Kayan Mentarang National Park Research Articles

Assessing and preventing deforestation in Kayan Mentarang National Park, North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

National parks in Indonesia are valuable assets for the next generations. The urgency to maintain and protect their existence from land degradation and deforestation is an obligation. Moreover, deforestation is the most severe threat to biodiversity. In Kalimantan, deforestation is happening and usually leads to economic loss and poverty. Despite this habitat loss, our ability to quantify deforestation in certain areas to improve mitigation measures, meet the needs of agricultural land, and increases local communities’ resilience and ensure that their customary rights. This study aims to provide models to assess the deforestation rate in Kayan Mentarang National Park and give recommendation action based on existing Land Use Zonation. To achieve this aim, firstly Landsat images was obtained and analysed to produce land use and land cover classification. However, cloud coverage in this area is more than 30% which is too difficult to classify the land cover area. This research use alternative resources from JAXA to generate deforestation map at study area. Then compile this map into map of Land Use Zonation of KMNP to provide specific location of deforestation occurrence. The result showed that deforestation rate at KMNP is low, around 3% and the Traditional Zone has the biggest amount of deforestation occurrence; 18.727 hectare. This finding would give information to the government of KMNP to accelerate empowerment program among indigenous people in term of utilizing their customary land in this zone. Moreover, this research suggest the best practical way to evaluate deforestation occurrence in KMNP area followed by specific recommendation of each land use zonation of KMNP.

Understanding Local Peoples’ Participation as “Means” and “Ends” in Protected Areas Management: A Qualitative Study in the Heart of Borneo

ABSTRACT Local people’s’participation is highly recommended in protected areas (PAs) management. This study aimed at understanding local people’s participation as “means” or tool and “ends” or empowerment in the management of Kinabalu National Park (KNP) in Sabah state of Malaysia and the Kayan Mentarang National Park (KMNP) in North Kalimantan of Indonesia, two important PAs located in the Heart of Borneo. Following Bali Guidelines by UNEP, three important aspects of public participation at the local level were evaluated by deploying qualitative research methods for key-informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD), and content analysis of policy documents. In KMNP, policies and legal framework primarily supported local peoples’ participation as “means” in park management, which was also revealed from interviews with KII and in FGD. Local communities had access to surrounding natural resources for livelihoods which is considered to be participation as “ends.” There was no policy support for formal participation of local people in KNP management, but recent informal permission to use designated park areas for farming and eco-tourism can be seen participation as “means” and as “ends.” To achieve both of “means” and “ends” fully, participation needs to be integrated into national parks’ legal system.

LEGAL ADMISSION OF LEGAL SOCIETY CONDUCTING THE NATIONAL PARK OF KAYAN MENTARANG (TNKM)

ABSTRACT The Kayan Mentarang National Park (KNPM) area located in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in North Kalimantan lives various Dayak sub-tribes. They inhabit and keep the forest so that the forest remains safe and sustainable. Indigenous and tribal peoples who have customary forest areas in which their status of appointment as KMNP initially may receive, so that the process can continue in the inaugural process. But with the development of information and circumstances the situation was changed and now the indigenous people reject the pegat which will be doneThe legal issues that serve as the purpose of this paper are: the recognition of traditional rights of indigenous and tribal communities and the recognition of local wisdom in the management of Kayan Mentarang National Park. Using the normative juridical and customary law approaches that this method is expected to address the issue of law.The dynamics of the development of society and law can change the legal status of both government and customary law community to a legal fact. Forests as natural resources and the environment are constitutionally the government's obligation to regulate them. Inauguration of customary forest as a national park brings legal consequences to rights and obligations. Implementation of laws and regulations is limited by Human Rights. It is necessary to harmonize the law, so that both the interests of indigenous and tribal peoples, as the inhabitants as well as the natural resources, the environment, and the biodiversity as the interests of mankind are not mutually harmful. Keywords: Customary Law Community, Traditional Rights, National Park

Traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity conservation: the medicinal plants of the Dayak Krayan people in Kayan Mentarang National Park, Indonesia

Abstract. Susanti R, Zuhud EAM. 2019. Traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity conservation: the medicinal plants of the Dayak Krayan people in Kayan Mentarang National Park, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 2764-2779. Traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity conservation can support one another for management of national parks in Indonesia as some such areas established in customary areas. This quantitative ethnobotany study aims to find the correlation of traditional ecological knowledge of medicinal plants of the Dayak Krayan people to biodiversity conservation in Kayan Mentarang National Park (KMNP), North Kalimantan, Indonesia. The research method used key informant interviews, transect walks, and questionnaire interviews. There were about 51 and 42 medicinal plants in Wa’ Yagung and Pa’ Padi respectively, which most used in life form of herb and tree, and to treat digestive system and infestations. Moreover, the important species are trees Alstonia scholaris and Cinnamomum cuspidatum, and vine Aristolochia sp. which grow in primary forest, while shrub Melastoma malabathricum in young secondary forest. There were significant differences in knowledge and use regarding age and gender groups, which older groups tend to possess higher values. The linking concept is proposed by using a review of three stimuli NUR (Natural-Usefulness-Religious) pro-conservation tool of traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity conservation. The authorities’ stakeholders in KMNP will have to emphasize the traditional ecological knowledge in short or long-term management plan to achieve the objective of collaborative management in this national park.

Effects of Vocal Behaviour on Abundance Estimates of Rainforest Galliforms

A comparative study was undertaken to assess the effects of the vocal activity of a target species on its density estimates made using line transect counts and point counts. In Kayan Mentarang National Park (Indonesian Borneo) the Great Argus Pheasant Argusianus argus displayed different levels of calling activity. The study was conducted at a period when the birds were highly vocal, and again, at the same site, when the birds were significantly less vocal. Transect counts during periods of low vocal activity resulted in 13–20% lower density estimates compared to periods of high vocal activity, but these differences were not significant. Estimates derived from five-minute point counts during periods of low vocal activity, however, were 52% lower than those from periods of high vocal activity. Comparison of the two methods shows that density estimates derived from the point count method were consistently lower than those from the line transects. The lack of a fixed calling season in Argus Pheasants makes year-round censuses possible, yet the distinct temporal differences in calling rates necessitates that caution be exercised when results obtained in different years or at different times of the year are compared. It is concluded that there is an increased need for understanding the behavioural plasticity of species if census methods are to be improved.

Decline of the endemic Hose's langur Presbytis hosei in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Borneo

I present data on the decline of Hose's langur Presbytis hosei over a 7-year period in the Kayan Mentarang National Park in the remote northern part of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In 1996 Hose's langurs were among the most common primates in the Nggeng Bio valley, occurring at densities of over two groups km−2, and could be observed almost daily. A repeat census of the same area in 2003 indicated that these densities had dropped by 50–80%, and observation of the species in the valley had become a rare occurrence. During the 7-year period the forest remained in a relatively pristine condition but, despite being part of a National Park, active protection of the valley was lacking and hunting was common. From interviews with local hunters and Park staff it appeared that hunting for bezoar stones (visceral excretions found in langurs and used in traditional medicine) was the primary reason for the observed decline in Hose's langur. In 1998 a merchant calling at a nearby village had expressed an interest in the stones and guaranteed to purchase them, and this sparked excessive hunting of Hose's langur in the area, to such an extent that 3 years later this hunting was no longer economically viable. This study demonstrates that, with increasing access to markets, hunting large vertebrates for medicinal purposes, even for short periods only, can have a dramatic impact on population numbers. In such cases, habitat protection alone does not guarantee preservation, and more active protection of wildlife is required.

Amphibians of the Kayan Mentarang National Park (East Kalimantan, Indonesia): estimating overall and local species richness

On the basis of surveys since 1997 and an intensive survey at the World Wildlife Fund field station at Lalut Birai in 2001, we assessed the importance of the Kayan Mentarang National Park in East Kalimantan for the conservation of Borneo's amphibian fauna. Sixty-five frog species and one Caecilian species are currently known to occur in this region. We report their occurrence in 16 subareas. Most of the species were recorded at Upper Bahau (41) and at the Lalut Birai field station (33). Based on the results of opportunistic searches and transect censuses at Lalut Birai, we argue that the amphibian diversity of the national park is still greatly underestimated.

Effects of habitat disturbance and hunting on the density and the biomass of the endemic Hose’s leaf monkey Presbytis hosei (Thomas, 1889) (Mammalia: Primates: Cercopithecidae) in east Borneo

Hose’s leaf monkey Presbytis hosei is endemic to Borneo and occurs only in tall forest. In recent decades Borneo has lost a large part of its forest cover, mostly in low-lying coastal regions. Large intact tracts of forest remain in the interior, but these are by and large inhabited by tribes that subsist in part by hunting. The combined effects of habitat disturbance and hunting on the densities and biomass of Hose’s leaf monkey were studied in Kayan Mentarang National Park in Borneo’s far interior. Over four months, data on densities and hunting were collected by transect walks in four forest types. Hose’s leaf monkeys were hunted to deter crop-raiding, for their meat, and to obtain bezoar stones (visceral secretions used in traditional medicine). Hose’s leaf monkeys occurred in single male groups of 7-8 individuals in densities from 0.8 to 2.3 groups km-2. Densities of Hose’s leaf monkeys were positively correlated with certain vegetation characteristics, e.g. tree height and height of first bough, and negatively correlated with distance to the nearest village. Biomass of Hose’s leaf monkeys declined considerably as a result of habitat disturbance and hunting from 92 kg km-2 in primary hill forest inside the reserve to 38 kg km-2 in old secondary forest and 31 kg km-2 in young secondary forest near villages. A review of the few studies conducted on the effects of habitat disturbance and hunting on Hose’s leaf monkeys reveal inconsistent trends in biomass and density responses.

What is tana ulen good for? Considerations on indigenous forest management, conservation, and research in the interior of Indonesian Borneo.

Nongovernmental organizations active in the field of biodiversity conservation such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have contributed to the legitimation of “unproven assumptions” and romantic notions about forest people as traditional conservationists. In this paper, I will look at a form of indigenous forest tenure, tana ulen, in the area of the Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. I explore how tana ulen has been used and interpreted by local communities and WWF staff in relation to emerging issues of community rights and conservation of biodiversity in the area. In doing this, I argue that without an account that discloses the ways in which forms of forest management are variably affected by and effecting the social, economic, and ecological circumstances in which they are situated, we would be unable to understand local practices and, consequently, would be unprepared to design viable policy alternatives with regard to community-based management of conservation areas.

Habitat preference of Great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus argus) in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Habitat preference and abundance of the Great Argus Pheasant was studied over a ten week period in the lowland forests of the Kayan Mentarang National Park, in the remote interior of Indonesian Borneo. Repeat line transect surveys, counting the number of vocalising males, were conducted in four different habitat types. Argus Pheasants were found to be most common in primary forest, and progressively less common in old and young secondary forests. Numbers of calling males were lowest in riverine forest. Argus Pheasant densities were positively correlated with a number of transect characteristics, viz. increasing tree diameter, tree height, height of the first bough and canopy cover, and with increasing remoteness. Dancing grounds were invariably located on ridges. The conservation status of the species on Borneo is briefly discussed. The Great Argus Pheasant is still widespread but thinly spread. The rapid rate of lowland forest clearance, fragmentation of once continuous habitat and increasing hunting pressure owing to increasing accessibility may become serious threats in the near future.