by : Arif Setiawan
training participants with siripok bilou t-shirt
Two activities in two different locations have been and are being started in Siberut, the first in the Toloulago forest area and the second in the traditional forest area in Rokdok village. The activities at the Toloulago location are a continuation of the activities from previous years with Malinggai Uma in southern Siberut. And the second activity is a new initiative to strengthen the management of customary forests-Hutan Adat- in Siberut.
From discarded wood to hope: gibbon spotting post
The Malinggai Uma team made a gibbon spotting post or wildlife observation post in the Toloulagok forest. This wildlife observation post aims to develop community based wildlife tourism which has been developed in Toloulago by Uma Malinggai. In addition, this observation post can also be used to control illegal logging activities that continue to occur in this area.
gibbon spotting post in Toloulago forest
Ismael saumanuk who with the team has made the size of this observation post 4×6 with two floors, development that has been going on for 2 months and until now is about 75% completed. The making of this post was also initiated from the rampant felling of trees in the Touloulago forest, and the big logs were not used, they were just left in the forest, meaning that the loggers only took a part that was good or what was necessary, while the logs were left in the forest. Ismael, Visen and Damianus initiated the use of these trees to be used as observation posts.
Siripok Bilou : Gibbon Monitoring Team
Starting this month, the siripok bilou ( mean friends of the gibbon in Mentawai language ) team will be strengthened again with the monitoring team, Aman Tara, from Mailepet as a locals who will lead the gibbon survey and monitoring activities in the traditional forest region. This activity is part of a consortium for the conservation of the Mentawai gibbon between Yayasan Citra Mandiri Mentawai, Swaraowa and Green Justice Indonesia. This collaborative project aims to strengthen the current management of customary forests and has received recognition from the government. Swarawa in this regard will contribute to provide technical support for monitoring Bilou as one of the flagship species in this customary forest.
gibbon monitoring team in customary forest of siberut
The survey will be carried out for the next 6 months, in the customary forest area in the villages of Madobag and Matotonan. The preparation for this survey is the introduction of the gibbon monitoring technique based on their vocalization and from April 24 to May 1, 2025 we trained a special team from Rokdok village, this technique was used in the previous survey in Siberut (Setiawan et al 2020). The Malinggai uma team who have become familiar with this survey technique became mentors, Aman Andei and Aman Tebai came along to accompany and train the team that will be thrown later. The initial socialization about this activity was facilitated by the YCMM team on the night of April 25, 2025 and was attended by approximately 30 people from the village of Rokdok. Then some of those present that night were selected to join the monitoring team, then continued with the introduction of gibbon-based survey techniques, guided by Adin and Wawan from SwaraOwa.
training participants in the forest
Bilou- Mentawai Gibbon ( Hylobates klossii)
That night basic knowledge about gibbons in Indonesia and the monitoring technique was presented by Wawan and Adin, and the next morning the team was divided into 3 for data collection practice. Adin introduced the apps we use to support i.e kobocollect and avenza map for data collection. The triangulation system was put into practice for 4 days in a row. The first experience for the team so there are many things that need to be discussed together, the unexpected field conditions also provide additional information for the next locations. One of the interesting things from these 4 days of observation, 2 teams did not hear Gibbon’s voice at all, only the 3rd team heard Gibbon’s voice, even that was only 1 group and the distance was very far. For the time being there is indeed a difficulty for the team that does not hear the voice and from the results of these 4 days it is also possible that the gibbon around this customary forest area is also very sparsely populated. We will go deeper into this in the next surveys.
Capacity building and program development that is sustainable and economically beneficial is highly expected by Mentawai communities, what are the economic benefits of this? That is one of the things that is asked a lot and to answer it is not short. Ismael and Vinsen were very helpful in their presence at this event, meaning that without any language barrier from the swaraOwa team who explained Vinsen and Ismael’s experience of developing Toloulago gibbon watching with swaraOwa since 2016 could be told to the participants in Rokdok. Visits by tourists who are interested in seeing and participating in the program offered is one of the economic benefits of gibbons, staying for a few days to eat, stay and need transportation are some of the impacts of economic activities that occur with the existence of Gibbon in the forest area in Toloulagok.
The customary forest area is certainly very potential to be developed for its benefits, the existence of endemic species that cannot be found in other parts of the world will be an economic asset and socially and culturally can strengthen the global identity for Mentawai Island’s biodiversity.