Sad, but true. The only time you hear from Sumatra in the news is when there is a natural disaster people, deforestation, fanatics caning in Aceh, or mist to the east of the Strait of Melaka again. With tale after tale of woe, it would probably surprise many of us as the sixth largest island in the world is actually some good news to tell.
Take for example the work Kalaweit. A "etho-passion 'association, Kalaweit was founded in 1997 and two years later signed an agreement with the Ministry of Forestry to rehabilitate gibbons held in captivity by the local population or poachers, educate, inform and local awareness with regard to environmental protection, and protect tropical forests.
The Supayang Gibbon Conservation Centre is eight hectares in Padang two hours drive in West Sumatra and is home to gibbons and siamangs that were kept illegally as pets. Adjacent to the center is the Supayang Reserve hectares of gibbons, siamangs, bears, pangolins, tapirs and big cats, including leopards and even a rare tiger. A blog camera trap (kalaweitcameratrap.blogspot.com) has a selection of photos from the camera hidden, including snakes, wild boars and leopard cats.
A Sumatran tiger | Photo by Luke Mackin - wild Sumatra
In fact social media plays an important role in the work Kalaweit with , Instagram and YouTube active accounts and a app spread the word of their conservation efforts in Kalimantan and Sumatra. More traditional media has not been forgotten, however; MetroTV filming Wildlife Rescue, a show that is broadcast weekly.
Aurélien Brulé has been with the project since the early days and is now the public face for the work they do. Better known as Chania Kalaweit, he's the man you see fighting against deer, snakes and generally roaming the jungle in search of animals to save. Australia had the late Steve Irwin, Indonesia Chania.
Although Kalaweit focuses on conservation, another company based in Sumatra like ecotourism to maintain the remaining biodiversity for future generations. Based in the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra Wild Adventures believes
"ecotourism can help protect intact forests deep in the park."
With few job opportunities for people in the reserve, it is understandable if they are looking less friendly methods for the environment put the rice on the dinner table. Wild Sumatran hope to tap into the unparalleled local knowledge and use this experience to help demonstrate and explain the beauty of the park for guests.
The Kerinci area has something for everyone. Of the eponymous mountain 3805 meters - a rise of eight hours offers spectacular sunrises - bird watching and even the occasional tiger lover enthusiastic nature, tea plantation ranked second in the world, caves and lakes National park can get you up close and personal in a very remote Indonesia Bandung factory outlets or the narrow streets bustling Kuta. The vista still a panorama early morning looking through the rice fields to the mountains has changed little over the years, a reminder of a less hectic Indonesia.
wild Sumatra was created by Luke Makin and Joshua Kegg, an American couple with a love of the outdoors. However, in accordance with the mission of the company, the guides are all local people. Pak Subandi, for example, has been showing visitors around the national park for over 20 years from its base in Kersik Tuo where he runs a small guesthouse.
wild Sumatra | Photo by Luke Mackin - wild Sumatra
Another guide with a passion 'Zacky' Zaid. He enjoys hiking the many lakes that dot the park and in his free time teams up with other members of Pecinta Alam, a kind group of local discretion, to pick up some of the waste that has been left by to other visitors less thoughtful.
Companies like Kalaweit and Sumatra wild attract headlines and in this media age social, tastes, their efforts and focus on working with local communities, and it is the local population that conservation efforts rise and fall. West Sumatra is a conservative part of the country where Islam plays a major role in the lives of people living in the countryside. A project of the Darwin Initiative and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology worked with local religious leaders to raise awareness of how forest management has been linked to a good religious practice.
The project, which involved the entry of the likes of Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, the British Council and Conservation International, assured the training of religious leaders and teachers and gave immediate results. Before the project, there was little awareness of how the ecosystem worked, with only 50 percent say they understand. After forming the figure rose to 92 percent. At the same time consciousness of Islamic systems for the management of natural resources has risen from zero to 100 percent!
For example, Hima translates into "inviolate zone" and includes an area of forest where logging is prohibited and land managed for the well-being of a community. Meanwhile, the concept of Ihya Al-Mawat, the revival of the dead land or used, was brought back to life by opening a school and nursery area managed by the community.
as Fauna and Flora International say on their official website " Engaging religious leaders in sustainable management approaches to natural resources that are explicitly based on their religious principles, the project was to both culturally relevant and replicable in most of Indonesia. "
There are not that charity begins at home. Conservation and made three very different approaches using local wisdom to ensure one of the attractions of Indonesia, flora and fauna, can be protected and enjoyed for generations to come. Is it not worthy of a story?
www.kalaweit. org
www.wildsumatra.com