Tag Archives: Gibbon

12Aug/24

Beekeeping for the Gibbon Conservation in Central Java, Indonesia

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Rohim show his honey harvest

by : Sidiq Harjanto

The arrival of the dry season in the middle of this year brings blessings to the  beekeepers in Mendolo Village, Pekalongan. Since the launch of the “Beekeeping for Gibbon Conservation” program in 2017, Swaraowa has continued to work with the  beekeepers to further optimize the benefits of these tiny stingless bees,  “Klanceng” in javanese. Bee cultivation offers a sustainable economic alternative for communities around the Javan gibbon habitat.

Tarjuki, as a pioneer in the cultivation of Klanceng in Mendolo village, last July harvested dozens of bottles with a capacity of 450 ml. A cheerful smile adorned his face when he shared his story with us. This amount of honey was harvested from boxes of klanceng that he put in several locations in his garden in Mendolo Wetan Hamlet. He is optimistic that this year’s harvest will increase compared to last year’s harvest.

Swaraowa’s assistance for bee cultivation activities

In line with Tarjuki, Yukni Buhan, another farmer, also predicts a more abundant harvest this season.  This young man who lives in Sawahan Hamlet now manages 9 boxes of Heterotrigona itama and around 40 boxes of Tetragonula laeviceps  the two most productive of stingless bee in Javan gibbon habitat. “The first colony I kept was obtained from setting traps using empty boxes,” he recalled while showing a wooden box with small holes filled with tiny bees going in and out.

He has also harvested honey from his itama colonies. On average, one box produces a liter of honey. Meanwhile, he will harvest the boxes of laeviceps, a type of Klanceng with a smaller body size, during the durian flowering season, in the next two or three months. According to his experience, the peaks of the honey season are during the flowering season of Kayu Babi (Crypteronia sp.), then durian flowers, and finally during the flowering season of Kayu Sapi (Pometia pinnata), which is when the rainy season arrives.

Yukni with his klangceng bee hive box

Yukni plans to continue adding to his  Klanceng bee boxes using splitting techniques and setting traps. Asked about the readiness of the environmental carrying capacity at the cultivation location, Yukni was determined to continue planting various plants that could enrich the availability of food for bees, including forest wood.

Farmers not only get ease in harvesting honey obtained from cultivation. Nusri Nurdin, new beekeeper who also works as a wild bee honey harvester, received another blessing. Apart from harvesting Apis dorsata forest bee honey, he also harvests wild Klanceng honey on the side. Among the wild honey harvesters in Mendolo, the man known as Udin is one of the bravest. He did not hesitate to climb tall trees which were considered extreme by his professional colleagues.

The father of two children said that since the proliferation of cultivation carried out by Mendolo residents, it has become easier for him to find wild bee colonies. He suspects that as the number of colonies being maintained continues to increase, the population of bees in nature will also be increasingly maintained. “I have harvested seven colonies of Klanceng this season. “Everything has now been moved into boxes,” he said.

nursery for native trees to regenerate tree source for bees and other wildlife

Seven years ago, conditions were very different. At that time, the harvesters of wild Klanceng bees were still carrying out unsustainable harvesting. They dismantle the nest to get the honey and then just leave it until the colony is destroyed. There are countless bee colonies lost. Of course, we also lose the benefits of bees as pollinating insects.

Through a series of training programs, wild Honey Harvesters are directed to save wild bee colonies  that harvested from the wild. The colonies were transferred into boxes for cultivation. Sustainable methods are also introduced, such as colony breaking techniques, grafting, and installing trap boxes.

Now, no less than 25 Mendolo residents have run a beekeeping business and are enjoying the sweetness of this environmentally friendly business. The number of colonies maintained by each breeder varies. However, the average is no less than 5 boxes. Some even have more than 20 boxes.

Women group activities

If the man and youth tend to cultivate to produce honey, the women’s group in Sawahan Hamlet does something different. Those who call themselves the “Brayan Urip Group” keep bees to optimize pollination services. On a plot of land planted with various vegetables, boxes of cloves of the type Tetragonula laeviceps were placed.

Many studies have concluded that this small sized Klanceng species is effective in helping pollinate vegetable plants such as chilies. “For chili plants that are not fertilized and without intensive care, the results are quite good,” explained Sri Windriyah, who is believed to be the group leader. The harvest from the collective garden is sold at low prices to members for their respective household needs. The profits are set aside as group savings.

Next to the vegetable garden managed by the Brayan Urip Group, a simple nursery can be seen filled with hundreds of polybags containing seeds of various types of plants. The awareness that beekeeping requires a supportive environment, especially the existence of forests, has encouraged the beekeeping community to carry out planting movements. That’s why this nursery was created, as a supplier of seed needs.

Rohim, who is in charge of the nursery in Sawahan, said that this year the nursery he manages will provide at least 700 forest wood seeds such as Kayu Sapi (Pometia pinnata), Kayu Babi (Crypteronia sp), Klepu, Mangosteen and Kayu Salam. Hundreds of seeds are being prepared to be planted during the rainy season.

“Last year, two hundred pangium  seedlings were planted along the river channels in Sawahan Hamlet,” said Rohim. The planting was carried out in a participatory manner. Approximately 20 farmers provided their land for planting. Residents are increasingly motivated to actively plant after experiencing water shortages due to the El-Nino phenomenon last year.

For Swaraowa, involvement in this collaborative planting program is a form of effort to improve the quality of habitat for primates and other wild life. Mendolo Village itself is a habitat for five types of Javanese primates: Javan gibbon, Javan langur, rekrekkan, long-tailed monkey, and Javan slow loris. The conservation activities by opening up space for the community as the main subject has started from this village.

 

16Nov/21

Caring for Our Natural Heritage: Mendolo Forest

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a gibbon, photoghraped by Hudi member of Mendolo youth farmers group

Mendolo village is located in the Lebakbarang sub-district of Pekalongan Regency. The Mendolo forest surrounds Mendolo village, and is officially a Limited Production Forest managed by Perum Perhutani, KPH Pekalongan Timur. This site contains one of the 16 critical areas of gibbon habitat in Central Java identified by a 2012 study, and boasts a high level of habitat suitability according to research on the distribution and habitat of gibbons (Widyastuti et al 2020, Setiawan et al. al 2012). SwaraOwa’s long-term projects in this area are all aimed at conserving the Javan gibbons that live here.

According initiate survey, the amount of potential Javan gibbon habitat in this region totals approx 300 ha, (equivalent to 87 football fields) with a gibbon four to six groups in the agro-forest habitat, that we called Wana-Tani in javanese language. other javan endemic primates such as Javan langur ( Trachypithecus auratus), Javan Surili ( Presbytis comata), and Javan slow loris ( Nycticebus javanicus) also occupied this habitat.  Their range comprises locations with natural vegetation of forest and shade grown commodities such as kopi robusta, Durian,Petai, Jengkol, banana, kapulaga,  and many more. A scheme which aims both to improve the local economy and promote agroforestry is a gibbon conservation project centered on this village.

SwaraOwa first became involved in Mendolo village in 2015, when we were tasked with assisting the Pekalongan district government in surveying and inventorying the protected flora and fauna of the Mendolo forest, among other sites . Nowadays, we pay this village a visit almost every month. These visits are part of our efforts to reach out and communicate with village residents, so that we can find out which local commodities in particular can be prioritised for further development.

Mendolo village is also known for its durian production. In areas where agroforestry is practised, durian is an intensively cultivated crop that is grown among wild trees valued for their wood. In the harvest season, this village supplies the durian markets of Pekalongan and surrounds. Although there is currently no research on how durian productivity relates to bio-ecological factors, there are indications that the presence of pollinators plays a role, more specifically bats and  insects such as bees. Honey is one commodity  related to durian agroforestry, being harvested in abundance when the durian trees flower.

Drinking honey, is daily activities for Mendolo villagers

Almost all residents of this village, especially the men, collect honey from the forest. This tradition has been passed down through the generations. Aside from being used for personal consumption, forest honey also contributes to the local economy. We had previously done a preliminary study to find out what potential harvesting forest honey held for this village. This study motivated the Beekeeping team, led by SwaraOwa’s Sidiq Harjanto, to start seriously experimenting with stingless bee.

The Mendolo Young Farmers Association is the driving force for conservation in Mendolo, fostering a spirit of togetherness and inculcating pride in the Mendolo forest. In the early days, meetings in Mendolo village and training sessions on post-harvest handling at SwaraOwa Yogyakarta eventually gave rise to a series of continually evolving projects spearheaded by young people in Mendolo. The project to enhance post-harvest processes for coffee has succeeded in establishing “Kopi Batir”, a small exercise in entrepreneurship that markets Robusta coffee beans grown in Mendolo. The project operates under the slogan ‘nepungaké seduluran’, Javanese for ‘forging strong friendships’, reflecting how this coffee aims to bring people together.

Orange minivet

Projects to promote the conservation of forest areas are emerging at a slow but steady pace, initiated by residents concerned about nature. Birdwatching activities have been and are being developed in Mendolo. These aim to promote the idea that birds and other flora and fauna around the village are an important asset that must be preserved because they promise locals significant economic and ecological benefits.

Activities to strengthen the protection of forest areas but must continue to be nurtured, initiatives from local community  to care for nature. Primates and birds observation activities are being developed in Mendolo (the photos above are some of the species encountered during the observation) the aim is To increase the capacity of the younger generation, recognize the important liars’ lives around the village, birds and flora and fauna are also village assets that must be preserved, it is not possible that they can then be economically more sustainable.

Some of the products from activities in Mendolo hamlet can be obtained through Batir Coffee and Owa coffee. Although still on a small scale, coffee and forest cultivated by local residents can help motivate residents around the forest and support gibbon conservation activities and forest conservation in the Mendolo forest area and its surroundings.

This field reports, part of Coffee and Primate Conservation Project 2021, written by Arif Setiawan in bahasa, and translated by TT Chan,   supported by Fortwayne Children’s Zoo, Mandai Nature, and Ostrava Zoo.

 

 

02May/21

Semangat Baru dari Sipora, Menjaga Alam dan Budaya

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Oleh : Damianus Tateburuk ( Malinggai Uma Mentawai)

Kebudayaan dan keanekaragaman hayati daerah di Indonesia terwujud dalam beragam bentuk kegiatan dan aktivitas dalam kelompok masyarakat di berbagai daerah di Indonesia, dan ini ditandai dengan beragam hasil karya dari berbagai kelompok masyarakat budaya yang menunjukkan ciri khas kebudayaanya masing-masing, sebagai contohnya antara lain jenis rumah adat, tarian, musik, seni ukir, pakaian adat, dan bersamaan dengan keanekaragam hayati contohnya antra lain jenis alam, hutan, primata, burung, herpetofouna dan sebagainya, dan secara keseluruhannya kekayaan alamnya masih asli dan bahasa dan lain-lainnya. Seperti yang ada di Mentawai ini, bahwa kebudayaan hidup didalam  jiwa masyarakat bangsa Indonesia dan perlu dilihat sebagai suatu aset negara melalui pemahaman dan lingkungan, tradisi serta potensi-potensi kebudayaan yang dimiliki untuk dapat diberdayakan untuk dapat mencapai tujuan pembangunan nasional.

Seni Kebudayaan Dan Konservasi Keanekaragam Hayati yang merupakan salah satu bentuk kearifan lokal di Sumatra Barat, khususnya di Kepulauan Mentawai dikembangakan dalam satu wadah atau perkumpulan dengan menejemen yang sederhana, Wadah atau tempat berkumpulnya pelaku seni kebudayaan dan konservasi keanekaragam hayati biasanya dinamakan perkumpulan, Dari sekian banyaknya organisasi, yayasan, lembaga, pemerintahan dan organisasi ini yang berada di Sumatra Barat, salah satunya adalah Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai.

Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai pusat bersekretariat di Dusun Puro II Desa Muntei Kecamatan Siberut Selatan Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai–Sumatra Barat. Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai ini merupakan sarana bagi berkembangnya  dan pelestarian kebudayaan dan konservasi keanekaragam hayati khususnya, Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai dibentuk pada tanggal  05 September 2014 dan untuk memberikan fasilitasi kepada masyarakat umum dalam hal di bidang seni kebudayaan  Konservasi keanekaragam hayati dan satwa liar dan primata mentawai, Adat Istiadat Mentawai, semoga Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai dapat menjadi tempat / wadah untuk menggali tentang Kebudayaan dan keanekaragam hayati, yang mulai memudar khususnya dikalangan remaja dikarenakan ketidak pedulian masyarakat itu sendiri untuk memperkenalkan kebudayaan dan keanekaragam hayati mentawai tersebut kepada generasi penerus mereka dan pengaruh budaya asing serta kurangnya wadah bagi mereka untuk mengetahui budaya asli mereka sendiri dan ini sangat memprihatinkan sekali, bagi kami sehingga organisasi atas nama Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai sangat berharap dan berkeinginan penuh dengan berdirinya organisasi ini dapat membantu masyarakat untuk mengetahui, menggali serta memahami tentang nilai-nilai seni dan kebudayaan dan serta keanekaragam hayati mentawai dan serta perlindungan satwa dari jenis-jenis primata (Bilou, Simakobu, Simakubu simabulau, Joja, Bokkoi, herpetofouna dan burung-burung mentawai dan sebagainya) yang sekarang ini sudah mulai dilupakan. Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai juga tidak menutup bagi masyarakat diluar mentawai ataupun dari mancanegara untuk mendapatkan informasi tentang kebudayaan dan keanekaragam hayati yang ada di mentawai. Selain itu Malinggai Uma Tradisional Mentawai juga akan terus mengadakan kegiatan seminar-seminar dan pelatihan tentang Kebudayaan dan keanekaragam hayati kedepannya, kegiatan yang telah kami lakukan sebelumnya yaitu “Seminar Pangureijat” (Pernikahan Adat Mentawai), (Pergelaran Seni Budaya Mentawai) (dan Turuk Laggai di Padang), (Pelatihan Guru Dan Fasilitator Sekolah Budaya Mentawai).

Bulan April tanggal 7-8, 2021 yang lalu kami juga telah berhasil melaksanakan sebuah acara pelatihan untuk anak-anak sekolah usia sekolah menengah atas di Dusun Goisooinan, Sipora. Berjudul “ Pelatihan Pengamatan Satwaliar dan Penggunaan Smartphone untuk Promosi Konservasi”.  Kegiatan yang didukung oleh SWARAOWA dari Yogyakarta dan Fortwayne Children’s Zoo dari Indiana Amerika Serikat. Latar belakang acara ini adalah semakin susahnya kita menjumpai satwa-satwa asli mentawai dan generasi muda semakin jauh dari rasa memiliki kekayaan alam mentawai, beberapa daerah khususnya di Mentawai juga sudah bagus sinyal telekomunikasi, dan anak-anak ini hampir setiap hari menggunakan gawai. Oleh karena itu potensi generasi muda mentawai ini perlu di dorong dengan pengalaman-pengalaman lapangan yang memang tidak dapat di sekolah, bagaimana mendokumentasikan alam sekitar mereka dan membuat cerita untuk oranglain supaya lebih tertarik, ataupun mengenalkan diri mereka dan budaya mentawai. Peserta acara ini adalah 15 orang  anak-anak usia SMA, 10 Orang darai Sipora dan 5 orang dari Siberut, terdiri dari 7 anak perempuan dan 8 anak laki-laki. Acara dilaksanakan 2 hari, dengan susunan acara 1 hari materi kelas dan 1 hari ke hutan. Pemateri yang di undang dalam acara ini adalah dari Birdpacker indonesia, organisasi konservasi burung dari Malang Jawa timur, ada mas Waskito Kukuh dan mbak Devi Ayumandasari, yang akan menyampaikan materi tentang pengamatan burung dan penggunaan smarphone untuk fotografi dan promosi konservasi melalui sosial media. dan tentang primata disampaikan oleh mbak Eka Cahayningrum dari SwaraOwa organisasi konservasi primata dari Yogyakarta yang berkerja untuk konservasi Owa Indonesia.

 

Hari pertama acara kelas di buka oleh Ketua Malinggai atau  yang mewakili ( Bapak Vincent) dan sambutan-sambutan dari dinas Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Kab.KepMentawai, dari dinas Pariwisata,  dan dari Desa Goisooinan. Acara hari pertama pengenalan dasar-dasar teknik pengamatan alam khususnya untuk satwaliar burung dan primata, dan menggunakan nya sebagai bahan publikasi di media sosial, sperti instagram, facebook, dan whatsapp. Hari kedua acara dilakukan di hutan yang di bagi menjadi 3 kelompok, pengamatan-pengamatan di dokumentasikan di selesai pengamatan di lalukan presentasi hasil dari masing-masing kelompok.  Dalam menyampaikan presentasi ini peserta juga di perkenalkan oleh para pemateri tetang bagaimana menyajikan data dalam presentasi menggunakan power point yang sederhana dan menarik.

Antusias  peserta yang juga di dampingi para pendamping dari Malinggai Uma, telah berhasil mendokumentasikan foto-foto yang di jumpai selama pengamatan dan beberapa diantaranya juga sudah di upload di sosial media. Harapannya kegiatan ini dapat memberikan wawasan baru dan pengalaman untuk generasi muda mentawai untuk lebih mengenal apa yang ada di sekitar mereka dan melestarikan identitas budaya asli mentawai.

24Jan/21

2020 in review: Humming optimism amidst adversity

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Overview

In January 2020, against the backdrop of a nascent pandemic, work continued unabated to organize conservation activities targeted at primates, gibbons in particular. The gibbons in Central Java and the Mentawai Islands form the twin foci of our conservation activities and have provided us strong motivation to step up conservation at the site level.

Javan gibbon landscape

Mentawai – Education & ecotourism

In South Siberut, we initiated a campaign centered on wildlife photography in collaboration with Uma Mentawai Malinggai (UMM), an organization dedicated to preserving local folk art. The campaign aimed to promote photography as a means of preserving culture and biodiversity, and to equip UMM members with new skills. We armed two UMM members with cameras that they used to document local fauna and natural history, and encourage the local community to part with non-traditional hunting practices.

This program has delivered some tangible results, with a book on the birds of Mentawai and another on Mentawai primates having been published. Active collaboration with local residents has also encouraged them to take ownership of their natural environment by serving as ‘paraconservationists’[read report here]. As such, the message we spread emphasized the importance not only of primates, but also of other components of Mentawai’s biodiversity and the value of indigenous culture.

The activities scheduled for January were intended to promote the conservation of primates in Mentawai through primate-watching tours. A promotion had in fact already been launched on a dedicated website (https://wildgibbonindonesia.com/ and a test run had likewise been conducted blending endemic primate species with highlights of local culture. Read the trip report here. However, after a promising start, progress has slowed since March 2020 owing to the pandemic. Being mainly targeted at tourists from abroad, the project has been affected by cancellations of all tours booked at the end of 2019.

Central Java – Cancelled visits

In March 2020, we had been due to receive staff from the Ostrava Zoo and a representative of the Czech ambassador to Indonesia at our project activities in Sokokembang and the village of Mendolo. Both sites play a crucial role in our Coffee and Primate Conservation Project. However, shortly before the event was due to start, an official notice came in from the Regent of Pekalongan that gatherings were to be banned to halt the transmission of coronavirus. We were of course very disappointed, but are glad that we did the right thing by calling the activities off. In the end, we only managed a brief meeting with representatives of the Ostrava Zoo in Pekalongan, who immediately thereafter returned to Jakarta.

Of all our shade coffee and primate conservation projects in 2020, the most badly hit by the pandemic was our collaboration with the Singapore Zoo. Sales of our forest-friendly coffee had ground to a halt there because the zoo café, which carried the product, was forced to close by COVID-19. Our stock of coffee beans piled up in warehouses in Yogyakarta and in the Petungkriyono homes of the growers near the gibbon forests.

the swinging javan gibbon

 Research & networking

May 2020 marked a milestone in the conservation of the Kloss’s gibbon  (Hylobates klossii), with a survey of this Mentawai endemic having been published in the journal Biodiversitas – Journal of Biological Diversity. Findings were first presented at the Indonesian Primate Congress in September 2019, organized by Indonesian Primatological Society.

June 2020 saw the commencement of two important research projects in Sokokembang. Both were spearheaded by tough and dedicated women who feel more at home in the forest and among the communities who live off it than as homemakers without a voice of their own. Pressing on despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the first is Nur Aoliya from Bogor Agricultural University who studies the Silvery gibbon’s  vocalisation behaviours in the mountainous landscape of the Dieng region. You can find Aoliya’s story here, recounting her search for the diva of the rainforest in the districts of Batang and Pekalongan. The second, Yenni Rachmawati from Airlangga University, researches the Blue-banded kingfisher, one of the world’s most endangered birds  which the SwaraOwa team had found as new record in 2018. Both these research projects are funded by the annual Kopi Owa scholarship program as part of the Coffee and Primate Conservation Project in Central Java. As of early 2021, these projects are still ongoing.

 

Starting where we left off

As we lament no longer being able to travel as we please or meet whoever we want to, perhaps the most important lesson to learn from this global pandemic is that not coexisting with the natural world will only lead to severe socio-economic problems in the long run. Promoting cultural practices that emphasise sustainable consumption and production must be made a topmost priority, even if only on a small scale at first. After all, big things usually have humble beginnings.

Initially beset by numerous delays due to the pandemic, November 2020 saw our work in Mentawai slowly being resumed, targeted at conserving the endemic Kloss’s gibbon. As the erosion of local culture has led to unsustainable hunting practices and the loss of much forest, this work crucially includes providing local teachers training and content on nature conservation and Mentawai traditions.

Not all our activities were publicized on the SwaraOwa website or blog due to limited time for writing. One of the most important achievements for gibbon conservation in Pekalongan Regency was marked by the provincial government initiating a multi-stakeholder forum centered on the management of the Petungkriyono forest area [the initiation was started by this writing]. Although relevant work had already started in 2019, it was only with this forum that a concrete plan emerged, proposing around 5,173.80 ha to be managed collaboratively as an Essential Ecosystem Area.

Looking towards the future: strengthen economy, culture and nature conservation 

stingless bee honey harvesting

The pandemic, giving experience of livelihood program activities with one priority commodity to influence sustainable production and consumption in gibbon habitat’s  is very risky. and now there is also other potential commodity that SwaraOwa is developing in the habitat of gibbons, i.e stingless bee and it’s product development, we started in 2017 and now honey production has begun to stabilize even though it is limited, and motivate the community to involved in wildlife friendly farming practice, colony replication not only multiplied bee hive boxes but also became the start of a social, economic and ecological movement  around the forest.

We closed 2020 with the launch of Owa Bilou Coffee, a commercial project named after the Kloss’s gibbon endemic to Mentawai. It aims to further conservation work on primates, to involve local community on sustainable economic activities, especially the gibbon which is its namesake, its to trigger promoting local commodities and team in Mentawai that can be benefit for community and nature it’s self.

Thanks to all people, agency, local government in Central java and Mentawai,  who involved during 2020 activities, special thank you to our donors Fortwayne Children Zoo, Wildlife Reserve Singapore, Ostrava Zoo, and Arcus Foundation.

Having bade 2020 a bittersweet goodbye, we welcome 2021 with renewed optimism and resolve.