of any other known
place,
with as many as 20 individuals per square mile. Here Orangutans
for the
first time were discovered to be regular tool users.
Following
is an excerpt from Habitat Seen Playing Larger Role in
Shaping
Behavior, by Dennis Normile, Science 1998; 279: 1454-1455:
"Carel
van Schaik, a professor of biological anthropology and anatomy
at Duke
University, has found that food availability plays a key role
in
behavioral differences among orangutans. The solitary image of
orangutans
is drawn primarily from studies in upland and mountainous
areas
of Borneo, whereas van Schaik has studied the animals living in
a swamp
forest on the west coast of Sumatra. His research team
observed
as many as 10 adults feeding together in the same tree and
even
saw coordinated group travel, both patterns of behavior rarely
seen
among their upland cousins. 'Borneo orangutans are consistent
with
the stereotype of orangutans being solitary', van Schaik says.
'The
Sumatra [orangutans] are real partygoers.'"
I have
not received reports of any bird surveys of Suaq, but would not
be
surprised if it were found to have the greatest number of species
per
square km of any site in Sumatra. All the mega-wildlife of Sumatra
still
survives in the area, including Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran
Rhinoceros,
and Asian Elephant.
Suaq
Balimbing, which means "Starfruit Swamp", is located near the
west
coast of Sumatra, across the western mountain range and southwest
of
Kutacane. See Suaqbakong on Peter Loud's Map . Suaq is considerably
wetter
and richer in wildlife than Ketambe, which is in the interior
valley
along the river and main highway north of Kutacane.
On 17
June 1999, the French AFP wire service carried an article
reporting
that one-fourth of the study area had already been illegally
logged,
and quoting from a letter by Michelle Merrill, a doctoral
student
of Dr. van Schaik, that "Yesterday chainsaws were felling
trees
along the river at the base camp. We could see some of the trees
falling
and heard trees crashing down at a rate of one every three to
four
minutes."
The
article also quoted Kathryn Monk, Research Coordinator of the
Leuser
Management Unit which oversees Suaq: "We have been notifying
the
local government, we had meetings with the vice-governor and all
the
relevant authorities and drew their attention to the general
increase
in illegal logging, and some particular very severe cases
like
Suaq. Yet nothing has been done and there is always the same lack
of
compliance and enforcement of the law."
Michelle
Merrill has set up a webpage about this ongoing environmental
disaster,
dated 7 May 1999, entitled An Open Letter to All Friends of
Wildlife.
She includes addresses of various functionaries in Indonesia
to whom
she recommends writing (note: the action alert below).
Some
other websites pertaining to Suaq and the primate research by
Carel
van Schaik and his team of scientists include:
Out of
the Dark Ages, by Carel van Schaik - From BBC Wildlife.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/animalzone/56out.shtml
Orangutan
Tools - Interview with Carel van Schaik on PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/orangutans/html/body_tools.html
Tooling
through the Trees, by Carl Zimmer - from Discover Magazine
http://coldfusion.discover.com/output.cfm?ID=586
Report
about a student's experiences doing field work at Suaq
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/IP/inted/programs/intern/report96/mores
co.html
See
also:
Orangutans
20 Years from Extinction (ENS)
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov98/1998L-11-25-03.html
Indonesia
Forest Conservation News
http://forests.org/forests/indonesia.html
Logging
and poaching in Indonesian reserves have accelerated in the
power
vacuum since the collapse of the Suharto government last year.
In
Aceh, where Gunung Leuser is located, there have been several
attacks
by local resistance groups on police and military, with many
deaths.
As a result, the situation is said to be very tense, and it
reported
to be unlikely that the government will send police or
military
to protect the reserve or it inhabitants.
There
have other recent reports about illegal logging, mining and
poaching
in Tanjung Puting, Kerinchi, Way Kambas, and Bukit Barisan
Selatan,
including involvement by local politicians and military.
(E.g.,
3 Chestnut-capped Thrushes, Zoothera interpres from Bukit
Barisan
Selatan observed in bird market in Kota Agung, 8/98 (OBC Bull.
29:53);
military official arrested for hunting tigers in Way Kambas
and
selling skins for five million rupiah, (OBC Bull. 29:18).) The
same
thing may be happening at other reserves lacking international
researchers
to report to the outside world.
It's
difficult to image what can be done to save Suaq. This is an
example
of an international environmental crisis that calls for
international
assistance and coordination. Yet, to the United States
government,
international relations now consist of dropping bombs on
other
countries too small and too far away to retaliate. With the $50
Million
per day recently spent demolishing Serbia, the entire
population
of Aceh could have been sent on a pilgrimage to Mecca and
the
reserves effectively policed.
The
only way to conserve forest in Indonesia may be for
conservationists
to bribe whoever happens to be in control locally
more
than the loggers, poachers and miners, or to subsidize dangerous
military
operations by the central government to protect the parks.
Simply
asking officials with authority to enforce their laws almost
certainly
will continue to be futile unless it can be made more
profitable
than not enforcing the laws.
If you
have any additional information, links, bird lists, comments or
suggestions,
please let me know. While on the subject of Sumatra, if
you
should learn of any recent report, verified or not, of the
Carpococcyx
ground-cuckoo endemic to Sumatra, please let me know as
soon as
possible.
ITEM #2
Title: An Open Letter to All Friends of Wildlife
Source: Michelle Y. Merrill
Ph.D. Student
Department of Biological
Anthropology and Anatomy
Duke University
http://www.duke.edu/~mym1/suaq.htm
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to
source
Date: May 7, 1999
Dear
friend,
I wish
to inform you of a dire situation currently developing in the
rainforests
of Sumatra, Indonesia. Suaq Balimbing
Research Station is
being
illegally logged. It is within Gunung
Leuser National Park, and
is
supposed to be a protected area, but there is no local enforcement,
in
spite of repeated requests from our station and the Leuser
Management
Unit/ Leuser Development Programme.
The situation has
become
critical in the last two weeks, as threats are made against
research
assistants, and logging continues to invade the research
area. In the last two months, about 144,000,000
square meters within
the
established trail system have been effected by logging. This is
about
one-quarter of the entire research area.
Large areas directly
adjacent
to the study area have been logged as well.
I can
barely begin to describe how unique and valuable Suaq Balimbing
is as a
research and wildlife conservation site.
Suaq Balimbing has a
very
high density of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii, 7
individuals/km2),
and the orangutans here are found in social groups
more
often than anywhere else they have been studied. In addition,
the
site is home to four species of monkey (Macaca fascicularis, M.
nemistrina,
Presbytis thomasii and P. kristata), two species of gibbon
(Hylobates
lar and H. syndactalus), plus tigers (Panthera tigris
sumatrae),
bears (Helarctos maylayanis), wild pigs (Babyrousa
babirussa)
and a remarkable diversity of other wildlife.
Yesterday,
chainsaws were felling trees within only about 25 meters of
the
dock, along the river at the base of camp.
From the main camp
building,
we could see some of the trees falling and heard trees
crashing
down at a rate of one every three to four minutes. The area
where
the loggers were working had been an active phenology plot,
where
the growth and productivity of various species of trees that
produce
food for orangutans were being tracked.
It is estimated that
all of
the trees over about 20cm in diameter were being removed.
The
logging is definitely having an impact on the behavior of the
wildlife
in the area. Though encounter rates
have not been
systematically
recorded, the impression of many of the researchers and
assistants
is that the frequency of encounters with orangutans and
tigers
inside the research area has increased in the last two months,
probably
due to a loss of other suitable habitat in the surroundings.
The
noise and disruption from the logging also has a direct effect on
the
behavior of some animals. While logging
was going on along the
river
near camp, many hornbill birds were disturbed, fluttering around
and
squawking in distress. The sound of
crashing trees evoked a long-
call
response from an adult male orangutan.
The
station manager, the Leuser Management Unit, and foreign
researchers
have asked the government for assistance from the police
or
military in stopping the illegal logging and protecting the safety
of
those working at the research site, but no help has been
forthcoming
in recent months. The loggers are
making no effort to
hide
their illegal activities within the park, because they believe
the
regulations will not be enforced. Just
yesterday as I was leaving
the
station, a logging truck filled with timber was blocking the road
leading
out of the park, well within the national park boundaries and
in the
middle of the day.
The
current logging is also making further research nearly impossible.
Several
research assistants have been threatened, told that if they
were to
interfere with the logging, the chainsaws would be used on
them. These research assistants are people who
were hired for their
skill
at taking data. They are not armed
beyond a small knife to help
them
keep the trails clear, and are not trained or expected to provide
defense. They have avoided confronting the loggers,
and though most
encounters
with loggers and poachers have been quiet and peaceful, a
few
have ended in threats of violence from the encroaching parties.
Even in
the center of the research area, where no logging has been
seen
yet, loggers and poachers are being encountered more often, and
the
student researchers and research assistants fear for their safety.
Suaq
Balimbing is one of the world's most important research sites for
primate
behavior, as it is the only site where orangutans are known to
regularly
make and use tools to get food. The
orangutans at Suaq use
tools
to get honey and insects from holes in trees, and to get the
rich
seeds from a fruit with a tough husk and stinging hairs. Though
the use
of tools by wild chimpanzees has been well-documented, we have
just
begun to investigate orangutan tool use and its implications for
understanding
the origins of human material culture.
The high level
of
sociality seen among the orangutans at Suaq may be directly related
to
their use of tools.
Is the
flowering of sociality and hence culture we see in the
orangutans
at Suaq a reflection of past glory or the opening of a new
path? This depends on whether we think the
habitat, and subsequent
population
density, we find at Suaq is typical of what most orangutan
habitat
was like before widespread habitat modification by humans.
If such
swamp forests were more common thousands of years in the past,
then we
might expect that the population density and behavior of the
orangutans
at Suaq is "normal" and "natural" -- in fact, these might
be the
circumstances under which the orangutan's tremendous capacity
for social learning evolved. This would mean that Suaq Balimbing is
one of
the last remaining "normal" orangutan habitats, and everywhere
else we
currently find orangutans is marginal habitat where their
behavioral
repertoire has been limited.
On the
other hand, if the high population density at Suaq is a result
of an
"unnatural" squeezing due to pressures of habitat loss
elsewhere,
we might be witnessing the first steps of a key
evolutionary
change: the transformation of intelligent extractive
foragers
into cultural beings.
Either
way, the incredible significance of this site and the
population
of orangutans who inhabit it cannot be overstated. They
must be
saved!
Taking
action in defense of the forest in and around the Suaq
Balimbing
research situation is vitally important, and it must be done
quickly
if there is to be anything left. Please
give any assistance
you can
to help preserve this amazing and threatened resource. To
express
your concern, please write to the following people:
The
Minister of Forestry
Gedung
Manggala Wanabakti
Jalan
Gatot Subroto
Jakarta
Pusat
Indonesia
indofor@idola.net.id
The
Governor of Aceh
(the
province where the site is located)
Gubenetor
Aceh
Jalan
Tenhu Nyak Arief
Banda
Aceh
Indonesia
The
Director General of PKA
(responsible
for the Protection and Conservation of Forests)
Abdul
Manan Siregar
Gedung
Pusat Kehutanan
Jalan
Jend. Gatot Subroto
Jakarta
Indonesia
Kahanwil
Aceh
(responsible
for military in the province)
Jalan
Cut Nyak Dhien
Banda
Aceh
Indonesia
Sincerely,
Michelle
Y. Merrill
http://www.duke.edu/~mym1/
Ph.D.
Student
Department
of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy
Duke
University
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