Tiger Field News: Sumatra, Indonesia
Tiger
and Rhino Protection Units are Merged
in Way Kambas National Park
agreement between tiger and rhino conservation programs reduces overlapping administrations to streamline anti-poaching patrols in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung, Indonesia
Jakarta, 13th August 2003: In response to increasing threats from poaching, human encroachment, and illegal logging, four groups concerned with saving Way Kambas National Park in Lampung Province, Indonesia, have collaborated to recruit and deploy two new rhino and tiger protection units. The Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program (STCP)[1], the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and their Indonesian Rhino Conservation Program (IRCP), and the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA) agreed to combine their efforts and reduce overlapping administrations to streamline anti-poaching patrols. Grants from the American Association of Zoo Keepers (Bowling for Rhinos Fund), The Tiger Foundation (Canada), and the Sumatran Tiger Trust (UK) conservation partnership funded the program.
“This collaboration between the rhino and tiger protection programs represents a real opportunity for sustained effort in protecting the valuable Way Kambas National Park,” said Waldemar Hasiholan, STCP Program Manager.
In Sumatra the distribution of rhinos and tigers shows considerable overlap. They also face similar threats. Poachers are after both species using steel snares. Other threats from human encroachment and illegal logging impact both equally. In the past, different approaches were employed by different programs to protect these species and their habitats, with varying degrees of success. In the future the new collaborative agreement between IRCP and STCP will ensure that the multiple funding sources available to the two programs be optimally harnessed to implement both rhino and tiger protection units (RPTUs) in an efficient and cost-effective manner throughout priority habitats—facilitating communication, intelligence sharing, and field operations at every level.
The synchrony between RPUs and TPUs will minimize staff and management problems that would otherwise arise from having competing teams implement similar activities but with different salary scales, benefits and standard operating procedures. Information and data sharing will be a significant component of this partnership, and costs will be reduced by sharing common databases, intelligence, GIS systems, joint reporting and legal enforcement.
“By collaborating at both a funding and coordination level, the RTPUs in Way Kambas offer unrivalled value in terms of their efficient and effective protection of these priority species. With seven teams now operational in addition to the routine protection provided by national park management, the Way Kambas population of tigers represents one of the best-protected in Indonesia,” said Neil Franklin, Director of The Tiger Foundation /Sumatran Tiger Trust program in Indonesia.
History of Anti-Poaching Patrols in Way Kambas
The history of Rhino Protection Units in Way Kambas National Park dates back to 1995, when the STCP first set out infrared-activated camera traps along game trails and photographed a Sumatran Rhino—not previously thought to inhabit the area. The first photograph of a Sumatran rhino was quickly followed by many more, documenting a significant rhino population.
Within a year, the International Rhino Foundation through the IRCP along with PHKA initiated five RPUs—rhino anti-poaching units to patrol the park. Their single goal was to ensure that the rhinos and their core habitat be conserved. By the year 2000, five RPUs were operating, working closely with rangers and forest police of the park’s management staff.
Because the core areas of rhino and tiger habitats do not overlap precisely, it became evident that tiger protection was less than optimal. A number of other pressures on the park presented new threats to both populations. Human intrusion into priority areas of the park increased with the growing encroachment and habitat conversion on the park’s southwestern border.
One detrimental result of this human intrusion was that STCP remote cameras used to document and monitor tiger and other wildlife were being stolen at an unacceptable rate. By May 2003 camera theft in the core tiger area was so high that the STCP had no other option but to suspend remote camera monitoring until security could be ensured.
At this point the STCP began to work with the IRCP on a collaborative arrangement to upgrade the park’s protection infrastructure. Discussions focused on developing a holistic protection strategy through a process of identifying resource needs and mapping current threats. One outcome of the analysis was the decision to add two more protection units specifically to protect tigers and cameras in the core area of the park. Other needs of the units were identified, and the two programs agreed to collaborate on the overall management and implementation of the units.
Recruitment of Tiger Protection Unit Personnel
To staff the two new teams, we followed a systematic recruitment procedure that we had developed over the last eight years. A primary strategy in selecting new recruits is that they come from a cross-section of villages, communities, and cultural groups that surround or directly border the park. A fourth team member, a senior PHKA forest policeman with authority to legally process criminal cases that arise, is elected from the national park staff as unit leader.
Newspaper and radio advertisements for TPU staff generated 128 applications. From these, 94 were considered to adequately fulfill selection criteria. The candidates were requested to join a week-long recruitment camp that began on July 25 at the training center in Way Kambas National Park. The selection committee was made up of PHKA national park management staff, local and regional IRCP coordinators, and local STCP coordinators. The recruits were evaluated by three criteria:
§ Written tests to evaluate basic report-writing skills, basic mathematics, problem-solving ability, knowledge of conservation and natural resources, and general awareness
§ Physical tests to determine stamina, strength, courage, dexterity and the ability to withstand prolonged discomfort under difficult field conditions
§ Oral interviews to assess confidence, sincerity, and personal motivation
The final selection of six recruits was announced at a formal acceptance ceremony on July 31. Present were Waldemar Hasiholan and A. A. Hutabarat, program managers of STCP and IRCP respectively, and Bintoro, the head of Way Kambas National Park. The successful recruits are:
§ Adly, Agus Riyadi, and Balyan Irawadi, all from Rajabasa Lama Village, Labuhan Ratu,
§ Gunanto, from Labuhan Ratu Dua Village, Way Jepara,
§ Nurhadi, from Raman Aji Village, Raman Utara, and
§ Nur Basuki, from Braja Kencana Village, Labuhan Ratu.
Two STCP staff with specialist field skills in tracking, surveying and monitoring wild tigers will join the six recruits. Both Ali Mashuri and M. Nur Alim are from nearby Rajabasa Lama Village and have five years of experience working on tiger conservation in Lampung, Jambi, and Riau provinces of Sumatra.
Bambang S. and Rustanto, PHKA unit leaders from Balai Way Kambas National Park provide legal processing and enforcement capability and arm the teams with water-resistant, semi-automatic firearms. Eight of these team members will form two RTPUs, and two members will supplement pre-existing teams.
In-Service Training
Two weeks of intensive in-service training immediately followed the selection ceremony. A joint training committee of STCP and IRCP staff developed a series of class-based modules. Topics covered during the training phase include:
§ Techniques of navigation in the field using Global Positioning System units, compass, maps, UTM, and latitude-longitude systems of position reporting
§ First aid, survival, field craft and basic forest living
§ Laws, regulations and enforcement in relation to conservation of natural resources
§ Strategy in relation to locating, apprehending, arresting and processing of suspects
§ Background in status, ecology, behavior and conservation of rhinos, tigers, other species and habitats
§ Survey and monitoring techniques for rhinos, tigers, and other priority species
General conservation activities in the park were presented through lectures and discussion sessions. These provided opportunities for other NGOs working in the Way Kambas area to share their experiences.
Additional field training will continue in the upcoming three-month probationary period. New recruits will temporarily be assigned to experienced field teams to accelerate their acquisition of field skills and experience.
Funding
The training, field operations, equipment, coordination and infrastructure improvements for the two new RTPUs were funded by a grant of US$40,000 from the American Association of Zoo Keepers’ “Bowling for Rhinos” fund raising campaign, US$12,000 from the Minnesota Zoo’s Adopt-A Park program, and from grants by The Tiger Foundation (Canada) and Sumatran Tiger Trust (UK) conservation partnership.
Remaining funds will be used to purchase field equipment, technical field equipment (GPS, VHG radios, cameras) and a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Other necessary items are several motorcycles, a wooden-hull outboard motorboat, additional living accommodations at the RTPU base camp at Plan Ijo, and construction of a new overnight patrol post at Kuala Kambas.
Collaboration for the Future
The IRCP and STCP have plans to establish a rhino and tiger field observation database and standardized forms for collecting field data. A further value of collaboration will be sharing intelligence on poaching, illegal trading and lumbering, and managing an undercover informant network surrounding the park.
A similar anti-poaching training course and deployment of field teams is underway in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Riau Province located in central Sumatra. This program is funded by Save The Tiger Fund, a special partnership of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with ExxonMobil, in collaboration with the PHKA-TTF-STT conservation partnership.
Compiled by Ronald Tilson, Ph.D, Director of Conservation, Minnesota Zoo, and Chairman, The Tiger Foundation, from reports and information submitted by Neil Franklin, Ph.D., Director of The Tiger Foundation/Sumatran Tiger Trust Indonesia Program <franklin@pacific.net.id> and Waldemar Hasiholan, M.Si., <aldi_bk30@yahoo.com>, STCP Program Manager.
Photographs (copyright: STCP (PHKA-TTF-STT)):
July 2003:
Rhino Protection Units and new recruits for Tiger Protection Units
following final selection of team members.
July 2003:
Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program Manager, Waldemar Hasiholan,
congratulating the successful TPU candidates and welcoming them to the
program.
July 2003: Head
of Forest Police of Way Kambas National Park, Nyoman Rai, officially
accepting the new recruits to the TPU.
July 2003:
Basic TPU field equipment provided to the new team members, purchased with
financial support from AAZK Bowling for Rhinos, The Tiger Foundation and
Sumatran Tiger Trust.
July 2003:
Technical TPU field equipment including GPS, VHF radios and compasses,
purchased with financial support from AAZK Bowling for Rhinos, The Tiger
Foundation and Sumatran Tiger Trust.
Aug 2003:
Director of The Tiger Foundation/Sumatran Tiger Trust Indonesia Program,
Neil Franklin, giving a welcome speech during the first day of classroom
based TPU training.
Aug 2003:
Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program’s local project coordinator, Sumianto
(left), and his counterpart, Indonesian Rhino Conservation Program’s local
coordinator, Ali Nurshalim, outside the training center in Way Kambas.
Aug 2003:
Class-based training of TPU staff and PHKA Forest Police unit leaders.
Aug 2003:
Physical training of TPU recruits in Way Kambas. Physical stamina,
dexterity and strength were primary factors affecting selection during the
recruitment phase.
Aug 2003: TPU
recruits being drilled by local PHKA training coordinator Yus Suhardi.
Discipline and punctuality are emphasized throughout the two week training
period.
Aug 2003: TPU
recruits together with PHKA trainers and TTF-STT Indonesia Program Director
Neil Franklin during the early training phase.
Aug 2003: RPU
in preparation for a patrol. Very soon the two new Tiger Protection Units
will be joining the five other units currently deployed in Way Kambas National Park.
