Senin, 27 Juli 2009

Story of Viat

Mohamad Rayan, Malinau

The story of viat began when Marcus and i went visiting Punan Setarap village at the beginning of the end of May 2009. it was a hot day when we arrive at the village. We were accompany by Long Kebinu resident who stirred the Ketingting for us to reach Setarap and Punan setarap villages.In Setarap village we did our routine survey of the village demography.

It was normal answers we receive from them on population, on education, on health, on diet, on livelihoods, logging activities, on occupation, on village harmony etc, etc, etc.On the issue of border harmony, they explained that they informed us that some of their old residents decided to move out and set their own village. Since most of deciding to move out are of the Punan dayak ethnicities, hence the village is known Punan setarap village. According to Setarap leader, they decide to move to have more independence in managing themselves.

We walked along Punan Setarap people and asked for the residence of the head of the village. Several Punan kids pointed to the house on the top of the hill. Yes, most of the village in Malinau are built along Malinau river in East Kalimantan. And Punan Setarap is in the top of the hill.We were welcomed by the head of the village, Alan Laing. His father is Ruit Laing as the traditional village leader. He was 1.60 metres or less and his physic fits to its height. He was open but reserved in answering our questions. Mind you he is getting nearly 200 questions from us.

May be from the name, we would guess they are already modernised. Yes, they have TV and with satelite dishes. However the village only have two generators to bring electricity to the village.

On the question of their name, ah, what is in the name. The dayak now have modern name such as Marcus, Ramses, Dany etc because the Protestant missionary had been here since 1960s maybe since the Dutch colonilization time. Beside the Protestant, there is also Catholic among Dayak population in Malinau.In Punan Setarap the village we visited, there exists only Catholic Church catering for 187 people. There is a primary school with local teacher only.

Not long, his wife brought the coffee out to us. The coffee is the harvest from their own farm. Their ladang is across the river. Marcus loved the coffee. It seems coffee fits to the climate and easy to plant and not too much maintainance. It could be argued the coffee introduction by government for livelihoods is a success story.

Toward the end of discussion, Mr. Alan Laing, told us the story of Viat. It is a creature of tiger look alike. Marcus was startled and wanted to know more. It could be a finding like they were finding Pygmy Elephants. The Viat is siluman, changing form. It could be human look alike and could also be tiger look alike.

Is there Viat? I wonder.
Rayan in Malinau

Senin, 13 Juli 2009

Debt Nature Swap

Rabu, 01/07/2009
US$21,6 juta utang ke AS dialihkanDana dipakai untuk konservasi 7 juta ha hutan
Cetak

JAKARTA: Sekitar US$21,6 juta utang Indonesia kepada AS disepakati dialihkan untuk program konservasi atau debt for nature swap (DNS) yang meliputi sekitar 7 juta hektare kawasan hutan di Sumatra.Pengalihan utang itu sudah disepakati sejak beberapa waktu lalu di Bali. Kemarin, di Departemen Kehutanan, kesepakatan itu akhirnya ditandatangani oleh Dubes AS Cameron Hume dan Dirjen Pengelolaan Utang Departemen Keuangan Rahmat Waluyanto, disaksikan Menteri Kehutanan M.S.Kaban.Cameron Hume mengatakan dana tersebut dapat digunakan untuk melestarikan 7 juta hektare area hutan di Sumatra bagian utara, Sumatra bagian tengah, dan Sumatra bagian selatan.

“Sumatra merupakan wilayah Indonesia yang memiliki keanekaragaman habitat dan spesies hewan yang unik seperti harimau Sumatra dan orang utan,” ujarnya.Lokasi program di Sumatra bagian utara dipusatkan di Taman Nasional (TN) Batang Gadis, di Sumatra bagian tengah di TN Bukit Tigapuluh dan Sumatra bagian selatan di TN Way Kamas.Perjanjian kerja sama tersebut dilakukan di bawah Undang-Undang Koservasi Hutan Tropis atau Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) di mana Indonesia menjadi negara ke-15 yang melakukan perjanjian itu dengan Amerika.Negara-negara lain yang pernah memperoleh program ini antara lain El Salvador, Belize, Banglades, Botswana, Kolombia, Kosta Rika, dan Filipina. Program hutang demi alam (DBS) ini diproyeksikan dapat mengumpulkan dana US$218 juta untuk perlindungan hutan tropis.Pemerintah AS, menurut Direktur Operasional Kehati Taufiq Alimi, sepakat mengalihkan piutangnya untuk kegiatan konservasi yang diperhitungkan dari utang pokok sebesar US$21,6 juta atau US$30 juta termasuk bunga hingga 8 tahun ke depan.“Pengembalian utang melalui kegiatan konservasi ini sudah diperhitungkan secara matang oleh Menteri Keuangan RI dan Pemerintah AS,” katanya.

Menurut dia, pembayaran utang melalui kegiatan konservasi merupakan jalan terbaik dibandingkan dengan jika pemerintah mengembalikan langsung uang tersebut kepada Pemerintah AS.“Pembayaran utang yang dialihkan ke kegiatan konservasi sangat bermanfaat melestarikan keanekaragaman hayati di Indonesia,” ujarnya.Taufiq menjelaskan kegiatan debt for nature swap di Indonesia dimulai sejak 1990 dan Pemerintah Amerika Serikat (AS) telah mengeluarkan kebijakan melalui Tropical Forest Conservation Act yang disetujui Kongres pada 1998 sebagai mekanisme untuk mengurangi utang luar negeri bagi negara-negara berkembang yang kaya sumber daya alamnya. “Peluang inilah yang ditangkap Pemerintah Indonesia,” katanya.Transfer danaMenteri Kehutanan M.S. Kaban mengatakan mekanisme pembayaran utang ini melalui transfer dana langsung ke rekening TFCA yang disebut Trust Fund.Dana dari Trust Fund ini akan menjadi dana yang siap mendanai hibah kegiatan konservasi hutan tropik di Sumatra, yang dilaksanakan kalangan LSM dan masyarakat lokal.Keputusan mengenai hibah akan dilakukan lembaga yang disebut Oversight Committee yang sehari-harinya dibantu Fund Administrator yang berfungsi sebagai sekretariat program TFCA.Oversight Committee terdiri dari tujuh orang masing-masing satu orang dari Pemerintah Indonesia, satu orang Pemerintah AS, satu orang perwakilan Conservation International (CI), satu orang perwakilan Yayasan Kehati dan tiga orang dari lembaga independen. “Administaror keuangan dilakukan Yayasan Kehati,” kata Kaban.Conservation International (CI) Foundation-lembaga swadaya masyarakat asal AS-dan Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia (Kehati) menyumbang masing-masing US$1 juta dan mereka disebut swap partner.Taufiq Alimi mengatakan kedua LSM yang 'membeli' utang yang dialihkan untuk kegiatan konservasi selama 10 tahun itu, tidak akan mengambil keuntungan finansial.“Uang itu tidak kembali karena dipergunakan untuk kegiatan operasional maupun administratif konservasi,” ujar Taufiq.

Program Kehati diupayakan akan berjalan pada September 2009 dan rencananya program DNS TFCA untuk Sumatra akan secara resmi diluncurkan langsung oleh Presiden AS, Barack Obama, pada November 2009 di Indonesia.

(erwin.tambunan@bisnis. co.id)Oleh Erwin TambunanBisnis Indonesia

Berita CI dan Kehati

Berita
Berita Terkini Agenda Siaran Pers

Menghapus Hutang untuk Pelestarian Alam Sumatera

Conservation International dan Yayasan KEHATI membantu pemerintah menghapuskan hutang AS dan mengalihkannya untuk pelestarian alam
Bumi sangat memerlukan tutupan hutan tropis Indonesia yang utuh untuk menjaga keseimbangan iklim. Tanggung jawab menyelamatkannya tak hanya ada di tangan Indonesia, namun juga negara maju sebagai penyumbang polusi terbesar. Salah satu bentuk tanggung jawab tersebut dapat diwujudkan melalui mekanisme penghapusan hutang untuk melestarikan alam Indonesia (DNS).

Untuk mewujudkan kepeduliannya, Pemerintah Amerika Serikat (AS) hari ini Selasa (30/6) sepakat untuk menghapus hutang luar negeri Indonesia, hutang yang dihapus tersebut apabila dikalkulasi, hampir sebesar hampir 30 juta dolar AS selama 8 tahun. Keunikan dari penghapusan utang ini adalah keterlibatan dari LSM, yaitu hutang sebesar 2 juta dollar AS “dibeli” oleh 2 LSM lokal dan internasional, Yayasan KEHATI dan Conservation International.
“Keikutsertaan KEHATI merupakan bukti kesungguhan kami dalam melestarikan keanekaragaman hayati di Indonesia,” ujar Damayanti Buchori, Ph.D, Direktur Eksekutif Yayasan KEHATI Indonesia. “Kami sangat menghargai upaya semua pihak, sehingga dana yang seharusnya dibayarkan kepada Pemerintah Amerika untuk melunasi hutang luar negeri Indonesia dapat kembali ke negara ini, dan digunakan untuk melestarikan keanekaragaman hayati, khususnya Pulau Sumatera”.

Upaya memperjuangkan DNS di Indonesia, sudah dimulai sejak tahun 1990. DNS ini digunakan untuk memperoleh pelunasan hutang dengan mengalihkan pembayarannya pada kegiatan pelestarian hutan dan keanekaragaman hayati Sejauh ini sudah ada beberapa DNS lain yang telah berjalan, yaitu DNS dengan negara Jerman yang menggunakan mekanisme pembayaran yang berbeda. DNS dengan pemerintah Amerika Serikat ini dimungkinkan karena adanya kebijakan Undang-undang Konservasi Hutan Tropis (Tropical Forest Conservation Act-TFCA) ,yang telah disetujui oleh kongres di tahun 1998 sebagai mekanisme untuk mengurangi hutang luar negeri bagi negara negara berkembang yang kaya sumberdaya alamnya. Peluang ini segera ditangkap oleh pemerintah Indonesia untuk melunasi hutang sekaligus melestarikan alam.

“Melalui program ini, CI melanjutkan program CEPF (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) tahun lalu di lokasi yang sama yaitu Pulau Sumatera, mengingat kondisi hutan Sumatera yang saat ini sedang dalam keaadaan kritis”, tutur Jatna Supriatna Ph.D, Regional Vice President Conservation International Indonesia. Lanjut Jatna, “Kami sangat mengharapkan mekanisme ini dapat menjadi contoh bagi negara lain demi mewujudkan tanggung jawabnya melestarikan hutan tropis dunia”.

CI telah terlibat dengan DNS sejak tahun 1987 di negara Bolivia, sehingga pengalaman di negara lain tersebut diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi positif dalam implementasi DNS di Indonesia. Program DNS kali ini disepakati untuk melestarikan tutupan hutan Sumatera yang menjadi habitat dari beberapa spesies kunci, yaitu Orangutan Sumatera (Pongo abelii), Badak Sumatera (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), Gajah Sumatera (Elephas maximus) dan Harimau Sumatera (Phantera tigris sumatrae).

Program DNS merupakan sebuah penyelesaian yang baik bagi negara pengutang dan pemberi utang. Lebih dari 30 juta dollar atau setara dengan 300 milliar rupiah akan tetap dibelanjakan di Indonesia untuk keperluan konservasi, dan tidak mengalir ke negara maju.
DNS ini merupakan tantangan bagi pemerintah Indonesia untuk menunjukkan bahwa penghapusan hutang ini benar-benar dapat bermanfaat bagi penyelamatan hutan dan keanekaragaman hayati Indonesia. Program ini juga diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan dalam membangun kepercayaan (trust building) negara-negara donor bahwa pemerintah Indonesia memiliki kemampuan dalam mengelola sumberdaya alamnya secara berkelanjutan sehingga dapat mengurangi kemiskinan dan membantu menjaga kestabilan iklim dunia. Yayasan KEHATI dipercaya untuk mengelola dana hasil penghapusan utang itu bersama dengan mitra-mitranya yang bergiat dalam penyelamatan hutan Sumatera.

Diet may have caused orangutan extinction

Diet may have caused orangutan extinction

Mohamad Rayan , Malinau Sat, 07/11/2009 12:49 PM Opinion The Jakarta Post

Dayak eat orangutan! Marcus and I had been in the field in Malinau for nearly 6 weeks and it was the first time we heard that the Dayak tribe ate orangutan. Our catch phrase before we set out was "Punan eat everything". Dayak Punan (a nomadic tribe from Borneo) told us they ate every animal in the forest near Mt. Bintang in Malinau. And we realized there were no orangutans near Malinau city or in all of Malinau district.

When we asked what they did hunt for, the Punan Dayak from Punan Setarap village said they hunted boar, deer, bear, anteaters, porcupine and monkey.

When we asked the Dayak community about their hunting, how they got their protein for example, they gave us surprising answers. The Kenyah people also revealed that they enjoyed most of the animals in the forest, but the Kenyah are now more connected to the community and development, as symbolized by the election of a regent from the Dayak Kenyah line. The Kenyah, Lun Dayeh, Brusu, Long Alango tribes consume most of the animals in nearby forests. They also fish in the crystal-clear water creeks inside the forest. With the clear water, it is easier for them to catch fish from the river.

This topic does raise big questions, for example, why are there no orangutans in Malinau?
According to reports and ground checks in the surrounding communities, local tribes do eat the animal, but does that mean they have caused its extinction? Or is it because forests have been so heavily depleted in the area?

The current orangutan population, according to data from the directorate general for forest protection and nature conservation, is believed to be 61,234. Most are found in the forests of Borneo (54,567), with the remainder in Sumatra (6,667).

Kalimantan has been studied, surveyed and explored by local scientists and international experts since the 1800s. However, there are no studies or concrete answers as to why there are no orangutans in Malinau.

However, one study suggested that in Serawak, 10,000 years ago, human did eat orangutans. The book, The Orangutan, Its Biology and Conservation, was written by Leobert E. M. De Boer in 1982.

For the Iban tribe from Serawak, eating orangutan is taboo and they still have orangutans in their area. The evidence suggests that it is possible the Dayak tribe may have caused the extinction of orangutans in their area.

The writer is Community Relations and Development Manager for the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundations. This is personal opinion.

Kamis, 02 Juli 2009

Dayak Conflicts

Mohamad Rayan. Reporting.Malinau.

Simmering under the surface in Malinau is fragile ethnicities relationship. This is latest update report from the conservation district. It would not be a long report.Well, it started as usual when Marcus and i came to ask the question on any conflicts with the neighbouring villages, the Setarap leader confessed that they have problems with Setulang village and Punan Setarap.

Couple days later Setulang leaders informed me that they are having negotiation meeting on disputed area for farming with Setarap residents. The disputed area issue is not resolved yet. The area is disputed due to the fact there will be a palm oil plantation planning to open near the disputed area. This will be reported in the next report in Konservasiindonesia (KI).

Actually the report by Cifor on their study of village boundary couple years ago before they ceased program in Malinau, there always be potential conflicts on the ground. And at the core of the conflict normally there is issue of economic interest such when mining or logging company wanted to open the operation in an area.In this desk report, i would just paste the translation i did from a newspaper article in February 2007 below and previous article in KI.

Claiming village traditional forest, two ethnic Dayak closed to clashingMohamad Rayan. Translator.Rakyat Merdeka. February 2007

Due to the boundary claimed as traditional land, two villages were in the brink of clashing that is Respen Tubu village and Sentaban, East Kalimantan.Even, the village clash did not happened, the punching of one of the village resident in the dispute did occur at the traditional leaders meeting of the two villagers on Friday 9 February 2007.Because of the punching, the victim brought to clinic Mentarang due to bleeding nose. Even though there was agreement for both villagers to keep emotion down during the meeting. It was also suggested by both village leaders to keep calm.Traditional leader of Dayak Merau, Atong Aran with one resident said the problem aroused out of unhappiness of their group due to the boundary of the forest claimed by them. “This disputed boundary claimed as traditional forest is in the area of PT BKS.

They (Seturan 4 dayak ethnicities) thought the decision to allow the logging to operate in the traditional forest is only one ethnicities (Punan) without telling the other ethnicities.”“This decision is only by one ethnicity only, but actually there are (in Seturan) ethnicities dayak of Abay, Merap, Merau, Bilau and Punan, they are all related.”Feeling that the decision on allowing the company is done by one ethnicity, the other ethnicities are not approving. According to Atong Aran, they are requesting that the other 4 ethnicities be involved with in every decision on traditional people rights.They also acknowledged that before the logging company entered to location, village residents never received the explanation on the planning of the company going to the community traditional forest.“At the beginning there was no notification to us. May be the company only informed only the undeveloped ethnic Punan” explained Atong Aran.That is why from 4 ethnicities lived in Sentaban village, expecting this problem be resolved in family spirit.If it cannot be solved in this meeting now, they suggest the company which is operating now be terminated temporarily until there is agreement.“We are not expecting the community be suffering and became victims. If the problem is between community and the government, or the community and the company, the conflict is still resolvable. But if the conflict happened between communities, it could end up in chasing each other and caused the riot like yesterday, he said”Budiansyah, the representative of PT BKS conceded that it has informed the community including government before operating.

However, after 3 months in operation, there is new problem from a group of claiming the area as their area.He was also present as a good listener on this conflict of area ownership by several groups who are claiming and counter-claiming with the size of the area is 47.000 ha. Budiansyah is also looking for the truth.“We have done a socialisation to one of the village at the district government, however other community complained on this problem.The complainers had also reported the case to sub district Police for requesting to organize a meeting and in that meeting i will be present for finding which party is the right one,” said Budiansyah when questioned in the front of Mentarang sub district police station Friday 9 January 2007.Meanwhile the acting sub district head, Marson R Langub after leading a meeting from the two disputing group confessed still confused. Ida/jpnnSumber: http://www.rakyatmerdeka.co.id/indexframe.php?url=nusantara/index.php?q=news&id=4460Translated by Rayan 23 June 2009.