Extinction risk analysis of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) in Sermo Wildlife Sanctuary

Abstract

Sermo Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS) is a habitat of barking barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) that is included as one of the protected species according to Ministerial Decree of Forestry and Environment No. 92/2018. The latest report from the authority, the Yogyakarta Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Yogyakarta), stated that in 2017, it was estimated that there are only six individual barking deer inside the SWS. Their existence is threatened due to several activities such as tourism and agriculture practices. It should be noted that SWS was formerly a production forest so that local communities have been used to involve in forest management. Apparently, after the forest status has been changed into a protected area, the activities inside the forest are still remaining and thus potentially result in disturbing the barking barking deer habitat. This study aims to assess the extinction risk of the barking deeper inside the SWS. This study used the Spatial Multicriteria Analysis (SMCA) through Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technique to assess the extinction risk of barking deer in SWS. Theresults show that 137.21 hectares or 73.77% of the total area of SWS is an area that is prone to barking deer habitat. Therefore, it is necessary to take conservation measures and increase supervision so that habitat threats can be minimized.